Pressure builds on Commanders GM Adam Peters as landmark choice looms

Adam Peters has been Washington Commanders' general manager for just a few short months. However, he won't ever make a bigger decision than the one facing him at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After trading Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks, the Commanders will be taking a quarterback. Peters stated they are happy to stay put and won't be trading down. After all, Washington boasts six selections in the top 100, so they aren't exactly depleted in terms of assets.

No matter which prospects come into the fold after, the Commanders must nail their quarterback choice. Anything less will jeopardize their chances of making short-term gains under head coach Dan Quinn and damage the team's chances of entering the playoff picture down the line.

Commanders must be calm through the NFL Draft chaos

Daniel Jeremiah from the NFL Network highlighted the pressure Peters is facing via John Keim of ESPN. The respected analyst stated that so many new moving parts need to form a concise opinion about which quarterback is best. Then, it'll be Quinn and his staff's job to make sure this revamped roster gets on the same page quickly.

"He's got a massive decision in front of him, starting with his very first pick. So that's a lot of pressure. That's difficult when you are just coming together with a coach and a general manager, not to mention new owner, new organization and trying to learn your existing roster.

"They were very aggressive in free agency in terms of bringing in a lot of guys. So trying to make all these pieces fit. And then, oh, by the way, right away you've got to make a call on the quarterback position and make sure that you get that right."

This was a sentiment echoed by former general manager Marc Ross, who added that the Commanders' lack of stability at the quarterback spot has been arguably the primary catalyst behind their demise since Kirk Cousins was allowed to walk in free agency for the Minnesota Vikings. After some major misses under previous regimes, Peters has a chance to resolve this for the next decade during his first offseason at the helm.

"It's monumental. They've been in quarterback purgatory, or hell, for a long time. They have to make it right."

Peters knows how big of a responsibility this is. He freely admitted as much during his pre-draft availability, yet there remains a level of composure and conviction that's been prevalent throughout the recruitment period so far.

This should stand the Commanders in tremendous stead heading into the big night. Having new men working together for the first time can become complicated if things aren't quite aligned. Fortunately, it seems as if there is a collective mindset within the building with Peters leading the charge.

It'll be fascinating to see which way the Commanders go following months of assessments and rumors across the media. Peters has done a tremendous job of keeping everything in-house and not giving the game away ahead of time. It's added to the level of intrigue, but it's another sign that Washington is running a far tighter ship than at any stage during the Dan Snyder era.

The platform is there from which to build. All Peters has to do is find the quarterback capable of taking the league by storm.

Sounds simple, right?