There's no shortage of factors to blame for the Washington Commanders' disastrous 2025 season, in which the team won five games despite a roster built to compete for a deep playoff run. Moving forward, the biggest cause for concern is obvious.
When Adam Peters took over as the Commanders' general manager prior to the 2024 season, he inherited a team at the very beginning of a rebuild. Washington had six top-100 picks in its first draft, including the No. 2 overall selection. The front-office leader also benefited from a metric ton of salary cap space.
The financial resources were largely used on aging veteran free agents who could help change the culture, and they did their job. But Washington's lack of youth was exposed in a major way during head coach Dan Quinn's second season, and it's time to address the harsh reality.
Commanders' lack of player development is a collective issue that must be addressed
After Year 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft class, it's an unimpressive group, and 106.7 The Fan's Tobi Altizer is letting Peters hear it.
"The reason you're in the spot you're in right now, it's because you had six top 100 picks in your first draft and you maybe only hit on one of them. That's how you end up in a spot where you go from the NFC Championship game with an older roster, to now, that old roster that you brought back got injured and you had no one to fill in."Tobi Altizer via 106.7 The Fan
Those six picks mentioned were as follows: QB Jayden Daniels (No. 2), DL Johnny Newton (No. 36), CB Mike Sainristil (No. 50), TE Ben Sinnott (No. 53), OT Brandon Coleman (No. 67), and WR Luke McCaffrey (No. 100).
The Commanders' struggles raise questions about their draft strategy. With multiple high picks, did they truly capitalize? Missed opportunities and lack of young player development may be hindering their progress. #NFLDraft #Commanders #NFL pic.twitter.com/LmTXDqcNVa
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) January 19, 2026
As it stands, Newton, Sinnott, and Coleman are backups. McCaffrey was coming into his own before he suffered a season-ending injury, and Sainristil has been up and down. Daniels, the only stud from the class, couldn't stay healthy in Year 2 while Drake Maye, who was picked right behind him, flourished.
It's not great.
Some of this is on Peters, but Quinn and his staff must also take their share of responsibility for not giving the youngsters enough chances to develop, as Altizer points out. Particularly down the stretch, when the season was lost, the kids needed to be on the field more.
All in all, the Commanders' 2024 draft class is looking like a Grade A case study in roster mismanagement. Washington had better hope the group can turn the narrative around, and that Peters' future picks fare better.
Otherwise, his seat might start warming up in a hurry.