Commanders brass quiet on No. 2 pick as draft draws near

General manager Adam Peters on Thursday took a little mystery out of the Washington Commanders’ plans for next week’s No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, telling reporters the team has essentially ruled out trading down.

Some NFL analysts had suggested the Commanders would consider trading the second overall pick for a haul, but Peters said not to count on it.

“We feel great about staying at No. 2,” Peters said. “I don’t see a whole lot of scenarios trading down.”

At a press conference with assistant general manager Lance Newmark, Peters said the team, in the market for a quarterback, is still evaluating the signal-callers expected to be available with the second pick.  

“You don’t really need to make a decision until you need to make a decision,” the first-year general manager said. “So there’s no rush with that, but I think we’ll have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing next week.”

This offseason is crucial for the rebuilding Commanders, who opened their new era with the most cap space in the NFL and six picks in the first three rounds of next week’s draft.

The franchise was active in free agency, adding more than a dozen players to a roster in flux. Peters and Newmark said that activity has helped them narrow their focus as they approach the draft. 

“It allowed us to have more freedom in the draft to go various different directions rather than need, need, need,” Newmark said of the free agency period. “It really allowed us to blend need and talent.”

The sportsbooks see LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, as most likely to be taken by Washington on Thursday, but the Commanders have kept their options open by scouting several candidates throughout the process.

“In talking to coaches and executives around the league, they’re overwhelmingly convinced that Jayden Daniels is going to be the pick there at No. 2,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. 

The Commanders raised eyebrows this week when they hosted four quarterbacks simultaneously for predraft visits. Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. toured the facility, then were taken out for a trip to TopGolf.

Peters said he has hosted groups of prospects in the past, and, despite the media speculation, welcoming quarterbacks was no different. 

“It’s very beneficial to see everybody in a more relaxed environment,” Peters said. “They all got a lot of time individually … got a great blend of that and then working with everybody together in one environment.” 

While their on-field abilities matter, Peters said he’s looking for a quarterback who can inspire his teammates and lead the organization into the future. 

Collaboration is a recurring theme under the new regime — Peters continued to highlight teamwork during Thursday’s press conference, which opened with six minutes of gratitude from the general manager.

He thanked “everybody in the DMV,” while calling out dozens of people in the organization, from top-level scouts in the personnel department to workers in the team’s kitchen. The 44-year-old even thanked his mother-in-law, who helped move his family from California to the D.C. area. 

“It takes the whole organization to do something like this. I appreciate that,” Peters, a former scout, said.

Though the general manager said he’s welcomed input from scouts, analysts and coaches, the final decision belongs to him and Quinn. 

In a change for the organization, new Washington owner Josh Harris was not heavily involved in the draft process, Peters said. Disgruntled former coaches complained that ex-owner Dan Snyder would dictate the team’s draft strategy. 

“Josh’s involvement has been extremely supportive and he’s been there to provide for us, but that’s pretty much the end of it,” Peters said. “He’s really been awesome in just letting us do what we do and being supportive.”

Whomever Peters and Quinn select with the No. 2 pick could change the trajectory of the long-struggling franchise. The Commanders haven’t won a playoff game since 2005. Any path toward national relevance starts with the right quarterback. 

“It’s huge. He’s got a massive decision in front of him starting with his very first pick,” Jeremiah said. “That’s a lot of pressure. … Right away you’ve got to make a call in the quarterback position and make sure that you get that right.”

Peters says he understands the pressure, but it’s nothing new. Washington’s general manager was part of San Francisco’s front office when it traded up to the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft to select quarterback Trey Lance.

“Do we look stressed?” Peters jokingly asked reporters. “There is a lot of pressure. It’s a great responsibility and we take this very seriously … but that’s what we signed up for.”