We've officially reached the week of the 2025 NFL Draft and man, does it feel good.

In just a few days, Cam Ward will officially be a Tennessee Titan and we'll have fresh topics of conversation surrounding the other 31 teams, as well. It's a brand new chapter in the latest edition of an NFL offseason and it'll be fun to see how the rookie class contributes to the upcoming season.

The Washington Commanders currently have five picks heading into the draft after trading for the likes of Marshon Lattimore, Deebo Samuel, and Laremy Tunsil. All three players figure to play crucial roles in helping Jayden Daniels and Co. take another step after reaching the NFC Championship Game last year. On top of that, the Commanders could still use plenty of help even after a successful free agency period.

So, with that being said, let's conduct one last final mock draft and try to figure out exactly who those guys will be when the Commanders submit their picks in a few days.

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Round 1, No. 29 overall: Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College Golden Eagles

Yes, I'm doubling down. My first Commanders mock draft had them taking Donny E. at No. 29 and so does this one. It just makes too much sense.

The Commanders signed Javon Kinlaw in free agency and they're hoping he can help shore up a below-average run defense. They also added Deatrich Wise, who brings some pass rush juice to the table, but isn't a guy teams game plan around. The same goes for the rest of the Commanders' pass rushers, who are solid, but aren't game-wreckers. They aren't even the type of player Dante Fowler Jr. is, which removes a wrinkle from Dan Quinn's and Joe Whitt Jr.'s pass rush strategy.

Ezeiruaku doesn't have the size of Fowler Jr., but he has everything else in terms of athleticism, length, hustle, and versatility. He also has strong character traits, which are Adam Peters' and Quinn's utmost priority. Going back to the size thing: Ezeiruaku could nearly reach Fowler Jr.'s size if he puts on about 10-12 pounds. So we're not talking about something too major at the end of the day.

Regardless, Ezeiruaku would certainly give the Commanders a pass rusher that can come in on passing downs and get after the quarterback. The best part about Ezeiruaku's game is he has a variety of effective moves that should allow him to get off to a nice start as a rookie. Fowler Jr. played 52% of defensive snaps in 2024, also, so it's not like Ezeiruaku would be expected to play a full-time role in the first place. That'll help his development in the long run and he definitely has the ability to turn into a full-time player on the edge.

Honorable mentions: WR Emeka Egbuka, EDGE Nic Scourton, S Nick Emmanwori

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Round 2, No. 61 overall: Nohl Williams, CB, California Golden Bears

One of the issues the Commanders coaching staff talked about all year long was forcing more takeaways – especially when it comes to interceptions. 

Well, consider that to the point where it's a "problem solved" status if Williams can translate his production to the NFL.

Ball hawking is Williams' speciality, as he led the FBS with seven interceptions in 2024 and logged 14 total over his four-year career at Cal. He doesn't have elite length, size, or athleticism, but it's all sufficient enough to where he can succeed in the NFL. Outside forcing takeaways, Williams is very instinctive, has a high football IQ, and plays physical at 6-foot, 199-pounds.

Better yet for the Commanders: Williams is best when playing man-to-man and he's also adept in Cover 3, which is what Quinn and Whitt Jr. ran the most in 2024. That's unlikely to change in 2025 and beyond, as well.

And lastly, he has plenty of special teams experience and can return kicks if needed.

So, he's a ballhawk, he's smart, he's physical, he can play man-to-man, and he's willing to play teams. That just screams "Commander" to me, at the end of the day.

Honorable mentions: WR Jalen Royals, RB Jordan James, S Jonas Sanker

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Round 4, No. 128 overall (from Houston): Jaylen Reed, S, Penn State

Reed's enforcer mentality and physical play style is perfect for the Commanders defense and those are two of the main traits Quinn looks for in his players. The soon-to-be former Nittany Lion is also very versatile and athletic. He can pay in both single-high and split-safety concepts, line up in the slot, blitz off the edge, and defend the run.

The Commanders could use another hard-hitting safety that can also cover after adding Will Harris in the offseason. Harris will play a big role in 2025 and even 2026, but we all know how Quinn likes to use three safeties more than most teams. Adding a guy like Reed would really allow him and Whitt Jr. to mix up their looks on the back end and across the defense as a whole.

The biggest flaws in Reed's game are his eye discipline and the fact he can be too aggressive at times, which can cause him to miss tackles, overrun gaps, and blow coverages. However, if there's a coaching staff that can get him to reel all that in and play disciplined, it's this one.

Honorable mentions: RB Ollie Neal, WR Tez Johnson

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Round 6, No. 205 overall: Jaydon Blue, RB, Texas Longhorns

Blue is an undersized back that will never be a bell cow in the NFL. That's totally fine though, because he's as dynamic as they come and can take one to the house at any moment.

That's exactly what the Commanders' backfield needs. They returned literally all four running backs from last year and all four played well when called upon (outside of injury). None of them possess the game-breaking ability Blue has in his arsenal, however, and the fact all four backs are back allows Kliff Kingsbury to deploy Blue in more-advantageous situations that take advantage of his skill set.

The Commanders have shown a lot of interest in running backs in this draft, but I'm not sure if they'll be able to scoop one before Round 6 when basing things off how the board may fall. They were content waiting until Round 3 to take a tackle last year based off the board/who they liked as prospects, so there's zero reason to think they wouldn't play the waiting game again, here, in 2025.

Honorable mentions: CB Zah Frazier, WR Dont'e Thorton Jr., iOL Joe Huber

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Round 7, No. 245 overall: Adin Huntington, DL, Tulane Green Wave

Once you get to this point, it's mostly about traits, tools, and talent. Huntington is a guy who can play up and down the line in certain contexts and he showed a knack for getting to the quarterback, racking up 15.5 sacks in 47 games over the course of his college career. 

He'll certainly have to impress in order to win a roster spot and that won't be easy considering the veteran presence along the Commanders defensive line. However, he'll get every chance possible and if he can optimize his athleticism and non-stop motor then he definitely has a chance at making the 53, or at least the practice squad, in 2025.

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Final word

The Commanders leaned into the offensive side of the ball last year by selecting four guys in the first six picks. This year, Quinn gets to balance things out a little by going 3/3 on defense and then using the last pick on a defender to make it 4/5 picks on that side of the ball.

And that's not the strategy – it's simply based off best players available and needs on each side of the ball. The Commanders offense looks pretty set after adding Tunsil and Samuel, but the defense still has a lot of holes to fill. So, it makes a lot of sense for Peters to fortify the defense and obviously Quinn has no issue with that since he's a defensive mind.

Commanders land defensive game-wrecker in the first mock draft after the initial wave of NFL free agency

The Washington Commanders were very busy during the first wave of free agency and as a result, the plans for the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft are a lot clearer. As it currently stands, the following picks are where the Commanders are set to pick in the draft: Round 1, No. 29 overall Round 2, No. […]