Did the Washington Commanders basically trade Cooper DeJean for a second round pick?
The Washington Commanders made a very savvy trade on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. It surprisingly involved the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles and it's safe to say the Commanders got a nice haul out of the deal.The Eagles trade picks Nos. 50, 53, and 161 in exchange for Nos. 40 and 78 from […]
The Washington Commanders made a very savvy trade on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. It surprisingly involved the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles and it's safe to say the Commanders got a nice haul out of the deal.
The Eagles trade picks Nos. 50, 53, and 161 in exchange for Nos. 40 and 78 from the Commanders. In all, Washington nets a +23 margin, per Rich Hill's draft trade value chart, which is the equivalent of pick No. 125, typically a fourth-rounder.
Again, it's a haul and it's intriguing to know why Philly paid so much. For instance, the Panthers traded just two fifth round picks to move up from No. 52 to No. 46. The Rams traded a fifth-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder to move up from 52 to 39. The Falcons traded a third-rounder (No. 79) to move up from 43 to 35 – they also received a sixth-rounder, in return.
Not only did the Commanders receive an extra second-rounder in this year's draft, they received two within just three spots of each other.
And, the Eagles took Cooper DeJean, a guy who made a lot of sense for the Commanders, with the 40th pick.
Which begs the figurative question: Did the Commanders essentially trade DeJean in order to move back in the draft?
One would think the Commanders would take DeJean if he were even on their board, at that point. But if the Eagles wanted him bad enough to offer this kind of deal, it'd make sense for Washington to drop back and get a guy they may have rated close to DeJean – yet they know he'll still be available, later.
We'll see what happens at 50 and 53, but right now, on the surface, this is a very shrewd trade by Commanders GM Adam Peters and there's a good chance he makes it even better by picking two very good fits.
Update: Sure enough, Washington took DB Mike Sainristil with the 50th pick, who was labeled as a perfect draft target by us and is objectively a better fit. Peters took H-back Ben Sinnott at 53, which is also a very good pick. He knocked this trade out of the park.
