The Washington Commanders dropped to 3-10 after a blowout to the Minnesota Vikings, in a game where they might as well have stayed at home.

This season has shown all of the roster flaws from top to bottom, with Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin missing a lot of time with injuries. The upcoming offseason is the most important one in the Adam Peters and Dan Quinn era, and some would call it a make-or-break offseason.

They wouldn’t be wrong. The Commanders have more roster needs than you can count, and they need the best draft pick possible for a chance at improvement. The outcome this weekend will have major implications for where the Commanders pick in April.

The Commanders vs Giants outcome will shake up the draft

As things stand right now, the New York Giants have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but it’s a close race right behind them. The Giants are 2-11, along with two other teams, and there are five teams sitting at 3-10, with the Commanders being included.

A Commanders win would send them to 4-10, and down the draft board depending on the outcome of other games, and a loss would skyrocket them to a higher pick at 3-11. They’d have the same record as the Giants, but they currently hold a lower SOS, which would give them the advantage in any tiebreakers. The lower the Commanders’ SOS is, the better.

The race for a top-5 pick will be a close call

The Commanders are still outside the top-5, despite having a 3-10 record, mostly because of how bad the other teams are as well. They’re currently underdogs against the Giants, and this is likely the last game they have a chance of winning, with the Cowboys and Eagles twice as the last three games to end the season.

The Giants and the New Orleans Saints are the only teams the Commanders have a real chance of jumping, unless the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Cleveland Browns steal a shocking win with tough remaining schedules. There’s a path for the Commanders to land a top-2 pick, but there’s also a chance they could lose out and still land the No. 5 overall pick with others losing out as well.

The Commanders need the highest draft pick possible to trade back

The Commanders are more than just one player away from being a competitive team again, and of course, free agency comes first, and it’s just as important. They still need to land a top-5 pick to trade back from, and the higher the pick, the better. Of course, you need a trade partner, and teams will be looking for a new quarterback in that top-3 range this draft season.

Peters only has six picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, and doesn’t have a second-round pick after trading for Laremy Tunsil last offseason. The best chance to land players who are hits on the roster is by taking more swings with more picks. There are plenty of games that can impact the draft order, but the Commanders and Giants matchup is the biggest one this week.

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