Everyone knew this was going to be a challenging draft for the Washington Commanders due to the fact Adam Peters and Co. came into the weekend without second- or fourth-round picks.

The first two days worth of picks featured a home run in Sonny Styles and an encouraging, but questionable pick in Antonio Williams.

Meaning, the Commanders needed to try and find an impact player on Day 3, even without a fourth-round pick. That’s hard enough as-is, so how did Peters’ efforts grade out on Day 3 of the draft?

What are the Commanders’ Day 3 draft grades after their final pick?

Round 5, No. 147: Joshua Josephs, EDGE, Tennessee

Josephs is a long, explosive pass rusher that has a lot of potential to become a solid, designated pass rusher. He has no shame in sticking his nose in the run game and setting the edge, either.

Josephs’ biggest issues are he plays out of control and he’s more of a “tweener”, which could make it hard for him to carve out a consistent role.

The Commanders invested heavily in the pass rush during free agency by signing Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency. Plus, Dorance Armstrong is on the roster. If Josephs can find his way onto the field, it means he’s showing enough to the Commanders coaching staff where he deserves snaps over those established players.

It won’t be easy to crack the rotation, but the Commanders’ pass rush will be in very, very good shape if he does. Still, there’s a lot to improve, as well, and that holds the grade back just a bit.

Grade: B

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Round 6, No. 187: Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State

The Commanders might have one of the NFL’s most physical running back rooms after the Allen addition. He’s built well at 5-foot-11, 218 pounds and shows plenty of promise as an inside runner.

College production was no issue for Allen, as he amassed over 4,000 rushing yards and 43 total touchdowns. He never ran for less than five yards per carry in a season, either, topping out with a career-high 6.2 yards per carry in 2025. Allen is also good in pass pro, which can definitely help him make the 53-man roster.

Allen is limited to a power runner and that’s fine. He’s not a home run threat, which the Commanders still need. He should be able to work his way up the depth chart and challenge for some carries in 2026.

Grade: C+

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Round 6, No. 209: Matt Gulbin, C, Michigan State

The Commanders need someone to come in and challenge Nick Allegretti for the center job and Gulbin appears to be that guy after getting taken at No. 209.

But can a sixth-round rookie center really come in and make a case for a starting job during his first training camp? Especially one that’s as limited as Gulbin?

The key with Gulbin is he has plenty of starting experience at both guard positions and at center. However, the Commanders are pretty set at guard with Sam Cosmi and Chris Paul.

Either way, Gulbin is a smart player, but that only takes you so far in the NFL. He’ll really need to improve his technique if he wants to make an early impact. The good news is he’s coming off the best year of his career, so the arrow is pointing up.

Grade: C

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Round 7, No. 223: Athan Kaliakmanis, QB Rutgers

I honestly have no clue what the Commanders are doing with their last pick. They had zero need for a quarterback and still had needs at both corner and safety. Yet, they went with Kaliakmanis instead.

Kaliakmanis had a great 2025 season and he has the physical tools to make a roster. However, it’s still widely unknown if his accuracy and decision-making have permanently improved or if he caught lightning in a bottle last year.

Still, it was completely unnecessary, even in the middle of the seventh round.

Grade: D

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Final word

It’s tough to feel good about what the Commanders did on Day 3, especially when considering Peters ignored big needs at corner and safety and instead drafted an EDGE, RB, and QB into already-crowded rooms.

The biggest question with the Commanders’ Day 3 selections is when will these guys see the field? They’ve all been put in spots where they have legitimate competition at their respective positions and they won’t be the favorites to win any jobs simply based on draft status.

Yes, the Commanders didn’t have a fourth-rounder, so the chances of hitting a steal was even harder than it already is. Still, you’d like to point to at least one guy and think “Hey, he has a shot”, but that’s simply not the case, here.

There are still more questions than answers and the vision for each player isn’t very clear. That’s not a successful day, in my opinion.

Final Day 3 Grade: C