What do Chase Young's, Montez Sweat's trades mean for Commanders future?

Not too long after the Washington Commanders traded defensive end Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears, they sent defensive end Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday. The Commanders will receive a 2024 third-round pick in exchange for Young, per Schefter. That pick tackles on to the 2024 second-round pick that […]

Kelsey Kramer — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Oct 31, 2023 3:27 PM EDT

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris — Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Commanders will receive a 2024 third-round pick in exchange for Young, per Schefter.

That pick tackles on to the 2024 second-round pick that they received in exchange for Sweat earlier today.

Trade II: Washington is dealing DE Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick, per sources.

On the trade deadline day, Washington now has moved on from Young and Montez Sweat, once viewed as foundational players.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2023

Thanks to these two trades, the Commanders now have five total draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, per Field Yates of ESPN.

Yates also notes that this is a first for the franchise.

Considering that the Commanders are en route to a full-on rebuild next year, these picks could come in handy for trading up in next year's draft.

Since the start of the Common Draft Era, the Washington franchise has *never* made 5 picks in the first 3 rounds of a draft.

The draft is a long ways from right now, but the team is already up to 5 picks in the first 3 rounds and has flexibility as it reshapes its roster.…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 31, 2023

The pair of blockbuster trades also signals that the Commanders may consider "cleaning house" and moving on from Ron Rivera and his coaching staff.

Washington hasn't actually won in the playoffs since they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-10 in the 2005 NFC wild-card round. Rivera was able to get them to the playoffs following the 2020 regular season, but they ended up falling to the Bucs 31-23. They haven't seen the playoffs since.

And with a 3-5 record midway through the 2023 season, it doesn't look like the playoffs are on the horizon for them this year either.

With two of their top defenders out the door and more draft picks in their back pocket for 2024, a new Commanders era under owner Josh Harris has officially kicked off.