The Washington Commanders built a solid foundation in 2024. Dan Quinn and Adam Peters drafted, curated, and created an environment that took the scattered pieces it had and formed them into a cohesive unit that performed far better than anyone anticipated. Both Peters and Quinn would tell you that they did not expect this level of success in their first season, but that’s exactly what happened.
On top of being so successful in 2024, they also have the third-largest amount of capital to spend in 2025 to solidify their weakest spots and make another run at the Super Bowl next season. That’s why many are pointing to the Commanders as a top spot for Myles Garrett to land, but the Commanders could also choose to answer the run defense question in the draft.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com released his first mock draft this week, and he has the Commanders selecting edge rusher James Pearce out of Tennessee with the 29th overall pick.
Washington Commanders – James Pearce Jr.
Tennessee · Edge · Junior
Washington needs as many impact defenders as it can find, and edge rusher is high on the priority list. Pearce is a leggy, loose rusher with some burst.
Now, Edholm likely created this prior to Garrett’s trade request, but even so, the Commanders could very well choose to leave Garrett out there for someone else and answer their questions in the draft. They drafted very well in 2024 and there’s no reason to think it will be different in 2025.