The first draft pick under the new regime of the Washington Commanders, spearheaded by general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn, will be an ultra-important one.
Washington holds the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the expectation is that the team will select its next franchise quarterback. Quinn told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network at the NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend that “it’d be fair to envision we’d be taking a quarterback.” Quinn, however, didn’t confirm if it would happen with pick No. 2.
“I would say it’d be fair to envision we’d be taking a quarterback,” Quinn said. “To say where it’ll be happening, I think that’s a better question for Adam. As the next weeks unfold there’ll be a lot of discussion, and that’s why we’ve had a great trip out seeing some guys, we’ll do that some more in the weeks ahead, but I’ve enjoyed that process with Adam, and going through it. He’s somebody that is an absolute expert at this position, what it looks like, where to go, and so going through that process has been really cool.”
Peters has been busy in his first offseason reshaping the Commanders, signing veterans Austin Ekeler, Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner among others. Washington traded 2023 starting quarterback Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks and signed Marcus Mariota in free agency. That leaves Mariota and Jake Fromm as the only quarterbacks on the roster.
Which QB will Commanders select in 2024 NFL Draft?
With the Chicago Bears all but guaranteed to select USC’s Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, both North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels should be available to the Commanders at No. 2. But according to Pelissero, a different name has been linked to Washington: Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.
“It’s been really interesting, because everybody is always trying to figure out — especially at the top of the draft — what the other teams are doing,” Pelissero said. “When I’ve had conversations here with executives for other teams who know Adam Peters well, know the situation well, the most popular answer for what they do at No. 2 is J.J. McCarthy. So, a lot of drama still to come.”
Quinn didn’t offer any clues as to which way the team is leaning, saying they “still have a lot of work to do into that space.”
“I still have a lot of work to do into that space,” Quinn said. “Adam’s way further ahead from going through it, but we really dug in hard on our own team, and then the free agent process. And now as we’re getting finalized and on the draft side of things, we still have more visits, people to come in, it’s been more time. So, I’d say we’re getting closer, but to say we’re there yet, not yet.”
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