Commanders draft regrade exposes another Ron Rivera failure fans can leave behind

Back before the trio of Josh Harris, Adam Peters, and Dan Quinn put the Washington Commanders back on the map, the franchise was plagued with the many miscues of Ron Rivera's roster constuction.

What a difference a few years can make.

Those failures weren't easy to see or quantify immediately. In hindsight, drafting Chase Young and Jamin Davis were mistakes by Rivera. But in 2022, there was still hope that the team was a few players away from being contenders.

In what was ultimately Dan Snyder's last season as owner, the Commanders entered the 2022 draft with eight picks. After the draft, many, including CBS Sports, gave Washington's draft a B+, but upon regrading, that dropped to an F.

Commanders 2022 draft became one of many eventual disasters from Ron Rivera

Jahan Dotson was labeled as a wide receiver who would provide juice in the passing game. After a rookie season where he had seven touchdown catches, he quickly fell out of favor and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick. A steal of a return for Adam Peters when you look at what other receivers have been traded for recently.

Phidarian Mathis was supposed to fortify Washington's star-studded defensive line, which always found a way to underperform. He was aligned to be the heir to Daron Payne. It didn't work out.

Payne is still with the team. Mathis, after missing most of his rookie year, started zero games for the Commanders before being waived. He finished with a grand total of two tackles for loss and one fumble recovery across 23 contests.  

The jury is still out on Brian Robinson Jr. After suffering a gunshot wound in an attempted carjacking, which resulted in the running back missing the early stages of his rookie campaign, he finished with just under 800 rushing yards. He has remained fairly consistent over the last two seasons, but the Commanders drafted Jacory Croskey-Merritt to provide extra competition.

Sam Howell ended up starting 17 games in 2023, going 4-13. He led the league in interceptions (21) and sacks (65) before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks along with a fourth and sixth rounder for a third and fifth rounder. Peters knows how to clean up the mess that Rivera left behind.

Cole Turner was used right away, finishing the 2022 season with two receptions for 23 receiving yards. He started one game in 2023, before not seeing the field in 2024.

Percy Butler and Chris Paul have both played for Washington and made minor contributions. Both are considered potential cuts before Week 1.

The foundation left by the old regime was not much to build from for Peters, but I'm sure the fanbase is fine taking an F on the 2022 draft. Along with a plethora of other mistakes, this led to the team landing Jayden Daniels.

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