Commanders honor Bobby Beathard with new draft room

“It was amazing. It was overwhelming. It was just wonderful,” said Christine Beathard, Bobby’s wife. “It was like having somebody really appreciate what Bobby was.”

This room was built as more than just a workspace. It’s a lasting tribute to Beathard’s team-building genius and the culture he fostered during his tenure. Under his leadership, Washington reached four Super Bowls, won three Lombardi trophies, and laid the foundation for several Hall of Fame careers.

“Shoot, if we're half as good as him, we'll be alright,” general manager Adam Peters joked during the ceremony.

The new draft room reinforces the principles he believed in: collaborative scouting, character-first evaluation, and trusting the team around him. That spirit is one the Commanders hope to carry forward into a new era of football.

“Building teams in the past isn't really any different than the way it is right now,” said Jeff Beathard, Bobby’s son and a current Commanders scout. “You're still going out evaluating football players. You're hiring good scouts that can go out and identify good players that fit the type of culture you want.”

The room is full of meaningful photos, memorabilia, and personal touches, many of them showing Bobby smiling, laughing, and connecting with those around him. It reflects not just his football acumen but also the warmth and joy he brought to the game.

“People write stories, and they write about what he's done, but that room made me think people understood that he was so much more than a good GM,” Christine Beathard said. “So many of the pictures, he was smiling or laughing… he embraces virtually everybody he meets.”

Beathard's passion for football was never just about winning — it was about relationships. One quote, now displayed prominently in the room next to his Pro Football Hall of Fame bust, reads:

“Football is my whole life. It's all I've ever wanted to do… If I had a lot of money and I didn't have to work, I'd still want to do this.”

Jeff Beathard explained how his father led with humility and empowerment:

“He knew he couldn't do all this on his own, so he surrounded himself with the right people in the right spots… He wanted to hear everything, and then that's how he would make decisions. But it was just a complete, ‘let's work and build and do all this whole process together.’”

The event itself became a living embodiment of the values Bobby Beathard cherished. Every scout was in attendance. So were head coach Dan Quinn, general manager Adam Peters, Senior vice president Lance Newmark, who got his NFL start under Beathard with the Chargers, and Managing Partner Josh Harris. Even the youngest members of the Beathard family played nearby, filling the room with joy, laughter, and legacy.

“Having everybody together in that real fun way, that was Bobby,” Christine said. “I know that he was there in the room when we were there.”

The Commanders now have a new draft room built for the future, but grounded in the values, leadership, and humility of a legend who helped define the team’s greatest era. The name on the wall is more than just a tribute. It's a daily reminder of how greatness is built together.