What the NFL Draft Told Us About Dan Quinn’s Real Plan for the Commanders

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

What the NFL Draft Told Us About Dan Quinn’s Real Plan for the Commanders

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By Caleb Skinner | Last updated Apr 30, 2026 1:00 PM ET

Modern analytics have thrust us into being in favor of positional value obsession and taking the best player available when the opportunity arises. However, the 2026 NFL Draft was all but that, with teams more so focusing on their immediate needs and not looking at how draftees have been scouted from a consensus point of view.

The Washington Commanders' draft was a departure from what we have seen in the past, focusing not necessarily on needs but providing a clear window into Dan Quinn's new philosophy in favor of raw talent, high-ceiling athleticism, and versatility across the board, with player value also playing a prominent role when it came to making their selections.

Positionless Football

Quinn's unique direction is essentially calling for a "positionless" type of player on both sides of the ball, similar to what we have seen in recent years in the NBA, all to counter the modern NFL's continued reliance on schematic mismatches.

While the Commanders' average Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of their rookie class was one of the worst in the league, the athletic ceiling of the players is higher than most as long as their development continues to take shape.

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Players like Sonny Styles and Joshua Josephs are the two standout athletes of the class, but we could also see Kaytron Allen and Antonio Williams continue to grow in this department. Styles is the prototype for the definition of "positionless" as a cross between a safety and a linebacker; he is a freak that can easily erase mismatches.

IQ & Production

All of the Commanders' draft picks have been extremely solid producers at the collegiate level, and with it, will bring an extra level of football knowledge. That high football IQ will help with their raw talent levels, which will still need to be honed to become the players who can contribute to the team sooner rather than later.

Parting Words

The overall plan seemed to be to attack players with production, high-athletic ceilings, and high football IQs. Acquiring players with these plus traits, it ensures that they can dominate within their roles on the roster rather than being limited by schemes or being asked to do too much too soon.

The rookie class might not solve all the issues that plagued the Commanders this past season, but it does provide Quinn with the exact type of players to continue building on this new era of football in DMV.

This article first appeared on Washington Commanders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: