The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.

The Washington Commanders' "Drive to the Draft" podcast has spent the last month ranking each position in the 2026 NFL Draft. Running back is a possibility for the Commanders throughout the draft, and co-hosts Logan Paulsen and Jason Johnson broke down their best players at the position.

Seth McGowan | Kentucky

• "I think he's got this athletic juice to him. You cut the tape on and he's got a little bit of a not a clunky running style, but kind of an Isaiah Pacheco, like 'I'm attacking the ground with my feet" running style. He can throw his foot in the ground and make a cut in a small area. I think he does a good job of setting up blocks. There is a little bit of like 'I'm trying for the home run' a little bit too much, but when you look at the athlete, the size, he's 6-foot, 221 pounds. He ran a 4.47 at the combine. He had a 41-inch vertical. He killed it, and all those explosive metrics show up for me."

Eli Heidenreich | Navy

• "At Navy, he kind of played that wing back. I think the thing with him that really comes to the forefront for me is that he catches the ball exceptionally well. He can run true receiver routes; he can wind up in the backfield; he can run choices; he can run angle routes. He adjusts the football well down the field. He just feels like a really good mismatch weapon. He is competitively very tough. You watch him in the Navy offense, and he's willing to block in space and willing to block as a pass protector. He's blocking as a tight end, sometimes with his hand on the ground. He's leading as a fullback, and that physical toughness and character is something that I get fired up for. And so that, coupled with the pass game upside, coupled with the role, I think he's probably a special teams or maybe third-down back at the start, but I think can grow into more as you move."

Jonah Coleman | Washington

• "He's big and he's strong. His 2024 film, I think, is better than his 2025 film personally. He's built and he's a tough tackle, but I felt like there were times where he wasn't a tough tackle, He's kind of getting exactly what's blocked. He's finding the right hole. I think Jonah Coleman is a good third-down back with upside as a pass protector in the pass game. I think he can get better as a runner. I think he can grow into more."

Kaelon Black | Indiana

• "He just runs like an absolute psychopath. He runs so hard. I think he's twitched up. Watching him at the Senior Bowl and pass protection, he was competitive in the one-on-one pass protection drills, which definitely favors the defense. I thought as a route runner, because he didn't get to do this a lot in Indiana, he showed us some nice twitch and double stick and burst, and I think he's got a pretty good feel for vision. He's an older prospect for sure, but I really like him."

Emmett Johnson | Nebraska

• "I think he does a lot of stuff well. I think he's got good short area quickness. I think he's a tough tackle. I think he does that jitterbug kind of 'make-you-miss' in the hole. I think he catches the football pretty good. And this is one of those for me where it's like the feel is good, and he catches the ball well. He can make people miss but doesn't have that like knockout home run power or a home run ability."

Kaytron Allen | Penn State

• "He is the definition of a singles and doubles hitter. I'm not sure there's a better runner in this top five category for me who has a better feel for setting up blocks and a better natural feel for how the run is breaking down. Imagine the most solid player you could think of. That's what he is. He's just incredibly, incredibly solid."

Nicholas Singleton | Penn State

• "He's incredibly strong. I think he's got a decent feel. I think he's explosive. I think he runs hard. I think he gets downhill, and I think he brings that element to your offense that you're always hunting for with the running back position. He can hit a home run. He's a big guy, he runs well, runs hard. I think he's got decent vision."

Jadarian Price | Notre Dame

• "I see a guy with some good vision. I think he's got some explosive play ability. He's not maybe as explosive as I think a lot of people thought in terms of his testing numbers, but he's got good vision. I think he runs really well, nice and square. People hit him flush, and he's able to break those things. He's got the vision, the feel for the run with pressing and setting up blocks, and that's why he's No. 3 for me.

Mike Washington Jr. | Arkansas

• "I could not unsee Derrick Henry with him. He's 6-1½, weighed like 226 and ran a 4.33. He is the perfect outside zone runner, just like Derrick Henry. And his ability to make that one cut and then just hit that gear and break the sound barrier as he punches through the defensive line and linebacker level is impressive. He's a big man and an explosive player, and his ability at that size to hit a home run is crazy to me."

Jeremiyah Love | Notre Dame

• "In some ways, I think I'm more excited about him than Bijan [Robinson], and I'll tell you why. He is just a crazy horse man. He's a stallion. You get him a little bit of runway, and he will run through you; he'll run over you; he'll make you miss. That ability, that one cut, Jeremiyah Love does that. He's got a little jiggle to it, a little wiggle in terms of his feet, and he's got like the home run gasoline. Then you watch him run routes, and there were times where he's lined up at receiver running receiver routes, running inside release, corners, vertical stems with a double stick at the top, and I was like, 'Holy cow. that's everything you're looking for.'"