The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.
The path to the NFL Draft is just starting, and Washington Commanders analyst Logan Paulsen is already hard at work evaluating prospects. Here are his thoughts about some of the players connected to Washington by the national media.
Keldric Faulk, DE, Auburn
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 285
2025 stats: 29 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FR, 4 PBUs
Paulsen's take: "This was a really interesting journey I took with Keldric Faulk. He's not this player, but in terms of body type, I got very strong Julius Peppers vibes. In Auburn's defense, he plays a wide nine technique, so outside the tackle. He plays a five technique, which is tight to the tackle's outside shoulder. He plays a '4i technique,' which is inside the tackle, three technique and there's even some pass rush reps for him at nose guard. So, he's very versatile in the front, and the thing that sticks out to me above all else is his hand usage is excellent. You see these guys that are 6-6 or 6-7, and they don't always use their length the best. I feel like he uses his length really, really well. He's got a natural kind of basketball athleticism to him ... He just turned 20 at the beginning of the month, so he is a puppy ... I didn't like him at the beginning, and then the more I watched him, I was like, 'This guy could be an absolute stud.'"
David Bailey, LB, Texas Tech
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 250
2025 stats: 52 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 3 FFs, 1 FR, 3 PBUs
Paulsen's take: "When you talk about pass rush juice, this dude has it. He's got the long arm; he's got the power; he understands angles; he's got a nice spin move. He's a little stiff, but he has enough athleticism to bend and work the corner. I wish we had the advanced speed metric stuff to know what his actual get-off time was, because there's times when it looks like he's shot out of a cannon. Me personally, I don't think there's a better pass-rusher that I have watched so far in this class. There's a reason I get excited about him. You feel him every time he's on the field."
Rueben Bain Jr. DE, Miami
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 275
2025 stats: 46 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 PBU
Paulsen's take: "The first time I watched Rueben Bain, I was like, 'Nah, not for me.' I just didn't see anything from him. All of the things Bain does well -- the physicality, the pop, the snap, the angles on the rush -- it just wasn't there. But Bain is incredibly impressive. The more I watched him, I just slowly started falling in love with him. He's not a super traditional pass-rusher on the edge. He's got shorter arms, kind of a squatty build ... but again, the more you watch him, I think the thing that sticks out to me is he does a couple subtle things really well. With Bain, the thing he does better than anyone that I've seen in the last couple of years is his angles on the rush are excellent. A lot of immature, inexperienced pass-rushers will try to run away from the tackles. They kind of run straight up the field, or they run right at the tackle. He does a great job of kind of setting his angle off the tackle's outside foot. So, he's stretching the tackle vertically. If the tackle is short, he does this great job of this chop and rip, and he's decent enough on the dip to get around that thing."
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 205
2025 stats: 68 tackles, 1 sack, 2 FFs, 2 INTs, 1 PBU
Paulsen's take: "This dude's a stud. Of the players I've watched, he has the highest grade that I've given out so far. Dude's a machine, man. He is a 'football-playing Johnny' in the purest sense of the word. As a nickel, he will come down and absolutely obliterate you on the tackle. Caleb Downs will come knock your face off. He knows how to blitz; he can fit runs; he stays incredibly square in man coverage. He plays with great strength ... To me, he feels like the perfect buffalo nickel hybrid linebacker, and I think about all the issues Washington's had with nickel players here. I would die if that dude came here. He's smart, instinctual, downhill, attacks the football."
Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 195
2025 stats: 51 receptions, 875 yards, 9 TDs
Paulsen's take: "I definitely think he's a first-round player. I'm having a hard time categorizing him. To be fair, I've always had a hard time categorizing Ohio State wide receivers because they're just so much better. The offense is so much better; the team is so much better than a lot of guys they play against. He's tall, so a big guy, good frame, a little bit of a long strider. I don't see this great short-area burst with him. He is a kind of 'build up speed' type of guy. His drop rate decreased dramatically from 2024 to 2025, so he obviously worked on that and got significantly better. He's become significantly better in contested catch situations. I feel like he needs to lean on that skill set a little bit more. I think the reason I'm having a hard time with him is that he has the body type of a receiver I really like, but I understand the body type that's winning in the NFL is not necessarily that. It's more these guys that are excellent accelerators and decelerators that get in and out of cuts super clean. He's a little more of a traditional mold, and I just wonder how fast he is. To me, he feels like a really good No. 2."
