After months of preparation, the Washington Commanders emerged from the 2026 NFL Draft with six new players, and analyst Logan Paulsen provided an evaluation on each of them in the newest "Drive to the Draft" podcast episode.
Check out what Paulsen had to say about the newest members of the team.
Round 1, Pick 7: Sonny Styles
"Sonny Styles gives you flexibility from the linebacker level and back, which is very unique. When you look at Daronte Jones and some of the stuff they do from a coverage standpoint, I really believe you could have three linebackers on the field: Frankie Luvu, Leo Chenal and Sonny. He could be like a pseudo-nickel for you. I think he's that kind of athlete. I think he's that comfortable in space, and it kind of plays like Nick Emmanwori almost where we can play base defense. The Washington Commanders now can do more stuff because of him. I think he can play an outside 3-4 linebacker. He's got a lot of flexibility in this defense. And it's so fun, because he's literally one-of-one from a size, height and speed standpoint, and it's gonna be really fun to watch."
Round 3, Pick 71
"His superpower is route running. Bringing that in here with a guy in David Blough who's seen that work with Amon-Ra St. Brown; who's seen that work with Justin Jefferson; I'm not saying he is similar to those players, but the route running technician is taking over the NFL. And the more you look at successful wide receivers, they have that technical element to their game. They're not big, high weight, speed guys anymore. They're these technical guys. So, I actually think if they deploy him correctly, he could be really impactful in a very positive way on Jayden Daniels' growth and this offense's efficiency."
Round 5, Pick 147
"He's got a great first step off the ball. You feel his length in the run game. You feel his length as a pass rusher. He's long armed and long limbed. He can drop; he can rush; and all of a sudden, that pass rushing nuance, which people are worried about, doesn't matter because we're gonna go all-out blitz. You're gonna get good matchups, rush, pursuit of the quarterback and be violent against the run."
Round 6, Pick 187
"He plays running back so well. He's just got a really good feel for setting up blocks. I call it running cracks when the line is washing away on an outside zone or a tight zone. He just knows how to glide that thing and then crash into that little two inches of air and get you four yards when it's blocked for two."\
Round 6, Pick 209
"He's wicked smart at center. You see him down there on the ball with his hand on the ball, and he's calling the protections and identifying the Mike point. He's offloading that responsibility from the quarterback. He's got a really good feel for angles; understands where the helmet needs to be; understands how to apply pressure in terms of grip to keep it flat down line of scrimmage."
Round 7, Pick 223
"You always want to have somebody that's developing in the building. When you put on Ak's film, one of the things that comes to the forefront is working NFL progressions and tight window throws. He's throwing people open and throwing with anticipation. He was throwing on time. And I was like, 'All right, I respect that.'"
Check out the podcast above for the full discussion.
