Looking at WRs for the Commanders with free agent Van Jefferson and draft prospect Carnell Tate

His 75% catch rate last season came on a nearly 13-yard average depth of target. In other words, he wasn’t catching two-yard checkdowns to pad stats. He was winning downfield consistently and making it look routine. He went zero drops on the season. PFF had him winning 87.5% of contested catch situations. Those aren’t traits you coach into a 21-year-old — they’re traits you draft.

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He can work from the X, the Z, and the slot. He’s savvy against zone coverage, finding the soft spots and sitting down to give the quarterback a clean window. Against man, he manipulates defenders with head fakes and tempo changes before accelerating out of his break. He ran a 4.53 at the combine — not elite speed by any measure — but he doesn’t need to run past anyone. He beats corners before they know the break is coming.

A to Z Sports

Grading the signing: Commanders add veteran insurance plan for Sainristil and worst possible outcome of NFL Draft

The Commanders have been heavily linked to top CBs in the 2026 NFL Draft, including Mansoor Delane, so you know they want to keep adding to the position. In the meantime, Daronte Jones gets some veteran help to compete alongside a struggling Mike Sainristil, with Witherspoon signing with the Commanders. Witherspoon is also adding [needed] length…at 6-2, 195 pounds.

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It looks like the Commanders are signing Witherspoon at the worst possible time after he played just 174 snaps last season and dealt with a shoulder injury twice, including in the playoffs. We can only imagine that they wouldn’t sign him if he was still dealing with his injury, but this signing still doesn’t change anything with adding a premier CB in the NFL Draft.

Witherspoon will add depth, which the Commanders haven’t had in a while, and he’ll be an insurance plan for injuries that pop up. I’m not expecting him to have a huge role next season, but they can’t fall apart like they did last season once Trey Amos went down for the season.

Grade: C+

Commanders.com

Commanders to host HBCU Showcase and IPP Pro Day at team facility

Some of the best HBCU and International Pathway Program prospects in the country will be in Ashburn, Virginia, this weekend.

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The Washington Commanders will be hosting the annual HBCU Showcase and IPP Pro Day at the team facility for the first time in franchise history. The event, which is sponsored by Microsoft Copilot, will span three days from March 28-30 with on-field workouts beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday.

NFL scouts from across the league will be at the BigBear.ai Performance Center to evaluate this year’s crop of talent, which includes 48 HBCU prospects and 11 IPP prospects. Five IPP players are eligible to be signed by clubs beginning March 31, while six prospects will be eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Riggo’s Rag

Commanders named among potential trade suitors for Myles Garrett, but it makes no sense

“Perhaps the presence of multiple edge-rushing options would attract the now 30-year-old [Myles] Garrett, who may want to end his career as a player with more help than he had in Cleveland, where he was almost solely responsible for QB havoc over the past decade.

“The Commanders have the cap space and, like the Bears and Patriots, should be thinking strategically about how to allocate excess funds while Jayden Daniels is on the remainder of his rookie contract.”

Nobody is doubting Garrett’s accomplishments. He’s one of the game’s modern-day greats and a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer when the time comes. The Commanders have the spare salary-cap space to absorb his contract, but considering what it would take to get him into the building, it is absolutely out of the question.

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The Commanders are starting to build the right way. Mortgaging their future for Garrett is too big a risk, regardless of the impact he could make. It’s a move typically associated with win-now teams. Washington is simply not there after a five-win season.

Podcasts & videos

Post-Signing 1-on-1: LB Leo Chenal | Free Agency Friday x Next Man Up | Washington Commanders

NFC East links

Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles roster inventory: Where the 2026 team stands

I’ll bet you’re not at all happy with the Eagles’ offseason thus far, huh?

Yeah, I get it. For the second straight year, the Birds haven’t done much to electrify the fanbase. In fact, they’ve seen more good players leave than they’ve acquired through the first major thrust of free agency, although in terms of quantity, you’d have to argue they’re coming out a bit ahead in the numbers game.

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Players Lost:

Players Gained:

• Marquise “Hollywood” Brown – WR

But I’ve always been a quality over quantity guy, and while the team re-signed some key players, notably tight end Dallas Goedert, safety Marcus Epps, offensive lineman Fred Johnson and punter Braden Mann, it’s true the roster isn’t quite as good as it was at the end of what was ultimately a disappointing 2025 season.

Oh, and there is still the uncertainty around A.J. Brown’s future in Philadelphia, too.

The Eagles’ offense in 2026 is going to be led by someone who’s never been an offensive coordinator before, or called plays before, and was essentially the team’s 4th or 5th choice for the gig, so trepidation about that situation is warranted, as well. But it’s hard to grade the offseason before the NFL Draft takes place. The whole picture has yet to be painted.

A to Z Sports

Caleb Downs looked like a far-fetched dream not that long ago. Now, some see him as a realistic target for the Dallas Cowboys

“Despite early expectations, draft expert and insider Daniel Jeremiah from NFL Network has suggested Downs could fall outside the Top 10 multiple times this week, even though he’s a Top 10 player on his own board.

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“The safety position is a tricky, man,” Jeremiah said Friday on the Pat McAfee Show. “I don’t know that you just say ‘it’s a lock, just lock it in, he’s a top 5 pick, he’s going to go guaranteed even in the Top 10,’ I would say the floor for me is the Dallas Cowboys at twelve.”

Jeremiah noted standout safety prospects like Derwin James, Kyle Hamilton, and Nick Emmanwori all fell on their respective drafts. Historically, it’s a position the decision-makers in the NFL have undervalued compared to the media and fans.

Earlier in the week, Jeremiah shared a similar stance on an interview with 105.3 The Fan.

“Weird stuff happens in the safety position,” he said. “I don’t agree with it but it has been pushed down to some degree. And then with Downs, you’re looking at someone who isn’t big, he’s under six feet, he’s a little over 200 pounds, he’s got short arms, he doesn’t have a ton of splash plays.”

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Jeremiah added he knows of teams that don’t have Downs as their top safety of the draft.

“I think he’s more likely to go 10-20 than he is in the Top 10,” he added.

The Cowboys are picking 12th overall and are known to be prioritizing the secondary. Even though they signed Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency, Downs would make sense. He’s a versatile DB who can do it all.

Blogging the Boys

The Cowboys have to be ready if they get wiped out during the draft

All our deepest hopes are centered around one of college’s top defensive prospects tumbling their way down the board and into the laps of the Cowboys at pick 12. Landing a foundational pass rusher or a lockdown corner would be ideal as those are premium positions, but we’re not picky. Nobody will complain if a certain Ohio State safety or linebacker is the pick. Elite players are elite players. Just make sure they trot on the field with the defense. That’s the only caveat.

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In a perfect world, things will fall right into place, and the Cowboys will get their defensive stud, but as we have seen before, things don’t always go according to plan. Celebration could turn into suspense if a run on defensive players wiped through all their top defensive prospects, leaving their draft board looking like a picked-over buffet at closing time.

Big Blue View

Could Jeremiyah Love be a ‘finishing piece’ for New York?

The Big Blue View Rules for Draft Success say do not take a running back in Round 1, especially early in Round 1, unless he is a finishing piece for your team.

Now, no one expects the Giants to be a Super Bowl contender during the 2026 season. Or, if you do, your expectations are out of whack.

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Can you argue, though, that Love could be a “finishing piece” for the Giants’ offense?

I think you can.

• The Giants have their quarterback of the future in Jaxson Dart. At least, it certainly appears quarterback is not a priority need for the next several years.

• They have a star No. 1 wide receiver in Malik Nabers, whether he is ready for Week 1 or not.

• The Giants have a pair of potentially dynamic tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson.

• They have a capable group of veteran wide receivers opposite Nabers in Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, and Calvin Austin.

What don’t they have?

• One more game-changing play-maker.

Love could be that game-changing playmaker.

NFL league links

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ESPN

2026 NFL draft: Tannenbaum’s prospect targets in Rounds 1-7

The players I’d be targeting in Round 3

Malachi Lawrence, Edge, UCF

A four-year player at UCF, Lawrence has a really good motor and posted solid production with 20 career sacks. Plus, he had a fantastic workout in Indianapolis, running a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and 253 pounds. Anytime I can add a productive, high-motor pass rusher with production, I’m in.

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Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt

Quarterbacks love a tight end with a big catch radius, and that’s exactly what Stowers brings to the table. We have to get this guy. He’s 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds, and he jumped 45½ inches in the vertical. That’s wild. I know Stowers has to improve as a blocker, but he caught 146 balls and hauled in 11 touchdowns over the past three seasons (one of which was at New Mexico State). He can get down the seam and make big plays.

Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech

Rodriguez reminds me so much of Hall of Famer Zach Thomas. He has an incredible knack for forcing fumbles (seven last season, 13 over his career), and he picked off four passes in 2025. Typically when someone is that productive and instinctive, it carries over to the next level. I’d want him on my team, even though he’s slightly undersized at 6-foot-1 and 231 pounds. It’s sort of impossible to think he won’t make it as a starter in the NFL.

NFL.com

2026 NFL Draft wild cards: 10 prospects who could shake things up

WR – Chris Brazzell II – Tennessee · Junior (RS)

Teams looking for a field stretcher with the size and length to expand the quarterback’s strike zone are likely smitten with Brazzell’s talent and potential. The 6-4, 198-pound pass catcher is a blur on the perimeter, with 4.37 speed and a highlight reel of big plays. With a 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns during his final season at Tennessee, the slender wideout is viewed as a big-play specialist. However, his inconsistent effort, subpar play strength and highly limited route-running experience in the Vols’ Veer-and-Shoot offense make it hard to project him as more than a vertical threat at the next level.

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EDGE – Malachi Lawrence – UCF · Senior

One of the breakout stars of the combine, Lawrence has piqued the interest of scouts looking for a dynamic edge defender with pass-rush skills. The 6-4 3/8, 253-pounder has a highlight reel of splash plays that make his impressive athletic testing (4.52 40-yard dash, 40-inch vertical leap, 10-foot-10 broad jump) come to life. As an elite “HWS” (height/weight/speed) prospect with 20 career sacks, the UCF product is an intriguing player worthy of consideration as a Day 2 pick. While skeptics wonder why the blue-chip athlete never posted a double-digit sack campaign in college, the debate in draft rooms revolves around Lawrence’s potential role in the rotation as a lead rusher or complementary playmaker.