Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels? Daniels or Maye? JJ McCarthy? Maybe Michael Penix?
Nobody knows which quarterback prospect the Washington Commanders plan to take next week with the number two overall pick in the NFL draft, and that’s exactly how Washington general manager Adam Peters wants it.
This is Peters' first time running his own draft room, though his pedigree suggests secrecy is of the utmost importance.
The Commanders’ new general manager broke into the NFL as an area scout for New England, and anyone familiar with the Patriots’ legendary former coach Bill Belichick knows that full disclosure is not the name of the game.
The GM did allow one piece of news in a nearly 30-minute press conference on Thursday: Don’t expect Washington to trade out of the number two pick.
“We feel great about staying at number two,” Peters said. “I don’t see a whole lot of scenarios where we trade down.”
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If the Commanders won’t trade the pick –and considering the organization has needed a franchise quarterback for about 30 years and the quality options available – Peters shouldn’t be looking to make a deal.
Then the omnipresent question becomes: Who is the pick?
No prospect is perfect.
Maye has prototypical NFL size and a rocket arm. At just 21 years old, he’s young and the type of prospect scouts drool over. His footwork in the pocket, however, is raw and there are questions about accuracy.
Daniels is coming off a dynamic Heisman Trophy-winning season at Louisiana State University. He’s a smooth passer and can make plays with his legs too. He’s also thin for the position and some football analytics suggest he takes too many sacks when pressured.
Penix looks dynamic throwing the ball deep, but has suffered two major knee injuries and two major shoulder injuries playing college football.
McCarthy led a Michigan team to an undefeated season and a National Championship, besting Penix in the title game. McCarthy usually played his best in big moments, but the stacked Wolverines squad asked him to do so little it’s hard to know exactly what he is as a pro prospect.
Each of those four prospects visited Washington this week for meetings and even a Top Golf outing. In fact, that might be where things got weird.
The dogma of the predraft process in the NFL, especially at the quarterback position, typically means individual visits and meetings. There are teams that eschew that conventional process at times, notably San Francisco and New England, though Washington went far away from the norm.
The Commanders hosted about 20 prospects at once, including the four QBs, first for an outing at Top Golf in Ashburn followed by individual meetings the following day.
Peters got skewered for the idea nationally, though he seems unbothered.
“What was cool is while we got to see them all together in a group setting at Top Golf, which was really fun, and I think everybody had a great time and it was very beneficial to see everybody in a more relaxed environment. They all got a lot of time individually with their coaches, with us, where they were staggered coming in too, so it wasn’t like they were sitting in a room together. They all had their own individual time with everybody. So, it worked out really well.”
A few things are becoming clear about Peters, who was hired in January. He doesn’t say much, and he doesn’t care about outside opinions.
That’s good, because one bit character in this saga doesn’t seem thrilled with Peters’ actions. That would be Ron Butler, the agent for Jayden Daniels.
Turner took to social media to question the Commanders' predraft process with the emoji heard around the world.
Extrapolating too much from an emoji seems a fool’s errand, but it’s hard to think Daniels’ agent was impressed by Washington’s move. It’s also hard to think that would matter too much should Washington select Daniels next week.
Beyond the Peters’ omerta, there is plenty of intrigue from the outside looking in. Betting markets allow wagers on the NFL draft, and the odds for who Washington will take have been exceptionally volatile in the last week.
For months draft experts have tepidly suggested Daniels is the pick for Washington, though there’s never been a firm report. Now, Maye seems to be surging as a candidate.
The drama with Daniels’ agent gives the surge in the odds more validity, but it’s also worth pointing out that last year’s draft saw similar volatility in predraft betting markets. At one point, Kentucky’s Will Levis was the front-runner to go second overall to Houston. Levis ended up slipping to the second round.
The truth is that evaluating quarterbacks is hard. Quite hard. And has been for a long time.
“There is a lot of pressure and it’s great responsibility and we take this very seriously. That’s why we’ve been working tirelessly on this and turning over every stone,” Peters said. “We want to do this, obviously, for this organization, but for this region, for this fan base and for the coaching staff and the players on the field to get this right. So, it’s a great responsibility. With that comes pressure, but that’s what we signed up for.”
Tom Petty famously sang that the waiting is the hardest part. For Commanders fans, that will ring very true until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walks to the podium Thursday night in Detroit.
There will be plenty of intrigue and speculation and a mountain of rumors. All that will be worth about the same as a three-dollar bill.
Just wait. Peters isn’t tipping his hand.
For years, actually decades, Dan Snyder’s Washington teams shifted with the wind.
Coaches were undercut, GMs held little actual authority, and whenever Washington held a high pick, the whole world knew who that selection would be. It happened twice, in 2012 with Robert Griffin III and in 2020 with Chase Young.
There was no mystery. No intrigue. The organization’s plans were as clear as day.
That’s no longer the case. Josh Harris isn’t looking to begin an early marketing blitz with a glitzy new rookie. He’s letting his hand-picked general manager Peters run the search on his own terms. Thursday night marks the beginning of a new QB in Washington, but as for the new era, it’s already here.
