New Mock Draft Sees 6 Edge Rushers Go Before Commanders Pick

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 4:08 AM

new mock draft sees 6 edge rushers go before commanders pick

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters has his hands full this offseason. One year after the Commanders went 12-5 in Peters's first year as GM, they sit at 3-7 heading into Week 11 and look like they'll be picking inside the top 10 of the 2026... Washington needs it. There are several holes on the roster that must be addressed. And the Commanders are already without second and fourth-round picks due to the Laremy Tunsil trade. The two most glaring needs for 2026 look like edge rusher and wide receiver.

Depending on how this season concludes, the Commanders could have their pick between a top pass rusher and receiver. In a new mock draft from Josh Edwards of CBS Sports, the Commanders land arguably the top player in next year's draft at No. 8 overall: Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr. Washington needs pass-rush help, and Rueben Bain fits the powerful profile Dan Quinn tends to favor. The Commanders did well to add veteran talent that could accelerate their timeline, but they got a bit too aggressive last offseason and over-leveraged their future. Now it's time to start replacing some of those veterans

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound Bain is currently ranked as Edwards' top-ranked prospect for 2026. However, three quarterbacks helped push Bain to Washington at No. 8 in this mock. In 31 career games at Miami, Bain has 98 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. Many believe Bain's best football is ahead of him and the chance to work with a coach like Dan Quinn could unlock his vast potential. There are still seven games remaining for the Washington Commanders in 2025.

But with the season spiraling into irrelevancy when much more was expected, some sections of the fan base are already looking ahead to what promises to be a pivotal offseason for general manager Adam... The front-office leader has a significant amount of hard work ahead. Washington has roster holes everywhere you look. Peters' gamble to run it back with most of the squad that achieved so much in 2024 has backfired. A disastrous run of luck on the injury front hasn't helped, but it's clear that this squad, as presently constructed, isn't capable of reaching the heights fans anticipated. Peters could have over $100 million to spend in free agency, and he'd be wise to use every cent before Year 3 of quarterback Jayden Daniels' rookie contract.

The Commanders stood pat at the 2025 trade deadline, which was surprising to most, leaving Peters with only six selections in next year's draft to utilize. Not exactly ideal, but the former San Francisco 49ers executive will have to make the best out of a bad situation. Using the Pro Football Network simulator, we took a look at how the Commanders could approach their selections in our latest seven-round 2026 NFL mock draft. It's no secret that the Washington Commanders need to get more explosive on the defensive edge. Only Dorance Armstrong Jr. is guaranteed to be back next season, but even the ascending defensive end is in the final year of his deal in 2026.

The first 10 weeks of the 2025 NFL season have passed, with a clear tier of playoff contenders and Super Bowl hopefuls emerging while other franchises are beginning preparations for the 2026 NFL Draft. While this year’s class doesn’t have any household names, some of the best college football players this season have seen their draft stock soar int he last two months. Let’s dive into our latest 2026 NFL mock draft, deliverign Round 1 projections and analysis for each pick heading into Sunday’s Week 11 slate. It’s certainly a bad look for the Tennessee Titans to have the first overall pick in the NFL Draft in consecutive years, but it’s not Cam Ward’s fault. While he needs a lot more help on the offensive side of the ball, the 2026 NFL Draft is defense-heavy at the top. Rueben Bain Jr.

would provide desperately-needed help to a Titans defense that has very little in the front seven outside of Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat. Bain offers the upside to become a perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher, and he’d pair with Simmons and Sweat perfectly. It is certainly popular in consensus 2026 NFL mock drafts to have the New Orleans Saints taking a quarterback. However, this feels like a multi-year rebuild for New Orleans and the roster isn’t necessarily in place to take a quarterback prospect who is very good but not great. Instead, the Saints add a potential All-Pro safety in Caleb Downs. He’s a do-it-all safety who can impact a defense like Kyle Hamilton has in Baltimore.

New Orleans can keep filling out the supporting cast and then take its next franchise QB in 2027. Jaxson Dart has demonstrated more than enough this season to prove the New York Giants need to build around him. That starts in the 2026 NFL Draft, addressing an offensive line that has a glaring hole at right tackle. Enter Miami’s Francis Mauigoa. He’s the best lineman in the 2026 class, and the added benefit is that he’s already playing right tackle in college, so there would be no concerns about his transition to a new position. Mauigoa’s athleticism would help out Dart in pass protection, while his strength and size would make him a great road grader for Cam Skattebo.

The Washington Commanders have many options facing them when the 29th pick of the NFL Draft comes onto the clock. General manager Adam Peters could continue to build his offense around quarterback Jayden Daniels by adding a receiver, another lineman, or a running back. Of course, he could also spend his first-round pick on the defense, targeting a pass rusher or defensive back to help secure the back end. Picking near the back of the first round, there should also be no shortage of teams calling the phone in the Washington war room, looking to make a deal to move up as well. So if Peters wants optionality, it is optionality he has. According to Chad Reuter's seven-round mock draft effort for NFL.com the week of the event, he has Peters going defense with Boston College edge Donovan Ezeiruaku.

"Ezeiruaku brings speed off the edge as well as a very effective spin move. In Washington, he could be used as a designated pass rusher as a rookie, giving the team needed juice after losing leading 2024 sacker Dante Fowler in free agency," says Reuter. Ezeiruaku, the No. 1 pass rushing edge player on the Locked On Commanders positional big board, had the fastest three-cone time of eligible pass rushers during this year's build up to the draft, flexing the agility needed... Related Topics: Abdul Carter, Mock draft, Mike Green, Washington Commanders "First Things First" host Nick Wright presented his 2.0 mock draft this week; how did Wright's mock draft play out for the Washington Commanders at No.

29? With the most noticeable need for the Commanders being an edge rusher, which edge rushers did Wright select in the first round, before the Commanders' choice at 29? Well, of course, Abdul Carter (Penn State) was never going to be available for the Commanders, so he went third overall to the division rival, the New York Giants. The next edge to go was Georgia's Jalon Walker, whom Wright had going to the Falcons at No. The Washington Commanders entered the 2025 NFL Draft with a perceived need for a pass-rusher, and with general manager Adam Peter praising the depth of the group two days before the first round, it... By the end of the seventh round on Saturday, the Commanders had five new players set to add depth at the offensive line, cornerback and wide receiver, but an edge rusher was not among...

Everybody, breathe, because the Commanders don't seem panicked by how things worked out for them. The Commanders trusted their draft board throughout the weekend, and while they're not necessarily settled at the defensive end position, they chose who they believed were the best players available when they were on... "It wasn't, 'We weren't going to address edge at any point,'" assistant general manager Lance Newmark said at the end of the seventh round. "There were never any conversations of that mindset. It was, 'These players made the most sense for us.'" Though the Commanders came away with about half the number of new players compared to their haul in 2024, there was clear excitement from the front office about the players they took.

They had first-round grades on offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. as well as cornerback Trey Amos, and both picks drew rousing cheers from the Commanders' draft room. They added wide receiver Jaylin Lane and linebacker Kain Medrano, both of whom had the best testing numbers for their respective positions at the combine, and took running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a projected fifth-round... With the 29th overall pick in the 2025 Bleeding Green Nation community mock draft, Washington Commanders GM Mailata_in_a_Miata selects ... BGN community member Mailata_in_a_Miata wrote the pick explanation in this article. Everything is all gumdrops and lollipops down in the DMV.

After a surprising season that saw Washington ride a rookie QB all the way to the NFC Championship, expectations are higher than they’ve ever been. As any Commanders fan will tell you, they would have won that game if they didn’t have all those turnovers and if the NFL would have just allowed Frankie Luvu to keep leaping over... It’s a shame the refs awarded the Eagles 55 points, otherwise the Commanders would be Super Bowl winners once again. Since then, GM Adam Peters is showing Jerry Jones what it means to go “ALL IN”. The Commanders signed 23 players to 1-year contracts, most in the NFL. 12 of these guys are 30+ years or older.

Some may say that this is Washington’s attempt to “Win now” but they are not exactly building for the future. It is imperative for jersey sales that they get a rookie who will be around long enough for fans to remember his name. But for which side of the ball? The Commanders are reasonably set on offense. Currently the best blocker on the team is Jayden Daniel’s Mom (AND AGENT!?) who has seemingly prevented Jayden from getting sacked by a female for 24 years. She truly is the Lane Johnson of Helicopter Moms.

R.I.P. to poor Juju Watkins. Outside of that, Adam Peters has “upgraded” the LT position by trading for Laremy Tunsil, who led the league in penalties last season with 19 fouls. Jayden Daniel’s security blanket, Zach Ertz, was re-signed for another season. The GM must have been disappointed with the low level of tantrums he saw last year, so he traded for Deebo Samuel to bolster the wide receiver corp. This also gives Marshon Lattimore someone to slap fight with during practice.

The running backs are either old or bullet riddled so that position is a definite need! "First Things First" host Nick Wright presented his 2.0 mock draft this week; how did Wright's mock draft play out for the Washington Commanders at No. 29? With the most noticeable need for the Commanders being an edge rusher, which edge rushers did Wright select in the first round, before the Commanders' choice at 29? Well, of course, Abdul Carter (Penn State) was never going to be available for the Commanders, so he went third overall to the division rival, the New York Giants. The next edge to go was Georgia's Jalon Walker, whom Wright had going to the Falcons at No.

New Mock Draft Sees 6 Edge Rushers Go Before Commanders Pick

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