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COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - OCTOBER 4: Texas A&M Aggies running back Le'Veon Moss #8 carries the ball during the second half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field on October 4, 2025 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Joe Buvid/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images) | ISI Photos via Getty Images Commanders links
Per tankathon, the Commanders currently hold 6 picks in the NFL draft, which takes place from April 23-25.
Washington traded its 2nd & 4th round picks to the Houston Texans for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who arrived in Washington with two years remaining on his contract, and recently signed a 2-year extension that runs through the 2028 season. In 2025, he was rated by most metrics as one of the top offensive tackles in the NFL.
Washington has an extra 6th round pick (#209), acquired from the 49ers in the trade for RB Brian Robinson Jr., which was executed in August last year.
With four Day 3 picks in hand, the Commanders 2026 draft success will largely depend on how those four draft picks are used. For that reason, a number of the links in today’s Daily Slop focus on mid- and late-round draft prospects at key positions, and some that could be in play for Washington’s 3rd round pick (#71).
Articles
ESPN
2026 NFL mock draft: Schrager projects 32 first-round picks based on what he’s hearing
5. New York Giants
Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
New coach John Harbaugh referred to the offensive line as a “work in progress” at the league meetings. That’s not what you want in front of a franchise quarterback who has shown a tendency to use his legs. But Jaxson Dart would love Mauigoa, a road paver with positional versatility. Mauigoa is expected to be the first offensive lineman off the board.
7. Washington Commanders
Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
I believe Washington is going to go defense; it gave up 6.0 yards per play in 2025, tied for third worst. Styles shows a lot of the same traits that Fred Warner has displayed in San Francisco, and GM Adam Peters — who came from San Francisco — knows what Warner has meant for the 49ers all these years. Styles had 77 tackles as a sideline-to-sideline defender last season and then lit up the combine with a smooth 4.46 in the 40-yard dash and a 43½-inch vertical jump. I like this fit.
12. Dallas Cowboys
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia told me on “The Schrager Hour” that Downs will be the smartest player on whichever team drafts him and should be a face of the franchise. The Cowboys need that on defense, even if safety isn’t valued the same as pass rusher or cornerback. Downs could team up with Jalen Thompson and Malik Hooker on the back end and help curtail the big plays that hurt Dallas last season (gave up 54 plays of 25-plus yards, most in the NFL). If he’s on the board, he would be a steal at No. 12.
20. Dallas Cowboys (via GB)
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Mesidor is one of the older players in this class, having just turned 25 years old, but he also might be the prospect most ready to make an immediate impact. He was an absolute menace for Miami, and he’d immediately become one of Dallas’ top pass rushers off the edge. Mesidor tallied 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in 2025.
23. Philadelphia Eagles
Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
Boston is electric, and Washington coach Jedd Fisch and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman are longtime college buddies. Some NFL sources I have spoken to have Boston as the second or third wideout in this class. And if the Eagles take him, A.J. Brown‘s future becomes all the more interesting and will undoubtedly hit the A Block on “Get Up” on Friday morning coming out of the draft.
A to Z Sports
3 underrated WR prospects who could become impact players for Commanders without using premium pick in 2026 NFL Draft
Cyrus Allen, Cincinnati
Cyrus Allen is an electric slot WR who measured in at 5-11, 180 pounds, and he’s one of the best route runners in the entire class. Allen played primarily outside until 2025, when he broke out in the slot with 661 yards and 12 touchdowns, which was top-3 in the country.
His one weakness is his physicality, and he had a contested catch rate of just 20%, which isn’t ideal, but you don’t need to contest for a catch if you can create separation as he does. Allen is projected to go anywhere in the sixth or seventh round and could become a day-three impact player. The Washington Commanders need an explosive slot WR, and Allen is my guy in this draft.
Commanders Wire
If Commanders don’t go WR at No. 7, here’s a name to watch at 71
Who is Ted Hurst? And how is Ted Hurst related to the Washington Commanders?
Well, Hurst is a name I first heard perhaps six weeks ago. I was listening to Jeremy Greene on the Sportsocracy podcast. Greene is a friend of former Washington Redskins tight end Logan Paulsen. Paulsen invited Greene to appear on his Take Command podcast last year, prior to the 2025 NFL Draft, to talk about the Commanders’ draft choices. This is when I first heard Greene talking about the NFL draft.
Back to this offseason, Greene was telling a story from six weeks ago about how he and Paulsen were standing together during Senior Bowl week. Greene said at some point he turned to Paulsen, and, knowing the Commanders need to draft a receiver this year, he told Paulsen that the Commanders are going to draft Ted Hurst at No. 71.
So why are we only recently learning about Ted Hurst? It’s simple, actually. He played his college ball at Georgia State.
Hurst ran a 4.42 40 at the NFL Combine. He is 6-4, 206, and he vertical jumped 36.5, while broad jumping 11’3.” In his senior season at Georgia State, Hurst was first-team All-Sun Belt, leading his team with 71 receptions, 1,004 receiving yards (14.1 per), and 6 receiving TDs in his 12 games played.
Remember, Terry McLaurin was selected by Washington at No. 76 in 2019.
Heavy.com
Commanders to Meet With ‘Freakish’ CB, Possible Marshon Lattimore Replacement: Report
Washington will meet with the Miami cornerback [Keionte Scott] this week, as the team continues with its pre-draft meetings now 17 days out from Round 1.
Scott spent six years in college, two at the junior college level and four seasons playing Division-I football. The first three of those D-I campaigns came at Auburn before Scott transferred to Miami in 2025.
He started 14 games for the Hurricanes last season, helping the team make it all the way to the finals of the College Football Playoff, where Miami lost to the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers. Last year Scott produced 64 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two interceptions, both of which he returned for defensive touchdowns.
Scott is an older prospect who turns 25 in August, which could push his draft value down given he will likely have fewer years as a professional ahead of him than players who go pro two, three or even four years younger.
That said, Scott should also be uniquely equipped to step in and play a significant role immediately upon entry into the NFL, which may make sense for a team like Washington looking to return to the top of the NFC after a disheartening 5-12 campaign in 2025 following an appearance in the conference title game the year prior.
Notes from Bill-in-Bangkok:
In January, PFSN’s mock draft simulator results – “As an undrafted player in preseason mock data, Scott’s average draft position (ADP) is currently 139.8 and climbing.”
Last Week, Mel Kiper sent Scott to the Seahawks as the final pick of the 2nd round (#64), just 7 spots ahead of the Commanders pick (#71).
Commanders.com
Commanders announce 2026 offseason dates
Players will begin reporting to the team facility in Ashburn, Virginia, on April 20, kicking off a nine-week period for the new roster to prepare for the 2026 regular season. Here are the dates you should keep in mind from now until June:
- First Day: April 20
- OTA Offseason Workouts: May 27-29, June 2-4, June 9-11
- Mandatory Minicamp: June 16-18
Here is an explanation for the three phases of the offseason workout program:
- Phase One: consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.
- Phase Two: consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.
- Phase Three: consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs.” No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.
The GW Hatchet
Washington Commanders to relocate senior leadership offices, sales center to Foggy Bottom
The Washington Commanders signed a lease for 60,000 square feet of office space at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. in the first quarter of 2026, a team spokesperson confirmed.
The Commanders will house offices for some senior leadership and a sales center, a team spokesperson said, fulfilling its agreement with the D.C. government to relocate administrative and sales offices to the District as part of the team’s move back to the city. The move, first reported by the Washington Business Journal, coincides with the planned 2030 opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Campus in Southeast D.C., where the Commanders will play in the District for the first time in 34 years.
The building is part of the Avenue complex real estate developer Boston Properties completed in 2011, housing commercial offices and residential area above the ground-floor retail on land it leased from GWunder a 60-year agreement to generate nonacademic revenue for the University. The University purchased parts of the complex, including the Residences on The Avenue and the ground-floor retail spaces leased to tenants, including Whole Foods, Sweetgreen and Circa, from a Kuwait-linked investment firm, Wafra Inc., in 2023.
The Commanders will occupy about 13 percent of the building’s total roughly 460,000 square footage once they’re fully moved in, a date the team has not yet made public.
The Commanders relocated administrative offices from Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, to a 27,516 square foot space on the top floor of a four-story office in College Park, Maryland, in 2024 to make room for additional suites at the stadium.
The lease agreement comes as D.C. prepares to welcome the Commanders back to the RFK stadium site after lengthy negotiations between local, federal and private stakeholders.
Podcasts & videos
Post-Signing 1-on-1: DE K’Lavon Chaisson | Free Agency Friday x Next Man Up | Washington Commanders
POWER SLOT: How the Washington Commanders Can FIND Their Amon-Ra St. Brown
NFC East links
Big Blue View
NY Giants news: Dexter Lawrence requests trade, per report
Lawrence, per the report, will not report to the Giants when the team’s offseason program begins on Tuesday.
A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro who is among the NFL’s most dominant interior defenders, Lawrence has experienced just one winning season and played in just two playoff games since being selected No. 17 by the Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Lawrence had a down season in 2025, and at times seemed to be resigned to the situation.
Lawrence, 29, signed a four-year, $90 million extension in 2024 that put him among the league’s highest-paid defensive tackles. Two years later, though, Lawrence’s $22.5 million average per year is just 11th among defensive tackles.
The Giants added bonus money to Lawrence’s contract for the 2025 season, with Schefter indicating the contract situation is at the root of the issue. Schefter wrote:
Lawrence and the Giants have been through two off seasons attempting to negotiate a contract reflecting his value to the Giants over the last three years, but there has not been any progress, per sources.
Lawrence has been with the Giants through two general managers (Dave Gettleman and Joe Schoen), and has played for head coaches Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, Brian Daboll, and Mike Kafka (interim). It appears he doesn’t want to stick around through another regime change.
If the New York Giants looked closely at Lawrence over these past few seasons, they could have seen this coming. He appeared unhappy as the Giants limped to a 7-27 record over the past two seasons, all while watching close friends like Leonard Williams and Saquon Barkley leave for greener pastures and go on to win Super Bowls.
Lawrence now wants out after one of his worst professional seasons, at least statistically. He had just 31 tackles and 0.5 sacks, the lowest totals of his career, in 17 games.
Yet the Giants can’t just move on even if a strong trade offer lands in their lap. They’ve made moves this offseason based on the assumption that Lawrence would be a key piece to their defense. They were planning on him making a significant impact.
League sources have suggested the likely return for Lawrence in a trade would be a late first-round pick or a second-rounder. That alone would make it difficult for the Giants this season.
Defensive line is one of New York’s thinnest positions. Next in line behind Lawrence are Roy Robertson-Harris and second-year defensive lineman Darius Alexander.
The personnel may not be enough to sustain this unit even with Lawrence. New York has been clear about its intentions to still add to its defensive line, whether it be in the latter stages of free agency or the draft, where the position is considered rather deep and versatile.
Lawrence was second among all players last season with a 55.5% double-team rate, according to NextGen Stats. He was still fourth on the Giants with 14 run stops.
Addressing the defensive line — and run defense in particular — has been a priority for Harbaugh and the Giants this offseason. Trading Lawrence, especially at this point, would seem counterproductive. He has a 32% run stop win rate (which ranks among the top half of the NFL) since entering the league as a first-round pick out of Clemson in the 2019 draft.
The Giants have struggled stopping the run the past few seasons. They were 31st in the NFL in rushing defense last year and allowed a league-worst 5.3 yards per carry. Harbaugh has made it a priority to improve the team’s run defense — adding bigger, more physical corners and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Next up was supposed to be bolstering the defensive line — not replacing Lawrence.
[T]he Giants better pull out the checkbook to make it work for at least one more season.
Squarely in his prime at 28 years old and with two years remaining on his existing contract, Lawrence should command a significant return. We’ll see if his trade request prompts Schoen to answer calls on Lawrence’s availability, or if it motivates the GM to move closer toward another extension with the hefty interior defender.
Bleeding Green Nation
Ranking 13 running backs in the 2026 NFL Draft
Tier 5: Rounds 5+
9. Kaytron Allen, Penn State
Overall: A sturdy north-south back with excellent production, whose physical style projects naturally into committee work. A reliable early-down option.
10. Kaelon Black, Indiana
Overall: A talented early-down runner with good contact balance and a physical approach to pass protection. Rarely used as a receiver out of the backfield, which caps his versatility.
11: Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M
Overall: A physical downhill runner whose game is built around power, physicality, and enough short-area quickness to keep defenders honest.
13. Adam Randall, Clemson
Overall: A big, physical downhill runner with pass-catching versatility born from his background as a wide receiver. The size-speed combination is notable, but he’s very raw.
NFL league links
Articles
Pro Football Talk
After Jeremiyah Love, long wait expected for the second running back drafted
The second running back off the board in most projections is Love’s Notre Dame teammate Jadarian Price, but few see him as a potential first-round pick, and it’s possible that neither he or any other running back will go in the second round, either.
Other top running back prospects include Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton of Penn State, Mike Washington of Arkansas, Demond Claiborne of Wake Forest, Jonah Coleman of Washington and Emmett Johnson of Nebraska. But none are viewed as elite prospects.
The running back position has been devalued in the NFL, but teams are still willing to use high picks on top prospects like Ashton Jeanty last year, or Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs in 2023. Love is that kind of running back prospect this year. No one else in the 2026 draft is.
The Athletic (paywall)
Looking for a 2026 NFL Draft sleeper DB? Meet the FCS star who’s been hustling his whole life
“Son,” then-Horn freshman assistant coach Robert Hall blurted out after watching the younger Demmings run through a few drills, not long after putting on a pair of football cleats for the first time in his life, “if you stick with this game, you are going to be in Madden.”
At 6 feet 1 inch tall and 193 pounds, Demmings ran a blazing 4.41-second 40-yard dash with two elite jumps (42-inch vertical; 11-2 broad) at the NFL combine in February. An FCS All-American last season, he is on the verge of proving Hall correct.
Demmings was the only FCS player at this year’s Senior Bowl, and one of just eight from the FCS at the combine. In a world where NIL is king, Demmings was the rare player who chose to dance with the date who brought him. He’s discovered his passion and voice, thanks in large part to gifts he wasn’t aware of until a few guardian angels showed him where to look.
“When I went to the combine, I got word I was the only FCS (defensive back) there,” Demmings says. “Then, I saw on TV that I finished with the No. 1 (Relative Athletic Score) at my position, and it said ‘Stephen F. Austin’ next to my name.
“Man, that literally brought some tears to my eyes.”
His 35 career pass breakups stand as a Stephen F. Austin program record. His last season was his best, as he helped the Lumberjacks to an 11-3 record, a Southland Conference title and the program’s highest single-season win total since 1995. Demmings will leave not only as one of the best defensive backs in school history, but also one of its best leaders.
Prior to his senior year, Demmings actually entered the transfer portal after being told he’d be able to make serious money at a bigger school. He went on one visit before taking his name back out.
“I heard two things from everyone: ‘Do you want to be the highest-paid (player) or do you want to just be paid well?’” Demmings says. “No one said, ‘What do you need from a coaching staff?’ or ‘What do you need from a school or teammates?’
“I want to be developed. I want to be turned into a better man — a better player. I want to make it to the NFL, and I want to stick there. SFA turned me from a boy to a man. I met God here. I wanted to leave a legacy, not just at SFA, but in the FCS. You can make it here, man. You can do it.”
Discussion topics
The Athletic (paywall)
Ranking 2026 NFL Draft wide receiver prospects by position: X, Z and slot
Z receivers
Z receivers play off-ball and typically are put in motion with a bigger route tree.
3. Chris Bell, Louisville: Bell was an outside receiver who was used similarly to a slot receiver. A ton of his production came on underneath routes in which he could catch and run. At 6-feet-2, 222 pounds, he could outrun angles after the catch, while breaking arm tackles with the ball in his hands. He didn’t run many downfield routes, but was efficient when he did. Bell tore his ACL in late November, so teams have to be comfortable drafting him, knowing he could miss time in camp and possibly the season. Bell has the size of a flanker, and his ability to run after the catch makes him an interesting prospect.
Slot receivers
Slots line up inside, have to be able to quickly process and adjust on routes and run after the catch.
1. KC Concepcion, Texas A&M: Concepcion measured bigger than I thought at the combine (5-feet-11, 196 pounds). Regardless, he is the best separator in this class as his ability to pull away from defenders is unique. He can get off of press coverage and does a good job of using his hands to offset his lack of size. He’s a big-play threat with the ball in his hands and can be a top-flight kick/punt returner. His biggest issue is with concentration drops, which is frustrating because he’s a hands catcher who isn’t afraid to go up for the ball in traffic and has the hand strength to bring in those passes, but he’s dropped 19 passes in three seasons (9.3 percent drop rate). Concepcion played mostly in the slot early in his career, but played 65.3 percent of his snaps outside. Though he’ll play mostly from the slot in the NFL, his perfect fit would be an offense that uses a lot of compressed formations in which slot/outside positions are blurred.
X receivers
X receivers line up outside on the ball, must be able to beat press and win in limited space, as they are closest to the sideline.
1. Denzel Boston, Washington: Boston is the most polished of this bunch. He has the highest floor but doesn’t quite have the ceiling of Bryce Lance or Ted Hurst. Boston isn’t a huge separator, but he does enough and catches everything thrown at him and uses every bit of his frame to body defensive backs and win jump balls (76.9 percent contested catch rate in 2025). Boston was put in motion and has experience playing from the slot (17.6 percent in 2025). He is also a physical runner after the catch (4.9 yards per reception).
2. Ted Hurst, Georgia State: Hurst is all of 6-feet-4 and ran a 4.42 at the combine. He builds up speed and doesn’t burst off the ball. Aside from the straight-line speed, his ability to sink his hips and break with efficiency is what makes him unique. He has the potential to develop into a strong route runner with his size. There aren’t enough reps on film of him going up to get jump balls to say it’s a real strength, though you would think it would be with his frame. His worst two games of the season were against better competition (Ole Miss and Vanderbilt), which is a major red flag. Hurst is a project, but there is a lot to work with — the tools are tantalizing and he isn’t just a typical go-ball X receiver.
ESPN
Will the 49ers trade, release or keep WR Brandon Aiyuk?
How long will the 49ers keep Aiyuk?
For now, the only deadline is Sept. 1 when Aiyuk has a $24.935 million option bonus due. The 49ers would prefer to move on from Aiyuk long before then but that date being so far out at least gives them flexibility.
The Niners don’t need the minimal 2026 cap space that releasing Aiyuk would create so they’re incentivized to hold on to him in case a team wants to make a trade offer.
While Shanahan and York’s comments seemed to hint at different things on the surface, they both effectively served to let the league know that if they want to acquire Aiyuk, evaluate his health and get him acclimated during the offseason program, they’d have to do something soon.
Team and league sources have indicated that the Washington Commanders are the most likely landing spot for Aiyuk when he does move on. Commanders general manager Adam Peters was in San Francisco’s personnel department when it drafted Aiyuk. More important, Aiyuk is close friends with Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels from their shared time at Arizona State and Aiyuk has been open about his desire to play with Daniels in the past. If anyone can offer some insight into how Aiyuk is doing, it’s probably Daniels.
How do the financials play into attempts to trade Aiyuk?
For 2026, Aiyuk’s base salary is just $1.215 million, a relative bargain all things considered. But that option bonus complicates things for any team that would look to acquire him.
If the bonus gets exercised, the team employing Aiyuk would have to prorate it through 2030, effectively adding potentially significant dead money to their cap if Aiyuk doesn’t produce. That bonus also isn’t guaranteed after the Niners voided Aiyuk’s remaining guarantees last July when he didn’t participate in mandatory rehab sessions for his injured right knee.
But if that option bonus isn’t exercised, an acquiring team would be on the hook for all of it at once, driving his salary for 2026 to more than $26 million. Combine that with base salaries that inflate to $27.274 million in 2027 and $29.15 million in 2028 and it’s hard to envision any team wanting to pay Aiyuk that much, especially with the uncertainty surrounding him coming off the injury and how things in San Francisco have played out.
If the 49ers do release Aiyuk before June 1, the plan is to do it with a post-June 1 designation. That would mean the nearly $30 million in dead money they must take on the salary cap would be split up into $13.325 million in 2026 and $21.247 million in 2027.
Those same numbers also apply to a trade, though it should be noted that trades cannot be given the post-June 1 designation, so if the Niners wanted to split up the money and trade Aiyuk, they’d have to wait until June.
Is it realistic to think someone will trade for Aiyuk and if so, what could the 49ers get?
Considering all the financial implications and the amount of unknowns about Aiyuk, it’s still difficult to envision a team being willing to trade for him.
As for what the Niners could get for Aiyuk, offers including picks in the first few rounds like they got before he signed his contract extension in 2024, have long since disappeared.
In situations like this, a late-round pick swap is often the solution, but the Niners can’t really do that in this year’s draft because they don’t currently own any picks beyond the fourth round.
Could the 49ers mend fences and keep Aiyuk?
It would be foolish to rule out anything when it comes to the NFL, especially with the 49ers. In 2022, the Niners and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo very publicly said goodbye to each other in anticipation of an offseason trade before shoulder surgery ultimately kept him in San Francisco on a revamped contract. He started 10 games for the Niners that year after an awkward training camp in which he rehabbed on a side field.
All of which still points to Aiyuk and the Niners parting ways in the coming weeks or months as the questions of when and in what manner continue to loom.
The business of broadcasting the NFL
Pro Football Talk
In NFL Network merger, Scott Hanson wasn’t transferred to ESPN
Most NFL Media employees were transferred to ESPN as of April 1, when Bristol’s NFL Network takeover became effective. There was one major exception.
Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Scott Hanson is staying put.
It makes sense. The NFL has retained control of the RedZone product, which Hanson hosts. If the NFL will continue to produce RedZone, it needs a host.
Indeed, Hanson announced after the last Sunday of the regular season that he’ll remain the host of RedZone. Hanson’s clarification came after he seemed to become verklempt during the 2025 finale.
Another on-air personality who’ll remain with the NFL is PFT alumnus Gregg Rosenthal, who hosts NFL Daily. It remains to be seen whether the NFL will hire others for the NFL digital properties; presumably, NFL.com bylines from the likes of Ian Rapoport are a thing of the past.
While the league sold NFL Network and its fantasy sports operations to ESPN in exchange for a 10% stake in the sports network, it retained control of RedZone. The extent of ESPN’s involvement in RedZone is that it gained the rights to distribute it to pay-TV operators, which is why people who were blaming ESPN for there being more ads on RedZone last season were misplacing their ire.
Sources told FOS that another front-facing talent who remained with NFL Media is Gregg Rosenthal, who hosts the NFL Daily podcast.
While there was some fear amongst NFL Network production employees about what would happen leading up to the transition to ESPN, it was business-as-usual last week. NFL Network had already been cut to the bone in recent years, and ESPN is expected to eventually add some new content around the edges. The Bristol-based network could look to put some digital shows on NFL Network in a similar manner to what it’s been doing on ESPN2, and there could also be a simulcast or re-air of NFL Live, one source said.
aBit o’Twitter
