Tag: Martin Mayhew

Former Washington executive Kyle Smith lands a promotion with Falcons

Remember when many wanted Smith as Washington’s next GM?

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At one time, many believed Kyle Smith would be the next general manager of the Washington NFL franchise. Initially hired in 2010 as a scouting intern, Smith steadily moved up the ladder over the next 10 years.

The son of former Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, Kyle Smith went from intern to scout, to director of college personnel to vice president of player personnel.

Then, in 2021, Smith and Washington parted ways. When Ron Rivera took over as head coach in 2020, Smith was one of the few he kept, promoting him to vice president of player personnel and the pair worked together closely that offseason. In the 2020 NFL draft, Washington selected Chase Young, Antonio Gibson, Saahdiq Charles, Khaleke Hudson, Kamren Curl and James Smith-Williams. Not a bad haul.

However, Rivera restructured his front office, choosing to hire former Lions GM Martin Mayhew as his new general manager and former Panthers GM Marty Hurney in a senior executive role.

Smith was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as the vice president of player personnel. He held that for two years, and this week, Smith received a new promotion: Assistant general manager.

Many fans were upset when Rivera moved on from Smith, believing Smith had a large hand in drafting some of Washington’s young talent over the years.

Smith, 38, will be an NFL general manager. He’s been groomed for the position for years and had plenty of on-the-job training during his days in Washington’s dysfunctional front office.

Fans will always wonder if Rivera should have kept Smith. It’s not as if Mayhew has done a bad job. The new regime has also drafted some good young players, but Smith became popular with fans because he wasn’t Bruce Allen. This was during a time when fans pleaded annually for Allen’s firing.

Congratulations to Kyle Smith.

Commanders discussed trading up in the 2023 NFL draft

The Commanders were willing to move up for Emmanuel Forbes.

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The Washington Commanders selected Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16 overall in the 2023 NFL draft. As it turns out, the Commanders wanted Forbes all along. The team released a video on Day 2 of the draft where head coach Ron Rivera specifically singled out Forbes as being Washington’s guy in the first round on Thursday morning.

How much did Washington want Forbes? Enough to trade up for him?

In a video on the team’s official website, titled “Commanders Log,” the fourth episode of the series covers the team on the first day of the draft when Washington chose Forbes. The video shows Rivera driving to the team’s facility, where he discussed the possibility that if Forbes fell to the Commanders at No. 16, they’d have their guy.

What’s more interesting in the video is that Washington general manager Martin Mayhew tried to move up to No. 14. The New England Patriots held the No. 14 overall pick and eventually traded it to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who selected Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones.

The two sides obviously didn’t agree to a deal, and Washington gladly selected Forbes 16th overall, ahead of Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, who many had rated higher.

The video shows Mayhew calling Eliot Wolf, New England’s director of scouting, to discuss what it would take to move up. The price, from New England’s side, was a third-round pick, and the Patriots would send a sixth back to the Commanders. That didn’t work for head coach Ron Rivera, who was potentially willing to send a fourth. Washington stayed at No. 16 and got its guy in Forbes.

Marty Hurney was overheard saying he didn’t think Forbes would make it past the Patriots. The Patriots wound up making the deal with the Steelers and, picking 17th, selected Gonzalez.

This begs the question: Could Washington have been looking to make a move for Jones?

We’ll never know for sure, but from watching that video it seems apparent that unless a specific offensive lineman, such as Paris Johnson, fell, Forbes would always be Washington’s guy.

Senior director of player personnel Eric Stokes asked Mayhew: Forbes or Gonzalez? Stokes answered his own question with Forbes, and Mayhew agreed. The Commanders probably didn’t expect Gonzalez to be available due to the pre-draft hype surrounding him.

“I promise if it’s Forbes, Jack [Del Rio] is going to do some flip flops,” Rivera said before the team selected Forbes. When Rivera informed Del Rio that Forbes was the pick, he was excited.

“We got him?” Del Rio asked. “Wooo.”

It’s worth a watch, as it also contains video of Forbes going back to his old high school on draft day.

Moving back was not an option for the Commanders in Thursday’s 1st round of the NFL draft

Trading back was not an option for the Commanders in the first round.

Washington Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew spoke of his fondness for trading back in the NFL draft last week.

Last year, the Commanders traded the No. 11 overall pick to the New Orleans Saints for the No. 16 pick and selections in the third and fourth rounds.

When Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew met with the media after Thursday’s first round, Mayhew was asked if he had the option to trade back again this year.

He didn’t.

“No. No, we didn’t get any calls this year,” Mayhew answered. “We got a ton last year, but we didn’t get ’em this year. We discussed that and looked at it. There were a number of guys that we liked. We felt there was a certain distance we could go back and still get one of those guys, but the call didn’t come, and we made the call to get Emmanuel [Forbes].”

There were plenty of trades in the first round, but they all happened in front of Washington inside the top 10 or after the Commanders in the 20s.

Washington entered the 2023 NFL draft with eight selections. Perhaps the Commanders can explore trading back on day two to add more picks.

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2023 NFL draft trade value chart: How much are Commanders’ 8 picks worth?

Breaking down the value of each of Washington’s eight selections.

Washington Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew met with the media last week for his pre-draft press conference and discussed trading up and trading back in the NFL draft.

In the 2022 NFL draft, Washington held the No. 11 pick before dropping down five spots in a trade with the New Orleans Saints. The trade netted Washington additional selections in the third and fourth rounds. The Commanders made another trade and the three picks added from this trade sent Brian Robinson Jr., Sam Howell and Cole Turner to Washington.

Mayhew used last season’s trade as an example of why he preferred trading back and cited other examples from his time as a general manager.

“When you’re trading back, you’re acquiring more picks, and it’s been my experience to just having more volume and having more picks gives you more opportunities to hit, especially if you’re scouting well in those mid-to-late rounds,” Mayhew said.

Washington first goes on the clock at No. 16 overall in the 2023 NFL draft, which begins Thursday. The Commanders would again like to trade back and hold eight picks in this year’s draft.

What are those picks worth?

Using the Rich Hill model, a modified version of the old Jimmy Johnson trade chart, we analyze what each of Washington’s eight picks are worth in 2023.

  • Round 1 (No. 16): 305
  • Round 2 (No. 47): 124
  • Round 3 (No. 97): 39
  • Round 4 (No. 118): 25
  • Round 5 (No. 150): 12
  • Round 6 (No. 193): 5
  • Round 6 (No. 215): 3
  • Round 7 (No. 233): 2

Overall, Washington’s eight picks have an overall value of 515 points.

Below is a chart detailing the value of every NFL team’s 2023 draft picks using the Rich Hill model.

Ranking the positions most likely to be picked 16th overall by Commanders in 2023 NFL draft

Which positions are the Commanders most likely to target in the first round?

We are just one day away from the 2023 NFL draft, and the Washington Commanders go on the clock at No. 16 overall.

The Commanders could go several ways with their first pick; however, they spent much of the pre-draft process focusing on offensive linemen and cornerback. That’s not by coincidence. Last year, Washington heavily scouted wide receivers and selected Jahan Dotson in the first round.

Ideally, Washington general manager Martin Mayhew would love to move back in round one and add additional picks in this draft or, perhaps, in 2024. Of course, you need a trade partner, and the Commanders need top players from premium positions to fall to become an attractive trade partner.

Remember, Washington picked at No. 11 last season and moved to No. 16 in a trade with the Saints, adding two additional selections, which landed the Commanders Sam Howell and Brian Robinson Jr.

For now, we’ll assume Washington remains at No. 16, and we’ll rank the five positions in the order we believe the Commanders will focus on with their top pick.

Minus ownership intrusion, Commanders’ Mayhew looks to freely draft

Mayhew and Ron Rivera are completely free to pick whoever they choose without owner interference in this week’s NFL draft.

The stories of the intrusions of Washington owner Daniel Snyder into the draft process for the NFL team are legendary…. and painful.

Last week, Commanders Wire reminded readers of the 2008 NFL draft via Vinny Cerrato’s appearance on the Grant & Danny Show. Snyder insisted Malcolm Kelly be a second-round choice instead of Cerrato’s spoken preference for Texas running back Jamaal Charles. Charles had a great career, Kelly caught zero touchdown passes, never recovering from a college injury to his knee.

The 2019 NFL draft is another painful memory for Washington fans of Mr. Snyder’s insistence on getting his way in the draft, though hired professionals that knew much better. Snyder declared to the personnel department the first-round choice (15th overall) would be Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

There have been reports that Kyle Smith who invested the most time of the department in scouting college prospects for the draft waited and waited and when no one else who outranked him would stand up to Snyder, Smith made his frustration known…and with much volume.

To make matters worse, Snyder or Bruce Allen worked a trade where Washington traded back up into the first round to draft Montez Sweat at No. 26. Sweat has produced, Haskins did not, and the trade for Sweat cost Washington dearly as the leadership agreed to give the Colts two second-round choices in return for that No. 26 selection in 2019.

Washington sent to Indianapolis the No. 46 selection in that 2019 draft. Compounding matters, Haskins was not ready to be an NFL quarterback, Washington only went 3-13 in 2019, and thus the Colts ended up getting Washington’s 2020 second-round pick which was the second pick in the round!

Washington could have simply selected Sweat at No. 15 or someone else they wanted, and they would have retained these two second-round choices. However, fans are only left to wonder how much of an impact those two second-round choices might have made in the last couple of seasons.

Mr. Snyder did not intrude into the draft last year (2022), and Martin Mayhew engineered trades back in the draft which brought Jahan Dotson, Brian Robinson Jr. and Sam Howell.

Mayhew has already mentioned he likes the possibility of trading back in NFL drafts. If only Washington had done this more often during Mr. Snyder’s years.

Don’t expect the Commanders to trade up in next week’s 2023 NFL draft

Martin Mayhew talks about what it would take to move up. Clearly, he’s a bigger fan of trading down.

The Washington Commanders held their annual pre-draft press conference Thursday with head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew.

Rivera and Mayhew covered a number of topics but wanted to keep the focus on the team and the 2023 NFL draft. There was a question about defensive end Chase Young’s fifth-year option. Rivera offered a quick response. There were questions about ownership, and Rivera shot them down, keeping the focus on the draft.

As far as next week’s draft, Mayhew discussed the pros and cons of trading up and trading back. While Mayhew spoke of why you trade up, it was clear he prefers to move back and add additional picks.

After all, it worked well for the Commanders last year when they moved back five spots and selected a player they loved — Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson — and also added more selections in the draft, two of which were running back Brian Robinson Jr. and quarterback Sam Howell.

So far, that looks like an excellent move for Washington.

What would propel Washington to move up?

“Yeah, frequently trade up are situations where you see a player who you think should have been gone and then you move up and try to try to get that player,” Mayhew said. “The player fits you; it’s an aggressive move to go up, I think, because you’re giving up typically [a] draft choice. There are other opportunities to pick other players to go and get that player. So, you have to have a consensus on a guy. You have to have a very, very strong opinion of a guy in my mind to move up.”

For Washington to move up, it would need to be for a player high on its draft board that dropped lower than anticipated.

As for trading back, Mayhew is a big fan.

“When you’re trading back, you’re acquiring more picks, and it’s been my experience to just having more volume and having more picks gives you more opportunities to hit, especially if you’re scouting well in those mid-to-late rounds,” Mayhew said.

“That’s what happened for us last year. You know, we moved back, we picked up a number of players we feel really good about, and those guys all have really bright futures with us right now. If we had gone up, I think we started with five or six picks to start the draft, so we had gone up and given up picks it had been slim pickings for us, so it varies a lot. You have to be really strong, I think in opinions in terms of moving up. I really prefer to move back most of the time.”

Of course, every team wants to trade back. You have to have a willing partner to move back, and that doesn’t always happen. But it’s clear from Mayhew’s words Washington will not be moving up from No. 16 next week. If there is a trade, the Commanders are going back.

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Mayhew confident as Commanders prepare for NFL draft

Mayhew feels free agency set the Commanders up well ahead of the NFL draft.

“We have the ability to go anywhere in this draft.”

Commanders General Manager Martin Mayhew met with local media Thursday in preparation for next week’s 2023 NFL Draft. The former NFL cornerback and now GM is confident the team after its free agency signings, is deeper and more balanced. “I thought in free agency that we added some guys, some starters from other teams. Two offensive line starters from very good teams, playoff teams. We added a linebacker, quality player there. Added Jacoby [Brissett]. We did some things in free agency that we feel are very beneficial going into our draft.”

Mayhew does not fear that the Commanders are so weak in one area they will have to draft that position in the first round. Having the No. 16 selection in the draft, there will be some good players definitely available. If the Commanders are entering the draft with no glaringly weak position, then why not go ahead and draft the best player available at No. 16?

Free agency set us up for the draft. We have the flexibility to go anywhere in the first round,” expressed Mayhew. That is a credit to our pro department, to our coaching staff who also evaluated all of those players. We are set up in really good shape going into our draft this year.”

The Commanders finished in last place in the NFC East (8-8-1) in 2022. Consequently, if they want to be a playoff team in 2023 (and of course they do), they will need to select a player in the first round who will make an impact next season.

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What did Ron Rivera say about Hendon Hooker’s visit to the Commanders?

The Commanders recently hosted Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker on a visit to Ashburn.

The Washington Commanders have maintained they are pretty happy about their quarterback situation entering 2023 despite some skepticism from around the NFL.

Second-year passer Sam Howell will compete with respected veteran Jacoby Brissett to be Washington’s starting quarterback in 2023. Howell, a fifth-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft, impressed coaches and teammates throughout last season. However, his performance in the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys had Washington believing Howell was ready for a chance to compete to start in 2023.

Howell possesses plenty of talent. The odds of fifth-round draft picks turning into franchise quarterbacks are long, but Howell is not your average fifth-rounder. NFL Network Daniel Jeremiah noted that Howell was a future starter when the Commanders selected him and has continued to praise Howell.

Despite Washington’s happiness with its current players, you never forsake an opportunity to add another talented quarterback to the mix. Therefore, the Commanders recently had Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in Ashburn for a top-30 visit.

Hooker’s visit was the only one from a quarterback.

The record-setting passer is coming off back-to-back outstanding seasons with the Volunteers. However, he tore his ACL late in the season, forcing him to miss much of the pre-draft work. Hooker impressed many teams by attending the Senior Bowl and meeting with teams. That has continued throughout the season, and Hooker’s stock continues to rise.

Hooker’s injury and age [25] may have some teams hesitant to spend a first-round pick on him; multiple teams had him in for a visit. So Hooker sneaking into the first round can’t be ruled out, but the expectation is he will land somewhere in the second round.

Could that be Washington?

Head coach Ron Rivera met with the media Thursday to discuss the 2023 NFL draft and was asked about having Hooker in for a visit.

“Because you never know,” Rivera said.

“Situations and circumstances may dictate something else. For the most part, we feel very comfortable going into this draft and what our needs are. I think we put ourselves in a good position because of the success we feel we had in free agency.”

Then Rivera turned specifically to the quarterback part:

“As far as the quarterback position goes, we feel very comfortable with the guys we have,” he answered. “If you think about it, we have a young guy in Sam that coming out at one point was rated very high. We were fortunate, we believe, to get him where we got him. We got Jacoby Brissett coming off in what we believe was one of his better years as a player. It is one of those things that is funny because, typically, when you get quarterbacks, it is when they are coming off a tough time. We feel good about what we did there as well, and we will see what happens.”

Rivera said a lot without saying a thing. That was expected. Of course, he isn’t going to tip his hand either way.

But he said something else in his press conference that is worth watching.

When talking about if there was a correlation between drafting players who came in for top-30 visits, Rivera said the following:

“And some guys we didn’t bring in because we don’t want you to know about them,” Rivera added. 

So while keeping track of each visit is important, it doesn’t mean the Commanders — or any other NFL team — is necessarily going to make a move for a player they bring in for a visit. Sometimes, it’s to show other teams they are interested or to check the medicals.

LOOK: Ron Rivera shows up to Commanders Park in style

Washington’s head coach showed up in style.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew were scheduled to meet with the media Thursday for their pre-draft press conference ahead of next week’s 2023 NFL draft.

Coach Rivera showed up in style, driving a beautiful 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, as captured by Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

The 1970 Chevelle SS is one of the most sought-after classic cars on the market. On most days, Washington’s players probably have some of the sharpest rides in the parking lot, but on Thursday, it was Rivera’s ride that stole the show.