Depending upon with whom you are talking, the Commanders’ last five games are not important at all or very important.
Some will quickly respond the Commanders are now in the fifth position for the 2024 NFL draft. This is true. Losing five of their last six games, the Commanders have been leapfrogging several teams over the last six weeks.
It can be exciting to think of owning a top-5 pick in the next draft and obtaining Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Joe Alt, Olu Fashanu, or perhaps Jayden Daniels.
Let me ask you, what do Chase Young, Brandon Scherff, Robert Griffin III, Trent Williams, LaRon Landry, Carlos Rogers, Sean Taylor, LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels have in common?
Yes, all were drafted by Washington in this century (2000-2023). Even more, all were drafted in the top ten in their respective drafts.
But how extremely different were these careers for top-10 Washington players? Their careers range from great all the way to terribly disappointing.
How about the careers of Chase Young and Robert Griffin, both drafted second overall? Remember, Robert Griffin also cost the franchise first-round selections in the 2013 and 2014 drafts because they traded up to get him.
No, isn’t it obvious that what is more important in these final five games is the development of players drafted in the last three years? Sam Howell, Quan Martin, KJ Henry, Chris Rodriguez, and Andre Jones need to see plenty of snaps down the stretch. And if Emmanuel Forbes can return from his elbow injury, isn’t it important he play as much as possible as well?
Jahan Dotson, Brian Robinson Jr., and Percy Butler need to progress if the 2024 team is going to have a winning season, correct? Isn’t it time to find out if Phidarian Mathis and Cole Turner can play in this league?
These last five games are large for Jamin Davis, Sam Cosmi, Benjamin St-Juste, Dyami Brown, and John Bates if they want to be certain they are going to be a major part of this team next season. Darrick Forrest is still out injured. It is uncertain if he is going to play again this season.
So, yes, the team has a voluminous list of reasons to play hard in the final five games because, as a whole, they could truly impact the team more in 2024 than wishful thinking about a draft pick.