Ron Rivera Reveals Commanders First Round Draft Strategy

The Washington Commanders hold the No. 16 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 23, 2023

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Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders are days away from the start of the NFL Draft, but the team has been planning out possible scenarios for months.

Holding the No. 16 pick smack dab in the middle of the round, the Commanders have a number of options in front of them on what they can do with the pick.

Washington could trade up to get a guy they really want that may not be there at No. 16, trade down like the team did last year for Jahan Dotson, or stick with the pick and take a host of positions. Head coach Ron Rivera spoke about how the team approaches the first round of the draft and what we can expect about the Commanders' thought process.

"What we want to do is put a group of guys up there and say these are the five guys that we see coming to us, what is going to happen in the next five picks and we are going to have to react to what happens," Rivera said. "Is it easy? It could be depending on what happens in front. That’s the truth of it. We are at a point where we have to react to what is in front of us first.”

There is a lot of potential for trades early in this draft before Washington can get on the clock, especially for quarterbacks. The Commanders are content with Sam Howell at the moment, which means a trade for a quarterback is unlikely, but not impossible.

However, if there are a bunch of trades for picks ahead of the Commanders that aren't on their radar, that could benefit Washington and the team could have a number of players available that it wants at No. 16. This could lead them to trading down and getting better value for their player of choice.

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Published Apr 23, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.