3 Players Commanders Could Target in Trades During NFL Draft Weekend

It's not just NFL Draft capital that exchanges hands during the weekend, and the Washington Commanders could be on the buying end of some deals to add veterans along the way.

All the talk for the next 24 hours or so will be about the Washington Commanders selecting another first-round rookie, and the new players to follow as the NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday.

But there's another part of the NFL Draft festivities that help shape teams like the Commanders, and that's the movement of veteran players during the rookie selection meeting. 

Last year's first-round trade for receiver A.J. Brown catapulted the Philadelphia Eagles into Super Bowl contenders, and at least one NFL team has the potential to move a big-name veteran during this year's proceedings. 

And that name starts our list of veterans Washington could target to supplement their draft needs.

LB DEVIN WHITE - TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Since entering the NFL via the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft White has racked up 20.5 sacks, nearly 500 tackles, 35 of them for a loss, and hit opposing quarterbacks 55 times. 

Each of those numbers would be top four or better on the Commanders' roster in the same categories. 

The problem is, White's role with Tampa Bay as an off-ball linebacker is different than we've seen Washington defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio use his in.

And White wants to be paid big money in his next contract with his current deal expiring after this season. 

It's one of those moves that would be risky, but have major upside if it were to pan out, and would require the early selection of a future starting-caliber edge defender in the NFL Draft as it would signal the departure of either Chase Young or Montez Sweat as early as this weekend. 

QB TREY LANCE - SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Chalk this one up in the 'you never know' category, and would require the support of assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to come to life, but you know things are going badly for a franchise when a first-round pick from just two drafts ago is on the trading block. 

Yet, but the grace of quarterback Brock Purdy - a 2022 seventh-round pick - the 49ers are still in contention in the NFC.

Meanwhile, San Francisco general manager John Lynch is trying to quiet down the rumors that Lance is available for the right price by recently saying of trade talks, "I think there's a lot of smoke really...it hasn't been extremely active, and it's not like we've put it out there that, 'Hey, we're taking offers for Trey'...that's not been the process."

But Lynch knows too, where there's smoke, there's fire, and this posturing is likely to try and get the best deal possible. 

Is Commanders quarterback Sam Howell the future of the franchise? They certainly hope so. 

But if the 49ers see a mid to late-round prospect they believe could help them compete with the likes of the Eagles this season, don't be surprised to see them take a deal. 

OT JONAH WILLIAMS - CINCINNATI BENGALS

When the Bengals signed former Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. it triggered a trade request from 2019 first-round pick Jonah Williams.

Williams is coming off of a knee injury suffered in the Wild Card Round of the AFC Playoffs this past season.

Before that, however, Williams started 42 regular season games for the Bengals and five in the postseason. 

He graded out at 62.8 in 2022 as a pass blocker - which isn't great, but isn't terrible - and had his best season there in 2020. 

His best season as a run blocker came in 2021 when he reached a 75.6 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Those grades would have put Williams in the area of being one of the top five blockers on Washington's roster last season. 

The big question will be asking price and whether or not Cincinnati is even willing to move on from Williams who is playing this season on his fifth-year option worth $12.6 million. 

But if the Commanders don't add a young offensive tackle early in this draft, this may be a move they try to make in order to continue revamping their offensive line.

Ranging from possible to unlikely, these deals would be big news for Washington, the team trading away a player, and the NFL Draft weekend as a whole. 

Any of these three could also prove to be a key member in turning the Commanders into a consistently competitive team on a league-wide scale. 

And the possibility of any of these trades taking place, even these players being moved to teams outside of Washington, is just one part of what makes the NFL Draft the most attention-grabbing weekend of the offseason.

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