NFL Mock Draft: Commanders Trade Back, Select Top Pass Rusher Dallas Turner

What if the Washington Commanders do what they've done most this offseason and go a different direction than expected in April?

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NFL Scouting Combine gets started this week and the Washington Commanders will have plenty of people on hand for the press conferences and drills that are going on in Indianapolis.

Commander Country is on hand as well to help cover the event and thought it was a good time to unveil a mock draft focused on something the Commanders could do that nobody expects them to.

When Washington hired Adam Peters to be the next general manager - and a true one at that - we all thought we had a beat on what the franchise was doing. After all, he was the favorite from the jump for most of us.

But then the team hired Dan Quinn to be the next coach and went another unexpected step forward and swept Kliff Kingsbury off the Las Vegas Raiders doorstep to be the next offensive coordinator for the Commanders. 

So what if, the expected move was the anomaly and the unexpected the norm?

We asked that question for this week's Mock Draft Monday, and instead of targeting offense in the first round of the NFL Draft, went defensive.

Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dallas Turner (15) celebrates after a sack in the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium / Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

TOP NFL DRAFT DEFENDERS

According to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah and his top 50 draft prospects list Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Terrion Arnold is the top defender in this year's group coming in No. 6 overall on the list. 

While that obviously also makes Arnold the top cornerback, the top edge defender on Jeremiah's list is fellow Crimson Tide product Dallas Turner. 

Both are projected according to experts to go top 10 and as high as No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons.

The top linebacker in the class according to Jeremiah is Texas A&M standout Edgerrin Cooper who Is getting some late first-round projection, but also some Day 2 looks. 

Clearly, if Washington were to go defense on Day 1, it wouldn't need to do it at pick No. 2.

THE TRADE

So, if we're targeting Arnold or Turner for the Commanders on Day 1 then we're looking to trade back from No. 2, and what better team to do it with than the very Falcons who are the highest mocked team to do so already?

With the trade up six spots Atlanta is surely looking for a quarterback and Washington gets back No. 8 and No. 74 this year along with a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft - at a minimum.

MOCK DRAFT

With the trade in place, the Falcons have a new quarterback in either Drake Maye (North Carolina) or Jayden Daniels (LSU), and the Commanders have the eighth pick on the first day of the NFL Draft. 

In the interest of addressing the most glaring position of need between the top two defenders available we have Washington selecting Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner, followed by the remaining selections.

No. 36: OT Jordan Morgan, Arizona

No. 40: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas

No. 67: EDGE Bralen Trice, Washington

No. 74: LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson (from ATL in mock trade)

No. 101: OC Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia

When you go back to Quinn's history as the coach in Atlanta the team drafted defenders four times in six years with their top pick. 

Five times in seven years the San Francisco 49ers went defender with their top pick while Peters was on the staff there. 

That's a combined nine of 13 first selections spent on defensive players, a rate of 69 percent. 

However, Quinn inherited veteran Matt Ryan and when it looked like the 49ers didn't have a solidified long-term answer at quarterback they made a move to draft Trey Lance in the first round, with their first pick. 

'Gonna Be Special': New Commanders Coach Reveals Why He Left 49ers

The truth of the matter is we could turn behavioral patterns into any result we'd most prefer. At the end of the day - and the end of April - it'll be Peters and Quinn leading the charge on shaping what Washington football will be in the future, and they have a multitude of paths they could follow.

For mock drafts pursuing Arnold and Cooper on Day 1 of the NFL Draft, check out the Locked On Commanders podcast on YouTube or wherever you download podcasts.