NFL Draft: Washington Commanders Surprise in 2023 First Round Mock

It's clear by early projections of how 2022 will go, nobody has confidence in Washington

If you believe this may finally be the season the Washington Commanders turn around their losing ways, you may be alone. 

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Washington Commanders

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Washington Commanders

Sky Sports

Washington Commanders

At best, you're in a very small minority it would seem, especially when considering how the national view pictures the Commanders' 2022 NFL Season turning out. 

Take, for example, the latest in some way-too-early mock NFL Drafts for next April. 

We already covered one, and in it, Washington held the No. 10 pick in the first round. 

In yet another 2023 mock, this one by CBS Sports, we again see the Commanders picking in the Top 10, selecting Alabama cornerback, Eli Ricks.

Ricks certainly passes the eye test as a player prospect for what Washington could be looking for in next year's draft, assuming the secondary was a big part of why the team failed to increase its position one year to the next. 

The 6-2 corner has length and demonstrated ball skills, and if he can become a difference-maker at Alabama will show he has the ability to learn and thrive in various environments. 

All things NFL teams covet. 

But he also has a recent arrest for speeding, driving without insurance, and possession of marijuana. 

While those crimes alone may not be enough to trigger a slide of epic proportions, he'll have to answer for those actions to NFL teams during the interview process, and stay clean from here to then in the meantime. 

Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback, Eli Ricks (then with the LSU Tigers)

Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback, Eli Ricks (then with the LSU Tigers)

Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback, Eli Ricks (then with the LSU Tigers)

The CBS Sports mock doesn't provide a whole lot of analysis for the pick outside of Ricks' transfer from LSU to Alabama this season setting him up to have a big year. 

But the Commanders have outs built into the contracts of both cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and William Jackson III if one or both men don't appear to be helping the defense become the unit they want it to become after this season comes to an end. 

Moving on from Fuller after 2022 would save the team around $7 million, while ending things with Jackson would save around $5 million. 

Of course, if the Washington Commanders were to make either move while picking in the Top 10 of the 2023 NFL Draft, we'd have many more things to discuss outside of just how much money the team could save by releasing a cornerback or two.