If things keep going how they’ve gone for the Washington Commanders so far this season, it will mean the franchise will somewhat unexpectedly find themselves sitting toward the top of the 2026 NFL draft.
It’s a position they didn’t envision themselves in when they entered the year as Super Bowl contenders, but it’s also starting to look like it could be a reality after a 3-6 start, multiple injuries to its star players and an upcoming schedule that is among the toughest in the NFL.
Figure all that together, and it’s why Pro Football Focus has the Commanders slotted at No. 9 in its latest 2026 mock draft, which PFF predicts will give them a unique opportunity to take one of the best safety prospects in recent memory with Ohio State’s Caleb Downs.
“Far too many players are described as ‘generational,’ but they don’t make them like Caleb Downs very often,” NFL writer Eric Lind wrote on X on November 1.
Downs, 6-foot and 205 pounds, is the type of safety who projects as an NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowler on the next level from almost the moment he steps on the field.
“Caleb Downs is the single best prospect for the 2026 draft cycle,” Bleacher Report’s Daniel Harms wrote. “With his experience in Matt Patricia’s defense, he’s going to hit the ground running for whatever NFL team drafts him … He was tapped as a unanimous All-American, Big Ten Conference’s Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year and all-Big Ten in 2024 after being named the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year after his 2023 campaign.”
Downs Helped Lead Buckeyes to National Title
Talent evaluators have had Downs pegged as a possible first round pick from when he was just a schoolboy — he was named the USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Mill Creek (Georgia) High School in 2023.
Downs spent his first college season at the University of Alabama, where he was an All-American, All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2023 before he transferred to Ohio State.
In his first season with the Buckeyes, the 6-foot, 205-pound Downs led the Buckeyes to a College Football Playoff National Championship.
Commanders Don’t Have Any Superstars on Defense
Downs would give the Washington defense what it’s missing right now — a true superstar player as the Commanders have looked slow and lost on defense in 2025. In 2024, linebacker Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu were the firestarters and both earned NFL All-Pro honors.
This year, there just hasn’t been that type of player for Washington on the defensive side of the ball and Downs would fit the bill.
Washington’s last 2 first round picks — the 2 first round picks since they hired general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn — have both been on offense. They selected quarterback Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in 2024 and selected offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. at No. 29 overall in 2025.
Downs landing on the Commanders would be incredible luck for both himself and for Quinn, who made his reputation as one of the NFL’s elite defensive coordinators.
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