There's no doubt that Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters isn't afraid to make a trade within the NFC East Division.
Just last year, the Commanders traded their 40th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade package that ultimately brought cornerback Mike Sainristil, tight end Ben Sinnott, and linebacker Dominique Hampton to the team.
Then, in the preseason, Peters orchestrated another trade with the Eagles, sending receiver Jahan Dotson to the interdivisional rival. The question this year is, would Washington be willing to pull off a similar deal again?
"It's like a lot of things on a case-by-case basis, and what is the trade? Is it the best move for your team? And I don't personally believe in being scared about trading with a team within your division. If you think that trade's a good value for you and you can get some good picks to help your team get better, then definitely consider it," Peters said about the idea in his pre-draft press conference this week. "Some cases it won't be, and so some cases you think, 'Alright, maybe we don't want to do that for whatever reason,' but I don't think that we'll ever shy away from that, taking those calls. And a lot of times you'll have a lot of picks or a lot of trades kind of lined up. And in that particular instance, the Eagles trade was by far the best trade in terms of value that we got. So we made that trade.”
ANOTHER NFC EAST DIVISION TRADE?
In his final mock draft before the big day, Sports Illustrated's Daniel Flick projected an interesting trade for the Commanders at pick No. 29, sending the first-round selection to the division rival New York Giants, who then selected quarterbacks Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss, who they'd hope would become their new franchise leader at some point in the near future.
"If the Giants don’t opt for Sanders at No. 3, they’re a logical fit to move back into the first round for a signal-caller. The Commanders don’t have a third-round pick, and there are several players—(Ohio State running back TreVeyon) Henderson, receiver Emeka Egbuka and cornerback Maxwell Hairston, among others—still available who may be of interest to them," Flick speculates.
CONTEXTUAL DIFFERENCES
In the trade, Washington gets the 34th pick in this year's NFL Draft along with the 99th. The move would give Peters two picks in the second round and one in the third, where he currently has just one in the second.
It would be a bold move for both teams. For the Giants it makes a lot of sense to move up into the back end of the first round and get a quarterback along with a fifth-year option down the road. For the Commanders, adding to their current stock of five draft picks also makes sense. The question is, is it worth adding that extra pick if it means potentially helping a rival find their next franchise quarterback?
