Washington Commanders get called out for questionable offseason moves and find themselves close to the bottom of the barrel

With the dust settled from the offseason and the start of training camp less than two weeks away, ESPN analyst Seth Walder recently decided to grade each team's offseason moves and it's safe to say he's not a fan of what the Washington Commanders did, for the most part.

Walder gave the Commanders a C, which places them in the bottom-7 of grades. Of those seven, five tied for Cs, one received a C-, and the final one was handed a D. So, they basically tied for 26th when it comes to the scale.

His two biggest issues center around two of the Commanders' three biggest moves: trading for Deebo Samuel and signing Javon Kinlaw to a big contract. Honestly, his logic is pretty spot-on, too:

When grading the deal, I wrote that I was working under the assumption that Washington would add another wideout later in the offseason because Samuel would be a weakness as a No. 2 receiver. But there was no other major wide receiver addition.

Signing Kinlaw to a three-year deal averaging $15 million per year with $30 million fully guaranteed was a head-scratcher. Kinlaw has largely disappointed since being drafted in the first round in 2020; even with Kinlaw having a career season in 2024 this is a clear overpay. I was good with the Commanders cutting Allen, but paying Kinlaw this much to replace him doesn't make sense. - Seth Walder, ESPN

Commanders should've added a No. 2 receiver before signing Kinlaw

With all due respect, Samuel is a matchup threat. He's not a true wideout. That's not a knock against him at all - what he's able to do in his own unique role provides a lot of value. Especially after losing Dyami Brown, it was clear the Commanders needed another guy to help boost Jayden Daniels and simultaneously take the heat off Terry McLaurin (and now there's the McLaurin standoff and Noah Brown injury but I digress).

They did draft Jaylin Lane in the fourth round, but it would be more luck than anything else for him to develop into a true No. 2 during his rookie year.

The Kinlaw addition is one of the worst moves from the entire free agency period. Maybe the Commanders will come out on top in the long run, but it's hard to see that based off Kinlaw's resume. And like Walder mentions, it's a lot of money. Getting the guy for $7-$8 million would've actually been a pretty decent move, but the actual price tag is impossible to stomach. The extra money could've been used for a solid pass rusher or another wideout, too.

Walder didn't even get to the point of the hole at EDGE, either. The Commanders are currently without the Dante Fowler-type player that can line up across the defensive front and has the athleticism/bend/experience to get after the quarterback from any spot. There's a good chance Frankie Luvu takes more of that role on, but it remains to be seen and we don't even know if it'll work.

The Commanders clearly traded a chunk of their pass rush production for better run production. They have OK pass rushers, but no one represents a threat teams will have to game plan for on a specific, intimate basis.

Looking back, you can see what the Commanders are doing and what their vision is, but they did make some questionable moves along the way. They aren't just low-end questionable moves, either. They're big ones that will dramatically affect the season in either a positive or negative light. Hell, even a kind-of-negative light wouldn't be a good outcome.

At the same time, there were a lot of questions surrounding last year's roster construction and we all saw how that played out. The Commanders are the ultimate "time will tell" team, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, at the end of the day.