Sometimes timing is as important as wisdom when it comes to the NFL draft.
Yes, NFL general managers need to do their homework, prepare their draft boards, and maintain the vision and objectives of their drafts, and not get distracted by what other teams might do with their drafts.
Yet, timing sometimes is paramount.
Take, for example, the rookie quarterback classes in the 2024 and 2025 NFL drafts. Commanders fans are glad Ron Rivera's team was perhaps the worst in the NFL in 2023 with a 4-13 record, rather than being one of the worst teams in 2024.
The rookie quarterback class of 2024 was loaded, heavily loaded. So loaded in fact, that six of the top 12 players selected in the first round were quarterbacks. Caleb Williams went first to the Bears, and then the Commanders selected LSU rookie Jayden Daniels. The Patriots followed next with Drake Maye.
Michael Penix Jr. went to the Falcons at No. 8 overall, JJ McCarthy went to the Vikings at No. 10, and Bo Nix (12th) went to Denver.
Now, look at this year's 2025 rookie quarterback class. Yes, I know you repeatedly see Cam Ward projected to be the first player drafted overall by the Tennessee Titans. Yet, how certain are any of us that Ward is even one of the top ten players in the draft? He is being drafted first because the Titans desperately need a quarterback, not because Ward is a top-ten player in this draft.
Imagine if the Commanders had landed the No. 2 overall selection in this 2025 draft instead of 2024. We can be confident that GM Adam Peters at No. 2 overall would not settle for the next quarterback, regardless of how desperately he needed one.
Consequently, Commanders fans can be quite thankful that the Commanders owned the second overall selection in the draft in 2024 when QB Jayden Daniels was a good value pick at No. 2. In this year's draft, only Ward and Shedeur Sanders appear likely to go in the first round with Ole Miss QB Jaxon Dart expected to be selected likely early in round two.
Look at it this way: this year's top quarterback, Cam Ward, how certain are you that he would have been selected in the top 10 in the 2024 draft?
So, Commanders fans, aren't you all glad the Commander had the second overall selection in the 2024 draft and not the 2025 draft? Indeed, sometimes timing is the most crucial issue in the NFL draft.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: The 2024 NFL draft saw 6 QBs chosen in the top 12 picks
