- 2 days ago
The 2026 NFL Draft has finally arrived and so has the final mock draft for the Washington Commanders! Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to go over his final Commanders’ NFL mock draft and discuss what he thinks and wants the Commanders to do on night one of the NFL Draft.
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00:00At BenStanding on X, and then there's a link to LastManStanding.Substack.com, where he has his final mock draft
00:12up and delivered, I would assume at this point, for contest purposes.
00:17Ben is absolutely worth it on Substack for a few bucks a month.
00:23He also has a podcast called Last Man Standing as well.
00:27So, for those that are hearing about your successful mock draft ability for the first time, tell everybody what you've
00:37accomplished, and give us the contest that you've entered every year.
00:42It's that huddle report, I think, mock draft contest, but tell everybody who's in it, how many people are in
00:48it, and how many times you've won it.
00:51Sure. The huddle report, they became the first one to really track the various mock drafts out there, and it
01:01became a bigger deal over time.
01:03And Daniel Jeremiah, they're in it, Peter Schrager, a lot of the people you've heard about.
01:09And then, of course, a lot of the people out there who do different websites or bloggers or whatever.
01:15Some people use crazy analytics. Some people go in with their gut, whatever it might be.
01:19So, it's been going on for, I don't even know how it is, 20 years, give or take, or so.
01:23I've won it three times. It's tied for the most.
01:26Three times. Three times you've won this.
01:30Yeah.
01:30That's tied for the most with whom?
01:34Oh, crap. I'm blanking on the guy's name.
01:36Old school guy. He used to be in Dallas.
01:40Rick Gosselin, I want to call it.
01:41Rick Gosselin, sure.
01:43Yeah.
01:43Sure.
01:44I mean, you know, he's obviously one of those guys that's like, if he's not already in the writer's wing
01:50of the Hall of Fame, he will be at some point.
01:53But, yeah.
01:55How does it get scored? Tell everybody how it gets scored.
01:58This is just on the first round.
01:59So, tell everybody how it gets scored.
02:02You get one point if you have the player in the first round, and you get two points if the
02:07player is with the team.
02:09But, like, if you say Washington's going to draft Carnell Tate, it doesn't have to be at seven.
02:15If they trade down to ten and they get in there, that still counts.
02:19But, yeah.
02:19So, one point for in the draft, and two if you get it correct with the team.
02:23All right.
02:25The three-time huddle report mock draft king.
02:29We're not going to give – we're not going to make Ben give us the entire mock draft, obviously.
02:34I want you to go read it.
02:36I've got it in front of me.
02:38I'm a subscriber to Ben's sub stack.
02:41But let's talk Washington.
02:42And tell everybody what you did with Washington at seven.
02:48Yeah.
02:49I mean, you know, I think there's two players that I would assume that if they're on the board, Washington
02:54just stays and picks.
02:56And that is Jeremiah Love and Sonny Stiles.
02:59That would be my best guess there.
03:01Then the question is, you know, what happens from there?
03:05You know, what would it take for them to move down?
03:07I would imagine that adding – again, adding another top 100 pick or at least more picks in general would
03:13be a main priority.
03:14But, again, how far do you want to go down?
03:16So, I do think like there's – since I do think getting more picks is the primary need over any
03:22position, I do think trading down just a couple spots with Kansas City is something that I just keep eyeing.
03:28It just makes too much sense for both teams.
03:30It's huge move up.
03:31You know, obviously a team that's a legit contender, even though they had a bad year last year.
03:35They get aggressive.
03:36They get the guy they want.
03:37They move up with Washington.
03:39They jump the Saints at eight.
03:40And then Washington can still get one of a handful of players that they would like and get an extra
03:45pick or two.
03:46Who that player is, I think there's – you know, based on Adam Peters' history, they have been – they've
03:52leaned towards higher-end athletes.
03:54And whatever we want about how good of a player Carnell Tate is or Caleb Downs or Reuben Bain, they
04:01don't fall under that high-end athlete level.
04:05Mansoor Delaney, the LSU quarterback, I think is closer to that.
04:08He's not the biggest guy, so that may ding some of that, you know, higher-end athletic talk.
04:14But, you know, he ran a 4-3, 5-40 at his pro day, which would have been the second
04:17fastest among any corner at the combine.
04:21He also plays a premium position, unlike safety, unlike, you know, running back.
04:28And, you know, if you're going to pay somebody that kind of money, that's a good way to go.
04:33And, again, they need that position.
04:34And so, Mansoor Delaney, the LSU corner is kind of where I've landed.
04:38And, again, this is just more of looking at Adam Peters' track record than it is saying I've heard from
04:42six sources that this is what they're going to do.
04:44But that's kind of my read of what – and, again, this is me saying what I think they would
04:49do.
04:49It's not saying what I would do.
04:51Yeah, that's a good distinction.
04:53Just there are mock drafters and then there are draft analysts.
04:57Ben is a mock drafter.
04:59Now, he's a bit of a draft analyst as well.
05:01But he won the contest three times as predicting what the teams would do, not necessarily what he would do.
05:09Now, real quickly, with the trade back from seven to nine, what did Washington get from Kansas City for trading
05:17down two spots?
05:19Yeah, they get a fourth-round pick this year.
05:23And, again, I understand it's like, well, that's not a top 100 pick, Ben.
05:26Isn't that the whole point of this?
05:27Sure, that would be the ideal.
05:28But they still get another pick, which is, you know, in a draft where it feels like the sweet spot
05:33this year is that third- and fourth-round range.
05:35That's not a bad place to be to get an extra pick.
05:39And then, secondly, they would get – in order sort of to take a lesser pick this year, perhaps, they
05:44get a third-round pick.
05:45Like, next year, the Chiefs added a third-round pick in that trade with the Rams or Trent McDuffie.
05:51So, look, again, this is a matter of if the Chiefs are eyeing a player, whether that's Reuben Bain because
05:55they want another pass rusher,
05:57whether that's Jordan Tyson, the Arizona State receiver, who's seemed to – got a lot of momentum here in the
06:03last few days.
06:04Like, they could jump the Saints who seem to have similar needs and get who they want.
06:09And, you know, a team in their position, you know, they can make the true all-in moves.
06:15And that's not – that's an all-in move.
06:17But they could give up a third-round pick.
06:18It's like, we just want to get that guy with us in the debate.
06:21And that's why I think they would do it.
06:23I never – I don't – I never make a deal just from Washington's perspective.
06:27You've got to have – why is the other team wanting to do it?
06:29Otherwise, this whole exercise is a joke.
06:31So, I do think there's a legitimate reason why they would want to move up.
06:35And, again, for Washington, you're pretty much – based on – you know, you're pretty much guaranteed
06:39you're going to get either Delaney, Caleb Downs, Carnell Tate, Reuben Bain.
06:45Assuming that they're cool with any of those guys, then you drop down a little bit,
06:48get an extra pick, and then take whichever guy is left.
06:50Yeah.
06:51You have the Chiefs trading up to seven because they've got a desire for Bain,
06:56and he would be on the board there.
06:58I will tell you that if Bain's on the board, that would be who I'd get excited about
07:03for Washington to stick and pick.
07:05Before we get to what you'd like to see them do, not what you're predicting they'll do,
07:12what other trade-back possibilities did you consider?
07:18Yeah, well, I mean, you know, the Rams at 13, I mean, I do have them trading up
07:23in this particular scenario.
07:25You know, they are – again, they are a team that is, you know, very close to a Super Bowl.
07:32They may be in the last year playing with Matthew Stafford.
07:34They already have that mentality of we'll trade picks away to get immediate help.
07:40They'll do that.
07:41So, you know, they pick at 13.
07:43So if they wanted to move up to get, you know, somebody here, a receiver or someone else,
07:49is Washington willing to do that?
07:51This is where it becomes a question of what's your board look like.
07:54It's possible Washington says, hey, we think there's enough players here
07:57that we'll still get somebody we like, maybe it's now an offensive lineman
08:00as opposed to – which we wouldn't have maybe taken at seven, but okay.
08:04But maybe not.
08:05This is also where the board starts to fall off.
08:07I think the Bengals trading out at 10, even though Dexter Lawrence is a heck of a player,
08:11you wouldn't typically do that unless you think, boy, we just don't love the value here
08:16of these players.
08:18I think Dallas at 12, part of the reason they are looking to move up supposedly
08:21is because they want a defender and it really starts to fall off right about that point.
08:27So that would be one.
08:28And then another one would be like the Jets at 16.
08:31They've got four picks in the top 44.
08:33You know, they want to, again, be aggressive.
08:35They have extra assets to move around.
08:39And then, you know, again, I'm not saying Washington wouldn't get a good player,
08:42but now you're getting further down the board.
08:44And that's where, you know, your evaluation as a team really becomes important.
08:50You know, who do you think is there that's, you know,
08:52you don't want to just trade down for the sake of trading down.
08:54Like, I try to remember because obviously I have fun giving all these my graphs,
08:58but the entire point going into the offseason for me,
09:01and I think for others, was Washington ideally has got to on defense add a player
09:06or two that the other team on offense has to respect, has to track,
09:11has to game plan for.
09:12They haven't had that guy in some time.
09:15To some degree, you could say that Adolfo Owe is that guy,
09:19but, you know, it's okay to get, you can get another one.
09:23And especially, you know, the back seven, they don't really have that guy at all.
09:27So, you know, that's where, to me, the main priority still probably needs to be.
09:32You just need some blue chip talent, particularly on defense.
09:36The offense needs more help too, but particularly on defense.
09:38And you're going to potentially lose that further you trade down.
09:43Yeah, and let me just point out that if you do trade back, you know,
09:47to 13 with the Rams or to 16 with the Jets,
09:50that's where you end up getting that second round pick that you don't have.
09:55A move back that far would net more likely than not a second rounder on Friday night,
10:03whereas two spots back, you're not getting a second rounder for just moving two spots back.
10:11So, you know, I asked callers this earlier.
10:14I gave my answer.
10:15Max gave his answer.
10:17Now we're into the part of this where I want to know what you think,
10:20not what you think the team might do or what the rest of the league might do,
10:25but what you would do.
10:27Are there players – is there a player or players at seven that you stick
10:33and pick regardless of the trade back opportunities?
10:39Yeah, I mean, I think, again, if Jeremiah Love is there, I guess, you know,
10:44again, we go through the whole running back value thing,
10:45but, like, just the talent level is just so obvious.
10:50And for Washington specifically, you know, pairing –
10:53they need more offensive playmaking regardless.
10:55I think, you know, I think a big question is going to be did Washington do enough
11:02to really help Jaden Daniels, or are they just going to continue to rely on him
11:05sort of carrying the offense as he's had to the last couple of years when healthy?
11:10And Jeremiah Love, while not a receiver, would give you that element.
11:13That would be a pretty frightening one for defenses to have to deal with Jaden
11:16and Love in the backfield.
11:18So that would be the one for sure.
11:21Sonny Stiles, just based on his athleticism, but he blew up at the combine.
11:24I think there's another one.
11:26I do think there's been a little bit of pushback, though,
11:29in talking to some people in recent days about him.
11:33Not that he's not very good, but just that the hype over the athleticism
11:38has maybe gone a bit too much relative to the production that the player showed
11:44at Ohio State.
11:45Again, not saying he's not really good, but just, you know,
11:48he's not necessarily like, oh, my God, a must-take top-five pick in any given year.
11:53I don't know about that.
11:55But for me, so assuming those two guys are off the board, which I think is likely.
12:00You know, I have been covering sports now for, you know, some time, you know,
12:05getting closer to 20 years, give or take.
12:08Basketball, football primarily.
12:09And I've covered many drafts in those sports.
12:11And a lot of guys that, you know, we all know, we all have seen, you know,
12:15at the highest level and perform and become all-stars or what have you.
12:19I have never, in the whole time I've done this, I have never seen a prospect
12:24with zero negative comments until this year.
12:28I have not heard a single negative comment about Caleb Downs.
12:32It's not so much that I haven't heard it, but that's what other people,
12:35that's what people in the league tell me, that they haven't heard a single
12:38negative comment.
12:39Yes, could he be bigger?
12:40Could it be faster?
12:41Sure.
12:41But those are things he can't really do anything about.
12:44But in terms of the actual player, the smarts, the intellect, the leadership,
12:50the playmaking, it's just remarkable the way people gush about him.
12:56And only because he isn't 6'2 and doesn't run a 4'3", 8, you know,
13:00is why he's being like, well, maybe he slips.
13:03Also, again, the safety position is not one that typically teams take in the top
13:0810 from a value perspective.
13:09So, to me, for where this defense is, boy, I just feel like that guy,
13:15the more this has gone on, the more I'm just like, you know what?
13:18If Adam Peters can get back the athletic aspect of it, that he, you know,
13:22and maybe they view Caleb Downs differently.
13:24I'm just going off of the public information we have.
13:27You know, they have secret information, you know, all teams do,
13:29about how fast players run in games or, you know, time, speed,
13:33or whatever else they might be out there.
13:37But if they get past that, I just – we're talking about a guy who, again,
13:42if everybody is accurate here, you know, could be – it's hard to say, like,
13:48we're talking about a future Hall of Famer because he hasn't played one game yet.
13:51But in terms of just the way he's discussed, we could be talking about a guy
13:55who eventually is viewed as, you know, one of the best players, you know,
14:00to come out of this draft and maybe just, you know, play in the league, period.
14:03I mean, that would be awfully tempting, whereas everybody else is like,
14:05hey, this guy's good, but, like, it's more the garden variety of good,
14:09if that makes sense.
14:10This feels different.
14:12And for where this team is at, I just would – I would enjoy that.
14:16And then lastly for me, just very personally, I've got to watch all these games
14:20at CU.
14:21Watching Jeremiah Love would be incredibly fun,
14:24but I think watching Caleb Downs on defense based on the way he plays,
14:27the thinking man's kind of a game, I think would be fascinating as well,
14:30especially, like, the Monday after a game and watching the film
14:32and seeing what he does.
14:34So I think for those reasons, I would like to see Caleb Downs as a pick,
14:38but, you know, that's not what I had just because, again, based on what we know,
14:43I think the other guy makes more sense for what they want to do.
14:47All right.
14:47Let's go back to your mock draft, final entry mock draft to finish up.
14:53Give me the thing that you mocked out that you were most giddy about.
14:59Like, you really love that you put this together and you think this has a chance
15:03to be right and that no one else will have it.
15:07Yeah.
15:07I mean, I think that's probably – if Caleb Downs goes in the top 11 picks,
15:12then Dallas sits there at 12.
15:14If they haven't traded up, again, I think that they – defense, they need –
15:19the secondary in particular is kind of a mess, and the guy who's actually kind of
15:24stood out to me a lot in this draft cycle is Dylan Thienemann, the safety from Oregon.
15:29Like, if Caleb Downs were to go earlier and Washington were to trade back,
15:32you know, again, safety in this offense – sorry, this defense is particularly
15:35important because of the way – all that is asked of that position to play back,
15:41to play up near the line and so on.
15:43But more than just even that, like, I get a sense that Thienemann has been a bit
15:47underrated to the point that – I was talking to somebody yesterday,
15:51a high-ranking official with another team, and discussing Washington's options at
15:55seven, and I was like, okay, well, what would you do if these were the options?
15:58And he was like, I would take Downs, and then I would take Thienemann over
16:01everybody else.
16:02And that was at seven.
16:03I was like, really?
16:05Excuse me.
16:06He's like, yeah, he's legit.
16:07Everybody else, it's more, you know, sure, but, like, there's a question.
16:10He was patting.
16:12So I have Thienemann going 12 to Dallas, which would be higher than I think I've seen
16:16most other people.
16:17Now, if Caleb Downs is there, I think Dallas would take him.
16:21I could see Dallas trading up.
16:23But Thienemann at 12 to me, I feel like he's typically projected 18 to Minnesota.
16:27That's been like the mortal lock this whole cycle.
16:30Yeah, I've seen that over and over again, yeah.
16:32Yeah, but I don't know.
16:34We'll see.
16:34I think he's going to go earlier than that.
16:36Kind of a Harrison Smith replacement, yeah.
16:38Yeah, right.
16:39And I think he goes earlier than that, and Dallas at 12 to me felt like, okay,
16:43this is sort of where the talent gap seems to start to fall, but hearing some people
16:48say, no, no, no, Thienemann belongs in that upper group, I was like, okay,
16:51let's put him at 12.
16:52All right.
16:53Thienemann to Dallas at 12 is higher than anybody else has him.
16:56You like that in your mock.
16:58And then the last question is, do you have a player in your first round that pretty
17:03much hasn't been mocked in the first round by most, or a player that's been mocked in
17:08the first that you have falling out of the first, either one?
17:12Well, I mean, in terms of falling out, I mean, Jermon McCoy, the cornerback from Tennessee,
17:16this one is more about an injury.
17:18Unfortunately, he missed all last year with an injury.
17:21He, you know, he's done very little in this pre-draft cycle, did run one day and everybody
17:25seemed to say that was a pretty good look.
17:27But from what I've heard from a bunch of sources that the medicals are pretty concerning
17:31and that he could slip all the way out of the first round, which would be, you know,
17:35again, if you're sort of just very casually watching this, he was being mentioned as the
17:37guy that Dallas could take a 12 just a few weeks ago, because if healthy, he is viewed
17:42as the number one cornerback over the lane, but, you know, it's what it is.
17:48So I think he could flip out altogether, which again, I think would be a bit surprising.
17:54And then after that, I don't know, I'm looking at my board.
17:56I mean, I don't think there's like anybody here, like in the top of the second round
17:58or the bottom of the first, I think it's like overly crazy.
18:01Obviously the big question will be, does Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback, go in the
18:05first round?
18:06I think he does.
18:08I've been, again, I'm not a full Orlovsky on this, but like where you're saying he's
18:12better than Mendoza.
18:14But I do think, you know, from the guy I saw first half last year in college, I thought
18:18I was pretty impressed.
18:19And, you know, knowing the importance of this position, I think somebody, probably Arizona
18:23does ultimately move up into the first round to get him.
18:25But that is one of the big questions.
18:27Will there be a second quarterback picked in the first round?
18:29All right.
18:30Good job.
18:31We'll talk tomorrow and talk about who they do pick and then preview what's coming up
18:36tomorrow night and on Saturday.
18:37Thanks and good luck.
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