Peters: Commanders ‘more likely than not’ to use No. 7 pick instead of trading back

Adam Peters wants to be ready for anything as he prepares for his third draft as the Washington Commanders’ general manager. But he said Thursday that it is “more likely than not” that the Commanders select a player with the No. 7 pick in the draft next Thursday.

The Commanders have been a popular name in potential discussions about trading back, but Peters noted that the team isn’t actively shopping its first-round pick.

“It’ll depend on who’s on the board, if a team wants to move up and then we have to decide if we want to do that,” he said. “I don’t foresee us moving up, but moving back just depends on the circumstances.”

Those circumstances include how strong an offer from another franchise is, which players could be available later in the draft and which players have already been selected.

Spring is known throughout the league as “lying season.” Executives, players, coaches, analysts and agents are all working in their own interests, pitting other colleagues against each other as every franchise tries to figure out how to build a Super Bowl contender.

Agents are trying to boost their players’ draft stock. NFL general managers are looking to land favored players and add draft capital via trade.

But Washington finds itself in a unique position with a top-tier pick.

The Commanders likely will have their choice of one of the top prospects in the class in the first round. Wide receiver Carnell Tate, edge rusher Rueben Bain, linebacker Sonny Styles, cornerback Mansoor Delane and safety Caleb Downs have all been suggested as the Commanders’ pick in mock drafts.

The Commanders hosted each of those players for a pre-draft get-together at TopGolf this month. But Peters isn’t ready to tip his hand about Washington’s preferred choice. After all, there’s no way to know which player will still be available when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces that the Commanders are on the clock.

“Nobody’s telling the truth,” Peters said of the NFL’s draft-season rumors. “But what we do is we trust our board, trust our evaluations and be ready to pick or do whatever we need to do with that pick. I do know this: If we’re sitting there at seven and we do pick, I know we’ll get a good player.”

Positional value won’t be a factor, even as analytics-minded talking heads have warned about taking players at non-premium positions, such as safety and running back, high in the draft.

The opportunity cost, they reckon, is often unbalanced. One of the top benefits of an elite rookie is the team-friendly contract designated for draftees. But running backs, safeties and off-ball linebackers are among the lowest-paid positions in football.

But Peters said he isn’t concerned with that calculus.

“I think just finding the best player that can help your team the most and regardless of position. That applies kind of everywhere,” he said. “You just get too deep in a positional value, you kind of get lost in who’s going to really be able to help your team.”

The best move for the Commanders at No. 7 might not be a pick at all, though. A trade back could be particularly impactful for a Washington front office that has just six selections in the seven-round draft.

The Commanders own just three picks in the top 100 after dishing out a package of picks — including this year’s second and fourth rounders —  in exchange for left tackle Laremy Tunsil last offseason.

Extra draft capital could help Washington round out a roster that still has question marks in the secondary and at wide receiver. But that would mandate a trade partner in a draft that is widely seen as lacking franchise-altering talent.

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach predicted plenty of draft-night trades during his recent discussions with reporters, but Peters said he couldn’t share that vision.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a ton [of trades] right around where we pick. I would probably think there’d be more towards the end of the first round, middle to the end,” he said. “But it just kind of depends on how the board falls, but people start getting antsy and they want to do some things, and so you just have to be ready for everything.”

The NFL draft starts next Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The second and third rounds follow on April 24, before the final three rounds on April 25.