While the Washington Commanders may not have been involved in the craziest part of the 2022 NFL offseason, they have certainly made some strides.

The addition of quarterback Carson Wentz is the biggest, but deciding to move from safety Landon Collins, defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis and not blocking guard Brandon Scherff’s exit to the Jacksonville Jaguars will impact this what will happen with the advancing team.

But do any of those departures open needs as the 2022 NFL Draft approaches?

The arrival of quarterback Carson Wentz helped Washington answer an offseason question, but did he remove the position from the team’s draft board altogether?

With the imminent departure of safety Landon Collins, how will the commanders choose to replace the veteran and former team captain?

A surprise exit this offseason, the departure of Matt Ioannidis leaves deep questions in one of the team’s strongest groups from 2021

According to NFL.com’s Dan Parr, the team‘s biggest needs are in the wide receiver, safety and quarterback rooms.

“It could be argued that quarterbacking remains a draft need for COs,” Parr wrote. “Even after the big investment in Carson Wentz. If Washington is really in winning mode now, it better find a complement to Terry McLaurin and shore up the secondary.”

As I look at this list of Washington commanders and try to identify three needs the team needs to address in the upcoming NFL Draft, the answer seems clear to me.

Linebacker, wide receiver and safety. In this order.

Now, that’s the order of precedence of course, not the specific line Washington should follow, drafting out of need rather than talent.

If a better receiver option is available at No. 11 than the best available linebacker, for example, wide receiver should be the first choice.

For me, though, a linebacker is this team’s biggest need in 2022, because every other position already has quality starting talent, or at least the hopes of it.

If the team is serious about the potential of putting in Cole Holcomb as a micro linebacker this year, then another outside option is needed to go with Jamin Davis in the base packages, and the challenge of further restricting the playing time of the 2021 first-round pick in under.

Some won’t like the idea of ​​spending more capital on the linebacking group after last year, but living with a known liability to avoid backlash from PR is exactly how NFL staff get done. fire.

Davis has shown little to nothing to consider him a cemented starter in 2022, which means there is a hole in the position.

Day 1 of the NFL Draft is not a likely landing point for this requirement unless the team returns from No. 11 – an idea I fully support at this point in the process.

But if we look to Day 2, prospects like Brian Asamoah (Oklahoma) and Christian Harris (Alabama) could be in play while Georgia’s Nakobe Dean could be seen as a potential candidate for our previously mentioned recovery scenario.

Georgia’s Nakobe Dean is an interesting prospect who could help improve Washington’s linebacking squad, preferably in a Day 1 recovery scenario

Oklahoma’s Brian Asamoah is a solid Day 2 option for COs to consider at linebacker, arguably their weakest position group

Christian Harris presents linebacker option that combines athleticism, performance and elite school pedigree hailing from Alabama

I made the argument that Commanders head coach Ron Rivera probably has more room for error than he probably would after back-to-back seven-win seasons because of the value he brings. helping to manage the team’s off-pitch press.

Yet these staff cannot continue to put losing products on the pitch, even if the effort and focus of the star players is a contributing factor in the struggles.

Washington took a flyer on Davis in the first round last year in hopes of quickly solidifying a group that needed an infusion of talent.

The bet did not work. The lesson for 2022, however, shouldn’t be to avoid the group entirely, but to approach it more with the right talent at the right time instead of reaching as they did in 2021.