Washington Commanders
Battle card · first-round draft history, season-by-season record, and how Commanders top picks have shaped the franchise.
R1 Picks
36
Hall of Famers
3
8.3% hit rate
Avg pick slot
13.5
Highest pick
#2
LaVar Arrington · 2000
All-time record
442–431–4
0.506 win %
Playoff seasons
20
of 56
The Story
- Washington Commanders have made 36 first-round selections and produced 3 Hall of Famers (8.3% hit rate).
- Their highest selection on record is #2 overall in 2000, when they took LaVar Arrington.
- Across 56 seasons in this dataset they have a 442-431-4 record (0.506) and reached the playoffs 20 times.
- In seasons after holding at least one top-10 pick, Washington Commanders added an average of 2.5 wins versus the prior year (13 such seasons in the data).
- Their most-drafted position group is DB, taken 7 times in Round 1.
- Penn St. is their go-to talent pipeline, supplying 3 first-round picks.
- Their best season was 1982: 8-1-0 (+62 point differential).
- Their worst was 1994: 3-13-0 (-92 point differential).
Wins per Season
R1 Pick Slot by Year
Position Breakdown
Point Differential by Season
Impact of Top-10 Picks (Next-Season Wins Delta)
| Draft Year | Pick | Player | Prior-Year Wins | New-Year Wins | Delta | HoF? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | #4 | Desmond Howard | 14 | 9 | -5 | |
| 1994 | #3 | Heath Shuler | 4 | 3 | -1 | |
| 1995 | #4 | Michael Westbrook | 3 | 6 | +3 | |
| 1999 | #7 | Champ Bailey | 6 | 10 | +4 | HoF |
| 2000 | #2 |
LaVar Arrington
+ #3 Chris Samuels
|
10 | 8 | -2 | |
| 2004 | #5 | Sean Taylor | 5 | 6 | +1 | |
| 2005 | #9 | Carlos Rogers | 6 | 10 | +4 | |
| 2007 | #6 | LaRon Landry | 5 | 9 | +4 | |
| 2010 | #4 | Trent Williams | 4 | 6 | +2 | |
| 2012 | #2 | Robert Griffin III | 5 | 10 | +5 | |
| 2015 | #5 | Brandon Scherff | 4 | 9 | +5 | |
| 2020 | #2 | Chase Young | 3 | 7 | +4 | |
| 2024 | #2 | Jayden Daniels | 4 | 12 | +8 |
Hall of Fame Selections
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | #18 | Art Monk | WR | Syracuse |
| 1983 | #28 | Darrell Green | DB | Texas A&M-Kingsville |
| 1999 | #7 | Champ Bailey | DB | Georgia |
Every First-Round Pick
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | #18 | Art Monk | WR | Syracuse | HoF |
| 1981 | #20 | Mark May | G | Pittsburgh | |
| 1983 | #28 | Darrell Green | DB | Texas A&M-Kingsville | HoF |
| 1991 | #17 | Bobby Wilson | DT | Michigan St. | |
| 1992 | #4 | Desmond Howard | WR | Michigan | |
| 1993 | #17 | Tom Carter | DB | Notre Dame | |
| 1994 | #3 | Heath Shuler | QB | Tennessee | |
| 1995 | #4 | Michael Westbrook | WR | Colorado | |
| 1996 | #30 | Andre Johnson | T | Penn St. | |
| 1997 | #17 | Kenard Lang | DE | Miami (FL) | |
| 1999 | #7 | Champ Bailey | DB | Georgia | HoF |
| 2000 | #2 | LaVar Arrington | LB | Penn St. | |
| 2000 | #3 | Chris Samuels | T | Alabama | |
| 2001 | #15 | Rod Gardner | WR | Clemson | |
| 2002 | #32 | Patrick Ramsey | QB | Tulane | |
| 2004 | #5 | Sean Taylor | DB | Miami (FL) | |
| 2005 | #9 | Carlos Rogers | DB | Auburn | |
| 2005 | #25 | Jason Campbell | QB | Auburn | |
| 2007 | #6 | LaRon Landry | DB | LSU | |
| 2009 | #13 | Brian Orakpo | LB | Texas | |
| 2010 | #4 | Trent Williams | T | Oklahoma | |
| 2011 | #16 | Ryan Kerrigan | DE | Purdue | |
| 2012 | #2 | Robert Griffin III | QB | Baylor | |
| 2015 | #5 | Brandon Scherff | T | Iowa | |
| 2016 | #22 | Josh Doctson | WR | TCU | |
| 2017 | #17 | Jonathan Allen | DE | Alabama | |
| 2018 | #13 | Daron Payne | DT | Alabama | |
| 2019 | #15 | Dwayne Haskins | QB | Ohio St. | |
| 2019 | #26 | Montez Sweat | DE | Mississippi St. | |
| 2020 | #2 | Chase Young | DE | Ohio St. | |
| 2021 | #19 | Jamin Davis | LB | Kentucky | |
| 2022 | #16 | Jahan Dotson | WR | Penn St. | |
| 2023 | #16 | Emmanuel Forbes | CB | Mississippi St. | |
| 2024 | #2 | Jayden Daniels | QB | LSU | |
| 2025 | #29 | Josh Conerly | OL | Oregon | |
| 2026 | #7 | Sonny Styles | LB | Ohio St. |