Commanders GM Adam Peters says Sonny Styles 'checks all the boxes'

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters is still in a draft fog.

Peters appeared on the NFL Network Thursday morning when he talked with Tom Pelissero and Judy Batista. Peters acknowledged the draft week is exhausting and, now a full week later, stated, "This is a good week to catch up with your real life."

Asked about first draft night leading up to the Commanders' pick at No. 7, Peters shared a bit of the dynamic of uncertainty that was involved. Plus, remember, NFL teams now have only eight minutes to make their first-round selections, down from 10. Since 2008, NFL teams have had 10 minutes to make their first-round selections.

“Yes, three (Cardinals) was a little bit of a mystery, maybe for guys like me and not someone like you Tom, who knows a lot of that stuff, more than I do. Four (Titans) was, and we had kind of had an idea that Tate might go four. He was probably going to go somewhere from four to nine based on our research. Then with five and six, when the trade happened really at six, that was the wild card I think for everybody."

"But it was a little bit of, probably the most intrigue was when Tate went, that pushed Reese down to the Giants, and then obviously when the Chiefs came up, we had kind of an idea that might happen, but I didn’t really know who they were coming up to take. And when they came up, and they took Delane, we felt really excited and fortunate to get Sonny.“

So, suddenly, there was Sonny Styles available, still on the board. The Commanders knew at that point who they were going to select, and it didn't take long. “Sonny checks all the boxes right away, and just in terms of the person, the football character, the intelligence. Everything you would want off the field. Leadership, you talk about the guys at Ohio State, the coaches, his teammates, they all revere him as a person, as a young man."

Peters had told the Washington area press in January that the Commanders needed to get younger and faster this offseason. Staying on track to meet his objectives, Peters has focused on this throughout the offseason, and now, four months later, the league's oldest and slowest team is indeed much younger and faster than the 2025 team.