Former Washington TE makes his pick for Commanders in new mock draft

Former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen and his co-host on the "Take Command" podcast, Grant Paulsen, recently conducted their mock draft 2.0.

The Commanders still own the No. 7 draft position, less than three weeks from Day 1, April 23. There has been a very significant change regarding the Las Vegas Raiders. They have gone out and signed free-agent QB Kirk Cousins. The plan apparently is that Cousins will not only mentor rookie Fernando Mendoza, but also start for the Raiders at least the first year (2026). This will remove a tremendous amount of pressure from Mendoza. Cousins is not getting any younger, so Mendoza must be as prepared as he can be because he will still be only one play (an injured Cousins) away from being forced into the lineup.

1. Las Vegas Raiders Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana

Logan Paulsen (LP) feels this is a great way to invest in Mendoza, because Tom Brady and Klint Kubiak are both assured Cousins will be a great mentor, teacher, friend for Mendoza.

2. New York Jets Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State

GP thinks the Jets will choose the defensive player with the highest ceiling in this draft and that is Reese.

3. Arizona Cardinals Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame

LP felt that if the Cardinals know they can get a good offensive lineman at No. 34, then they could surprise and take a home run pick here in Jeremiyah Love.

4. Tennessee Titans David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech

LP expressed Robert Saleh and David Bailey rushing the passer seems like the perfect match at this point in the draft.

5. New York Giants Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

LP: Sonny Styles is too good for the Giants to pass up.

6. Cleveland Browns Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State

Seeing the Browns can be more selective with their second first-round pick at No. 24, LP has the Browns taking another position of need at No. 6 So off the board to this point when the Commanders go on the clock are Mendoza, Reese, Love, Bailey, Styles and Tate.

7. Washington Commanders, Mansoor Delane, CB LSU

Would new OC David Blough want a Makai Lemon here because of his ability to compete and break tackles? Caleb Downs and Rueben Bain are excellent players, but there are questions. GP talked of wanting to get QB Jayden Daniels another weapon. GP also shared that he knows there are people inside the Ashburn building who love Bain. LP said he absolutely loves the way Bain plays. He also feels CB Mansoor Delane would be the top corner and fill a need for the Commanders. GP said Delane is the biggest plug-in starter filling a Commanders need available at this point. LP said any of these four players would be good selections because they are each one tough and good players.

GP also inquired regarding the left guard position for the Commanders. He asked if either Brandon Coleman or Chris Paul are long term answers, citing that Francis Mauigoa (OT Miami) as a possibility. LP expressed Maigoa may be his highest confidence pick in the first round, meaning he could be good enough he plays for 15 years. But would the Commanders draft a tackle, just to switch him to guard, when you can have other players at other vital positions as early as No. 7 in this draft?

Lastly both Paulsens mentioned there is going to be one more Take Command podcast Mock Draft (3.0). Keep that in mind, because throughout this particular mock you could easily discern listening to them that they were experimenting with different possibilities of how this draft could develop in these first seven selections.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Logan Paulsen reveals his latest mock draft