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Ten Day-3 players to watch in the 7th round for Washington
The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.
Ephesians Prysock, CB, Washington: Prysock put up solid numbers at the combine with a 4.45 40-yard dash, a 39-inch vertical and a 10-foot-4 broad jump. He has good size at 6-foot-3 with 33-and-one-eighth-inch arms that he used to lead Washington in pass breakups. He’ll be a special teamer as a rookie but could develop into a strong member of a rotation at the next level.
Pat Coogan, C, Indiana: Coogan is a three-year
starter and transferred to Indiana after four seasons with Notre Dame. He was one of the best players on an offensive line that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, and he was the Offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl. He has the leadership and intelligence that the position demands and could become a starter early in his career.
ESPN
Commanders host intriguing potential offensive weapon at pro day
Thursday, April 9: The [Commanders] hosted 37 players at a local pro day on Wednesday, with one of the more intriguing players invited being Navy receiver Eli Heidenreich, who is 6-foot, 198 pounds. He has said some teams view him as a slot receiver but a league source said others have told him they envision a role similar to Deebo Samuel or Christian McCaffrey. Washington general manager Adam Peters, of course, has experience with both players from his time in San Francisco as well as with the Commanders.
Heidenrich has posted a relative athletic score of 9.23 (out of 10). That’s important because of the six players Peters has drafted in Washington in Rounds 4 or lower, five of them had an RAS of at least 9.22.
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
NFL Draft Profile: LB Arvell Reese
At 6-foot-4, 241 pounds, Reese is an outstanding athlete that offers a ton of versatility. He’s listed as a linebacker but he also played some snaps on the edge.
That hybrid linebacker/edge rusher role has seen him compared to Micah Parsons, who was an off-ball linebacker coming out of college but transitioned into being a full time edge rusher in the NFL. Many believe Reese will follow that same path, or at least find some hybrid role where he could play on the edge at times and as an off-ball linebacker at times too. There’s a lot to dig into with Reese, so let’s start first with his listed position of linebacker.
As a linebacker prospect, Reese has a lot of the tools you’re looking for in a modern NFL linebacker. He’s obviously a terrific athlete, but that athleticism translates to the field. In the run game, Reese has a ton of speed and range, which makes him a threat to chase down running backs wherever they go, and makes it hard for blockers to reach him and cut him off.
That athleticism also translates to coverage. There aren’t many linebackers that will have the range that Reese possesses, which is a tremendous asset from a coverage perspective.
It’s not just athletic ability though, Reese has genuine coverage upside and ability….he’s also capable of matching up with players one-on-one when needed.
NFL.com
5 teams that most-need to pick a wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft
Rhett Lewis – NFL Network Host
PICK: Washington Commanders
Deebo Samuel, Washington’s receiving yards leader (727) last season, is a free agent. So right now, the team is heading into the 2026 campaign with Terry McLaurin, who had a down 2025 while battling injuries, Treylon Burks and Luke McCaffrey as its top three players at receiver. The Commanders know they need to continue supporting Jayden Daniels, and selecting one of the top wideouts in this class with their first-round pick would certainly help. I have Washington taking Carnell Tate with the seventh overall pick in my mock draft. If he’s gone when they go on the clock, the equation becomes more complicated since the Commanders don’t pick again until the third round (No. 71).
Riggo’s Rag
League skepticism around Makai Lemon could also include the Commanders
Makai Lemon is an interesting case study. The wide receiver was highly productive at USC last season, but he’s a slot specialist with less-than-ideal athleticism. Projections are sketchy as a result, and the Commanders are looking for a sure thing to enhance their bounce-back chances.
ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler spoke to an NFL personnel executive about Lemon. They were confused as to what sort of player their team would be getting. And the rumored interview struggles throughout the assessment process were another possible red flag.
“What are you getting? I love that dude, watching him last year, but evaluating him through the spring, which version of this player will show up in my building? He didn’t test great, had a couple of rough interviews from what I’ve been told. Seems like something is missing, or maybe I’m missing something.”
Lemon’s play speaks for itself. He’s not the quickest or the most explosive, but he knows how to get open. He comes up with the goods in big moments, and the higher the stakes, the better he tends to perform.
That’s not everything, of course. But it’s not a bad foundation from which to build if Lemon lands in a controlled environment within a scheme that suits his strengths.
The Commanders have been eager to discover more about Lemon throughout their pre-draft evaluations. They brought him in for an individual workout, during which they also spoke with the prospect. Just how that meeting went won’t be disclosed, but it will have given Peters all the information he needs.
The Athletic (paywall)
Commanders draft: Making the case for 3 impact prospects at No. 7
The Washington Commanders don’t know who they’re taking with the seventh pick in the NFL Draft. They don’t know how the six draft slots ahead of them will fall, and though that could become clearer as the draft nears, they may not know fully until they’re on the clock in two weeks.
But after months of scouting followed by draft meetings and pro days and more draft meetings and top-30 visits and more meetings, the Commanders have gotten to know a number of prospects quite well — and they know they have a number of good options.
Washington’s draft is wide open and part of that is intentional.
Yet, they didn’t complete any one positional group. They could still take another pass rusher, or seek out a starter in the secondary. They could add another linebacker, or a playmaker at receiver or running back. None of those options would or should surprise at No. 7.
Over the last few months, one word Peters and coach Dan Quinn have both used repeatedly when talking about the prospect they hope to land is “impact.”
“Pick No. 7’s a big pick,” Peters said. “And so just finding someone who can really impact our team — impact our team right away and impact our team long term.”
With that in mind, there’s an especially strong case to be made for a select few prospects, should they be available at No. 7.
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How the Cowboys landed Dak Prescott in the 2016 NFL draft
Today, Prescott is the NFL’s highest-paid player with a contract of $60 million a year. He has become the Cowboys’ all-time leader in passing yards, attempts and completions. With six touchdown passes in 2026, he will become the franchise leader in that category as well.
For 10 years, Prescott has been the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, taking over as a rookie for an injured Tony Romo, and he has been trying to do what Pro Football Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman did — lead Dallas to a Super Bowl victory.
The process that led to the Cowboys securing the face of their franchise with a fourth-round pick — not even their first selection that round, and with a compensatory pick, no less — suggests some kind of divine intervention.
How exactly did Dallas land on Prescott — who wasn’t their first choice as a potential successor to Romo — and what led them to believe in the Mississippi State quarterback?
For all that he has accomplished and still wants to accomplish, Prescott carries with him a daily reminder of the 2016 draft. It’s tattooed on the inside of his right wrist: “135” — the spot he was drafted.
“I’ll never forget it either: 135,” Prescott said. “Eighth quarterback taken. One hundred percent.”
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2026 NFL Draft: Jeremiyah Love, Ty Simpson among 16 prospects attending this year’s event
Sixteen prospects have accepted invitations to attend the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, which begins at 8 p.m. ET on April 23.
Ohio State will have the most attendees with five, followed by Alabama and Miami with two apiece.
ESPN
Sources: DOJ opens antitrust investigation of NFL over TV deals
The Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the NFL has violated anticompetitive practices with its television contracts that require consumers to pay subscription costs to watch some games, sources confirmed to ABC News.
The NFL currently has television contracts with ESPN/ABC, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Prime Video and Netflix to air its games. Subscriptions are required to watch “Monday Night Football” games on ESPN that aren’t simulcast on ABC, “Thursday Night Football” and the Black Friday game on Prime Video, and Christmas games on Netflix. Some international games also air on NFL Network, which is owned by ESPN. Select postseason games also require subscriptions. The NFL has also awarded select games to ESPN+ and Peacock in the past.
All games, however, air free on the local stations in the broadcast markets of the teams playing.
“The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry,” the NFL said in a statement Thursday. “With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans.”
All four of the major North American professional sports leagues have deals with streaming platforms.
“The modern distribution environment differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption,” Lee wrote in a post to X. “Instead of a small number of free broadcast networks, the NFL now licenses games simultaneously to subscription streaming platforms, premium cable networks, and technology companies operating under different business models. To the extent collectively licensed game packages are placed behind subscription paywalls, these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption. That’s why, as chair of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, I urged the DOJ to examine the Sports Broadcasting Act and its applicability to current media landscape. I’m glad they’re tackling this.”
