With the 29th pick in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Washington Commanders select…
Now that the Detroit Lions domino has fallen, with Erik Schlitt selecting Boston College edge defender Donovan Ezeiruaku at 28 overall, it’s time to finish out the first round in our 2025 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft. If you haven’t been following along, this is our site-wide mock draft where commenters from Pride of Detroit act as general managers for several teams. You can catch up on all 28 picks so far here.
We’ve come to the Washington Commanders’ pick. I have no recollection of how the Commanders did last year, but it must have been pretty good if they’re picking 29th this year. I refuse to research how they got there, so let’s just move on.
Selecting for the Commanders in our POD Community Mock is commenter anhonestmess. And with the 29th pick in the POD Community Mock Draft, the Commanders have selected…
Malaki Starks, safety out of Georgia.
Here’s anhonestmess’ explanation for the pick:
In the Commanders’ last two games of the season, they had 17 real drives (not end of half kneel downs) against the Lions and Eagles that didn’t end in a turnover. They forced 3 punts and 2 field goal attempts; the other 12 drives were all touchdowns. If Adam Peters has a big red button in his office labeled DEFENSE, it’s time to smash it.
Malaki Starks, Georgia, is by far the best remaining player on my board here, and beyond that, not only is safety a huge need for the Commies, but also if Dan Quinn wants to return to the style of defense that he was running in Atlanta and Seattle, a swiss army knife player like Starks could be exactly what he needs to do so.
Starks only has a RAS of 5.49, but he can do everything, as Nate Tice of Yahoo! points out: “On just one drive watching Starks, you will see him play as a split-field safety; deep in the post; as a robber; in the box; and in the slot.” What he lacks in speed, he significantly makes up for in instincts and tackling. After the 2023 season, no one would have had Starks falling this far, but an up-and-down 2024 has pushed him down boards slightly. Personally, I think that’s a mistake. To put it in Lions’ terms, the Commanders could have their Brian Branch if this became a reality.
The other possibility is the best defensive lineman on their board, but this is a deep draft for defensive lineman. There are likely 10-12 of roughly the same quality remaining at this point. Starks is clearly the best safety in this draft.
What do you think of the pick? Grade it in the poll below, then scroll down to the comment section to offer your full thoughts.
