Otherwise, Peters, who hasn’t always looked entirely comfortable at press conferences, was calm, confident and shy. He acknowledged that the stakes in the draft are high because Washington has so much capital — nine picks, including six in the top 100 — and said the team is “very close” to settling on the player it will take when the draft begins next Thursday night. Asked if the team would make other picks to get another first-round selection, he added that “it’s all under consideration.”
Peters even cracked a few jokes, including, “I know you’ve all heard of Topgolf.” On Tuesday and Wednesday, the commanders hosted more than 20 prospects on visits to Ashburn, and group activities included a trip to the high-tech driving range.
The unconventional approach Peters learned during his time with the San Francisco 49ers became the subject of national debate. Notably, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio criticized the team because, he argued, a group visit diminishes the team’s ability to evaluate each player individually.
NFL agent Ron Butler, who represents LSU quarterback Jaden Daniels — an often projected No. 2 pick for the Commanders — liked X’s post criticizing the approach and responding to a video of Florio making this case with the thinking face emoji. It’s unclear what Butler meant, but it’s fueled speculation among some Commanders fans nonetheless.
Peters, who was not asked about Butler’s social media activity, said he likes the group approach and praised player personnel assistant Ashley Kors for creating a schedule to ensure each player’s visit is productive and efficient.
“It was very helpful to see everyone in a more relaxed environment,” Peters said. “They all had a lot of individual time with their coaches, with us, where they also kind of staggered in, so it wasn’t like they were sitting in the same room. They all had their own personal time with each. So it worked out really well.”
“This is the first time I’ve been in this with a huge group of players together,” assistant GM Lance Newmark added. “I thought it was a really cool dynamic to see the guys come together, how magnetic certain individuals are against others. Just that loose casual feel from one night to the next day, where it was more individualized the next day.’
Managing partner Josh Harris, who attended the team’s quarterback interviews at the NFL scouting combine, also attended the commanders’ internal meetings with Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake May, Michigan’s JJ McCarthy and the University of Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.
“[Harris] was extremely supportive and if we needed anything, he was there to provide it,” Peters said, adding, “He was inquisitive. [He] he wants to know how we do things, just because it’s his first draft.
In the next few days, commanders must complete several more procedural steps, Peters said, including a debriefing of prospect visits and a meeting about medical evaluations from the combine. The team will decide on its selection early next week, he said.
Peters opened his press conference by thanking nearly every member of the organization for their contributions to the pre-draft process, including interns, and called out his wife, Jen, their two daughters and his mother-in-law for moving the family cross-country while he worked.
“I haven’t opened a single box and I feel terrible about it,” he said.
In just over a week, as the project wraps up and Peters lays the groundwork for the rebuild — or “recalibration,” as he calls it — maybe he’ll have a little more time to help them.
