The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in . In , the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly played as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in . Washington's first draft selection was Riley Smith, a blocking back from Alabama, in 1936.

Washington have selected a draft's first overall pick twice: Harry Gilmer in 1948 and Ernie Davis in 1962. Five eventual Hall of Famers were selected by Washington in the first round: Champ Bailey, Sammy Baugh, Darrell Green, Art Monk, and Charley Taylor. Three first-round picks by the team have been named NFL Rookie of the Year: halfback Charley Taylor in 1964, quarterback Robert Griffin III in 2012 and defensive end Chase Young in 2020. Two Washington first-round draft picks have died during their active careers. The first was Davis, who was traded shortly after the selection to the Cleveland Browns for Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Jackson and died from leukemia before ever playing in an NFL game. The other was Sean Taylor, who the team selected fifth overall in 2004 and was fatally shot at home while rehabbing from an injury in November 2007.

Player selections Pro Football Hall of Famer

+ List of Washington Redskins / Commanders first-round draft picksDraftPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotesRefs 1936 2 Riley Smith FB Alabama 1937 6 Sammy Baugh QB TCU 1938 9 Andy Farkas FB Detroit 1939 8 I. B. Hale T TCU 1940 8 Ed Boell QB New York 1941 10 Forest Evashevski QB Michigan 1942 6 Spec Sanders RB Texas 1943 10 Jack Jenkins FB Vanderbilt 1944 8 Mike Micka FB Colgate 1945 8 Jim Hardy QB USC 1946 9 Cal Rossi RB UCLA 1947 4 Cal Rossi RB UCLA 1948 1 Harry Gilmer QB Alabama 4 Lowell Tew FB Alabama 1949 8 Rob Goode RB Texas A&M 1950 6 George Thomas RB Oklahoma 1951 4 Leon Heath FB Oklahoma 1952 7 Larry Isbell QB Baylor 1953 3 Jack Scarbath QB Maryland 1954 8 Steve Meilinger WR Kentucky 1955 4 Ralph Guglielmi QB Notre Dame 1956 12 Ed Vereb RB Maryland 1957 9 Don Bosseler FB Miami (FL) 1958No Pick 1959 4 Don Allard QB Boston College 1960 4 Richie Lucas QB Penn State 1961 2 Norm Snead QB Wake Forest 3 Joe Rutgens DT Illinois 1962 1 Ernie Davis RB Syracuse 1963 7 Pat Richter TE Wisconsin 1964 3 Charley Taylor WR Arizona State 1965No Pick 1966 6 Charlie Gogolak K Princeton 1967 13 Ray McDonald RB Idaho 1968 12 Jim Smith DB Oregon 1969No Pick 1970No Pick 1971No Pick 1972No Pick 1973No Pick 1974No Pick 1975No Pick 1976No Pick 1977No Pick 1978No Pick 1979No Pick 1980 18 Art Monk WR Syracuse 1981 20 Mark May T Pittsburgh 1982No Pick 1983 28 Darrell Green CB Texas A&I 1984No Pick 1985No Pick 1986No Pick 1987No Pick 1988No Pick 1989No Pick 1990No Pick 1991 17 Bobby Wilson DT Michigan State 1992 4 Desmond Howard WR Michigan 1993 19 Tom Carter DB Notre Dame 1994 3 Heath Shuler QB Tennessee 1995 4 Michael Westbrook WR Colorado 1996 30 Andre Johnson T Penn State 1997 17 Kenard Lang DE Miami(FL) 1998No Pick 1999 7 Champ Bailey CB Georgia 2000 2 LaVar Arrington LB Penn State 3 Chris Samuels T Alabama 2001 15 Rod Gardner WR Clemson 2002 32 Patrick Ramsey QB Tulane 2003No Pick 2004 5 Sean Taylor FS Miami(FL) 2005 9 Carlos Rogers CB Auburn 25 Jason Campbell QB Auburn 2006No Pick 2007 6 LaRon Landry SS LSU 2008No Pick 2009 13 Brian Orakpo OLB Texas 2010 4 Trent Williams T Oklahoma 2011 16 Ryan Kerrigan OLB Purdue 2012 2 Robert Griffin III QB Baylor 2013No Pick 2014No Pick 2015 5 Brandon Scherff G Iowa 2016 22 Josh Doctson WR TCU 2017 17 Jonathan Allen DT Alabama 2018 13 Daron Payne DT Alabama 2019 15 Dwayne Haskins QB Ohio State 26 Montez Sweat DE Mississippi State 2020 2 Chase Young DE Ohio State 2021 19 Jamin Davis LB Kentucky 2022 16 Jahan Dotson WR Penn State 2023 16 Emmanuel Forbes CB Mississippi State 2024 2 Jayden Daniels QB LSU 2025 29 Josh Conerly Jr. T Oregon 2026 7 Sonny Styles LB Ohio State

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