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 .
Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", which is more commonly known as the NFL draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.
This is a list of the franchise's selections in the NFL draft. The Boston Redskins were one of the nine original franchises that participated in the 1936 NFL draft, which was the first official draft of the National Football League. The first player ever selected in the draft, Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger, chose not to play professional football. Riley Smith, taken second overall by Washington, is the first drafted player to play in the NFL. The franchise also holds the distinction of being the only team to draft the same player in two different drafts, Cal Rossi.
Positions
+ OffenseCenterCEndEFullbackFBGuardGHalfbackHBLong snapperLS
+ OffenseOffensive linemanOLOffensive tackleOTQuarterbackQBRunning backRBTight endTEWide receiverWR
+ DefenseCornerbackCBDefensive backDBDefensive endDEDefensive linemanDLDefensive tackleDTLinebackerLBSafetyS
+ Special teamsKickerKKickoff returnerKRPunterPPunt returnerPR
Key
1930s
1937 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 2 Riley Smith FB Alabama 2 11 Keith Topping E Stanford 3 20 Ed Smith FB New York 4 29 Paul Tangora G Northwestern 5 38 Wilson Groseclose OT Texas Christian 6 47 Larry Lutz OT California 7 56 Don Irwin FB Colgate 8 65 Wayne Millner E Notre Dame 9 74 Marcel Saunders G Loyola
1937 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 6 Sammy Baugh QB Texas Christian 2 16 Nello Falaschi FB Santa Clara 3 26 Maurice Elder RB Kansas State 4 36 Dick Bassi G Santa Clara 5 46 Chuck Bond OT Washington 6 56 Jimmie Cain RB Washington 7 66 Rotta Holland G Kansas State 8 76 Joel Eaves E Auburn 9 86 Bill Docherty OT Temple 10 96 Mac Cara E North Carolina State
1938 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 9 Andy Farkas RB Detroit Mercy 3 24 Sam Chapman RB California 5 39 Dave Price C Mississippi State 6 49 Elmer Dohrmann E Nebraska 7 59 Roy Young G Texas A&M 8 69 Bill Hartman RB Georgia 9 79 Ed Parks C Oklahoma 10 89 Jack Abbitt RB Elon 11 99 Dick Johnson E Washington 12 109 Hank Bartos G North Carolina
1939 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 8 I. B. Hale OT Texas Christian 3 23 Charlie Holm RB Alabama 5 38 Dick Todd RB Texas A&M 6 48 Dave Anderson RB California 7 58 Quinton Lumpkin C Georgia 8 68 Bo Russell OT Auburn 9 78 Wilbur Moore HB Minnesota 10 88 Jimmy Johnston RB Washington 11 98 Jim German RB Centre 12 108 Bob O'Mara RB Duke 13 118 Steve Slivinski G Washington 14 128 Bob Hoffman RB Southern California 15 138 Eric Tipton RB Duke 16 148 Dick Farman OT Washington State 17 158 Clyde Shugart OT Iowa State 18 168 Boyd Morgan RB Southern California 19 178 Phil Smith OT St. Benedict's 20 188 Paul Coop OT Centre 21 193 Matt Kuber G Villanova 22 198 Al Cruver RB Washington State
1940s
1940 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 8 Ed Boell QB New York 3 23 Buddy Banker RB Tulane 5 38 Bill Kirchem OT Tulane 6 48 Joe Boyd OT Texas A&M 7 58 Roy Zimmerman QB San José State 8 68 Bud Orf E Missouri 9 78 Bob Hoffman RB Southern California 10 88 Bob Seymour RB Oklahoma 11 98 Howard Stoecker OT Southern California 12 108 Allen Johnson G Duke 13 118 Sam Bartholomew RB Tennessee 14 128 Ernie Lain RB Rice 15 138 Sandy Sanford E Alabama 16 148 Bolo Perdue E Duke 17 158 Steve Andrako C Ohio State 18 168 Jay Graybeal RB Oregon 19 178 Charley Slagle RB North Carolina 20 188 Buck Murphy RB Georgia Tech 21 193 Mel Wetzel OT Missouri 22 198 Steve Sitko QB Notre Dame
1941 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 10 Forest Evashevski RB Michigan 3 25 Fred Davis OT Alabama 5 40 Jim Stuart OT Oregon 6 50 Ed Cifers E Tennessee 7 60 Al Krueger E Southern California 8 70 Henry Wilder RB Iowa State 9 80 Bill Grimmett E Tulsa 10 90 Ed Hickerson G Alabama 11 100 Joe Aguirre E St. Mary's (Cal.) 12 110 Jack Banta HB Southern California 13 120 Roy Conn OT Arizona 14 130 Deward Tornell RB San José State 15 140 Morris Buckingham C San José State 16 150 Ken Dow FB Oregon State 17 160 Stan McRae E Michigan State 18 170 Joe Osmanski FB Holy Cross 19 180 Earl Fullilove OT Georgetown 20 190 Ed Hiestand E Vanderbilt 21 195 Tom Riggs OT Illinois 22 200 Lee Gentry HB Tulsa
1942 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 6 Spec Sanders HB Texas 3 21 Rufus Deal RB Auburn 5 36 Joe Zeno G Holy Cross 6 46 Harley McCollum OT Tulane 7 56 Bob Fitch E Minnesota 8 66 George Peters RB Oregon State 9 76 Frank Swiger RB Duke 10 86 John Goodyear RB Marquette 11 96 Al DeMao C Duquesne 12 106 Phil Ahwesh RB Duquesne 13 116 John Kovatch E Notre Dame 14 126 Bill DeCorrevont RB Northwestern 15 136 Marvin Whited G Oklahoma 16 146 Dee Chipman RB Brigham Young 17 156 George Watts OT Appalachian State 18 166 Gene Stewart RB Willamette 19 176 Charlie Timmons FB Clemson 20 186 Tiny Croft OT Ripon 21 191 Steve Juzwik HB Notre Dame 22 196 Al Couppee G Iowa
1943 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 10 Jack Jenkins FB Vanderbilt 3 25 Bill Dutton HB Pittsburgh 5 40 Bob Dove DE Notre Dame 6 50 Wally Ziemba C Notre Dame 7 60 Lou Rymkus OT Notre Dame 8 70 Tony Leon G Alabama 9 80 Bob Motl E Northwestern 10 90 Walt McDonald DB Tulane 11 100 George Perpich OT Georgetown 12 110 Dan Wood C Mississippi 13 120 Harry Wright G Notre Dame 14 130 Oscar Britt G Mississippi 15 140 Dick Weber G Syracuse 16 150 Joe Day RB Oregon State 17 160 Frank Dornfield RB Georgetown 18 170 John Baklarz OT Arizona State 19 180 Leo Mogus E Youngstown State 20 190 Dick Secrest RB Rochester 21 200 Don Nolander C Minnesota 22 210 Johnny Barrett RB Georgetown 23 220 Tom Vohs OT Colgate 24 230 Charlie Yancey RB Mississippi State 25 240 Roman Bentz G Tulane 26 250 Swifty Berthold E Syracuse 27 260 Vince Pacewic HB Loyola 28 270 Joe Riccardi OT Ohio 29 280 John Jaffurs G Penn State 30 290 Frank Akins FB Washington State 31 295 Bill Corry RB Florida 32 300 Bo Bogovich G Delaware
1944 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 8 Mike Micka FB Colgate 3 23 Earl Audet OT Southern California 5 39 Ed Doherty RB Boston College 6 50 Jackie Fellows RB Fresno State 7 61 Hal Fischer G Texas 8 72 Cliff White OT Murray State 9 83 Ted Ogdahl RB Willamette 10 94 Bob Sneddon DB St. Mary's (Cal.) 11 105 Bill Aldworth OT Minnesota 12 116 William G. Joslyn RB Stanford 13 127 Charley Walker C Kentucky 14 138 Boyd Clement C Oregon State 15 149 Jim Gaffney QB Tennessee 16 160 Ted Ossowski OT Oregon State 17 171 Tom Davis RB Duke 18 182 John Batorski E Colgate 19 193 Clyde Ehrhardt C Georgia 20 204 Dave Brown E UCLA 21 215 Bill Ivy OT Northwestern 22 226 Bruce Babcock RB Rochester 23 237 Bill Reinhard DB California 24 248 Ed Bauer G South Carolina 25 259 Joe Martin RB Cornell 26 270 Lee Gustafson RB Oregon State 27 281 Nick Pappas OT Utah 28 292 Lindsey Bowen E Rice 29 303 Bill Gustafson OT Washington State 30 314 Bill Yablonski C Holy Cross 31 320 Buster Hollingbery C Washington State 32 326 Willard Sheller RB Stanford
1945 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 8 Jim Hardy QB Southern California 3 23 John Adams OT Notre Dame 5 38 George Bujan C Oregon 6 51 John North E Vanderbilt 7 61 John Steber G Georgia Tech 8 71 Art Porter E Tulane 9 84 Curt Kuykendall RB Auburn 10 94 Frank Brogger E Michigan State 11 104 Mack Creger RB Northwestern 12 117 Paul McKee E Syracuse 13 127 Charlie Conerly QB Mississippi 14 137 John Putnik E Utah State 15 150 Eddie Saenz HB Southern California 16 160 Dom Fusci OT South Carolina 17 170 Bobby Jenkins RB Alabama 18 183 Ed Stacco OT Colgate 19 193 Jim Bradshaw C Auburn 20 203 Bill Shipkey RB Stanford 21 216 Sid Halliday OT Southern Methodist 22 226 Chick Davidson OT Cornell 23 236 Gabby Martin E Southern Methodist 24 249 Jim McCurdy C Stanford 25 259 Cecil Souders E Ohio State 26 269 Ben Wall RB Western Michigan 27 282 George Hillery E Texas-El Paso 28 292 Milford Dreblow RB Southern California 29 302 Frank Irwin OT Duke 30 315 Leon Diner E Denver 31 320 Bob Cummings C Vanderbilt 32 325 Don Nolander C Minnesota
1946 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 9 Cal Rossi RB UCLA 3 24 Stan Kozlowski FB Holy Cross 5 39 Gay Adelt RB Utah 6 49 Walt Trojanowski RB Connecticut 7 59 Bob Hendren OT Southern California 8 69 George Callanan RB Southern California 9 79 Bob Skoglund E Notre Dame 10 89 Jake Leicht HB Oregon 11 99 Chick Maggioli DB Illinois 12 109 Monte Moncrief OT Texas A&M 13 119 Joe Tereshinski DE Georgia 14 129 Stan Sprague E Illinois 15 139 Harry Adelman E Southern California 16 149 Bob Butchofsky RB Texas A&M 17 159 Mike Prashaw OT Michigan 18 169 Ed Robnett FB Texas Tech 19 179 LeMar Dykstra RB Colorado 20 189 Bob Ward RB San José State 21 199 John Pehar OT Southern California 22 209 Roger Robinson DB Syracuse 23 219 Charley Cadenhead C Mississippi State 24 229 Bob Rados G Santa Clara 25 239 Charlie Webb E Louisiana State 26 249 Marion Flanagan RB Texas A&M 27 259 Roland Phillips OT Georgia Tech 28 269 Jim Hallmark RB Texas A&M 29 279 Fay Mills OT Alabama 30 289 William Ritter RB Georgia Tech 31 294 Sarkis Takesian RB California 32 299 Mike Campbell E Mississippi
1947 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege 1 4 Cal Rossi RB UCLA 3 17 Red Knight RB Louisiana State 5 28 Hank Foldberg E Army 6 39 Mike Garzoni G Southern California 7 48 Bill Gray G Oregon State 8 59 Hank Harris G Texas 9 68 Roy Kurrasch E UCLA 10 79 Ernie Williamson OT North Carolina 11 88 L. G. Carmody RB Central Washington 12 99 U. S. Savage E Richmond 13 108 Bob Steckroth E William & Mary 14 119 Weldon Edwards OT Texas Christian 15 128 Earl Wheeler C Arkansas 16 139 Billy Gold RB Tennessee 17 148 Jack Hart OT Detroit Mercy 18 159 Tom Nichols RB Richmond 19 168 Harry Dowda DB Wake Forest 20 179 Charlie Webb E Louisiana State 21 188 Elmo Bond OT Washington State 22 199 Jim Hefti RB St. Lawrence 23 208 Tom Dudley E Virginia 24 219 Bob Smith DB Iowa 25 228 Hal Mullins OT Duke 26 239 Francis Bocoka E Washington State 27 248 Otis Sacrinty RB Wake Forest 28 259 Milt Dropo C Connecticut 29 268 Lynn Brownson RB Stanford 30 279 Joe Colone RB Penn State 31 286 Herb Shoener E Iowa 32 295 Bob Pievo OT Purdue
1948 draft