# List of Washington Commanders first-round draft picks

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 1932 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 1937. In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly played as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022. 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 | Pro Football Hall of Famer | Pro Football Hall of Famer | Pro Football Hall of Famer | Pro Football Hall of Famer |
List of Washington Redskins / Commanders first-round draft picks :
| Year | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 |
| 1948 | 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) |
| 1958 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1959 | 4 | Don Allard | QB | Boston College |
| 1960 | 4 | Richie Lucas | QB | Penn State |
| 1961 | 2 | Norm Snead | QB | Wake Forest |
| 1961 | 3 | Joe Rutgens | DT | Illinois |
| 1962 | 1 | Ernie Davis | RB | Syracuse |
| 1963 | 7 | Pat Richter | TE | Wisconsin |
| 1964 | 3 | Charley Taylor | WR | Arizona State |
| 1965 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1966 | 6 | Charlie Gogolak | K | Princeton |
| 1967 | 13 | Ray McDonald | RB | Idaho |
| 1968 | 12 | Jim Smith | DB | Oregon |
| 1969 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1970 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1971 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1972 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1973 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1974 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1975 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1976 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1977 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1978 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1979 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1980 | 18 | Art Monk | WR | Syracuse |
| 1981 | 20 | Mark May | T | Pittsburgh |
| 1982 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1983 | 28 | Darrell Green | CB | Texas A&I |
| 1984 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1985 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1986 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1987 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1988 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1989 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1990 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No 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) |
| 1998 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 1999 | 7 | Champ Bailey | CB | Georgia |
| 2000 | 2 | LaVar Arrington | LB | Penn State |
| 2000 | 3 | Chris Samuels | T | Alabama |
| 2001 | 15 | Rod Gardner | WR | Clemson |
| 2002 | 32 | Patrick Ramsey | QB | Tulane |
| 2003 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 2004 | 5 | Sean Taylor | FS | Miami(FL) |
| 2005 | 9 | Carlos Rogers | CB | Auburn |
| 2005 | 25 | Jason Campbell | QB | Auburn |
| 2006 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 2007 | 6 | LaRon Landry | SS | LSU |
| 2008 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No 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 |
| 2013 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick |
| 2014 | No Pick | No Pick | No Pick | No 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 |
| 2019 | 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 |

## Footnotes

* ↑ The first player ever selected in the NFL Draft, Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger in 1936, chose not to play in the NFL, thus making Smith the first drafted player to play.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1948 was a lottery bonus pick.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1958 was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for Rudy Bukich.
* ↑ Opted to sign with the Buffalo Bills of the newly formed American Football League
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1965 was traded to the Chicago Bears for Angelo Coia and Fred Williams.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1969 was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for the rights to Gary Beban.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1970 was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1968 for Walt Rock.
* ↑ The Redskins' traded their first and third round picks in 1971, their fourth, fifth, and sixth round picks in 1972, and Marlin McKeever to the Los Angeles Rams for Maxie Baughan, Jack Pardee, Myron Pottios, Jeff Jordan, John Wilbur, and Diron Talbert, along with a fifth round pick in 1971.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1972 was traded to the New York Jets for Verlon Biggs.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1973 was traded to the Baltimore Colts, along with Cotton Speyrer, for Roy Jefferson and a ninth round pick in 1973 and 1974. The pick was then traded to the San Diego Chargers.
* ↑ The Los Angeles Rams traded Richie Petitbon to the Redskins for a 1973 sixth round pick, and their 1974 first round pick (revised from 1973 second round pick after Redskins learned they had previously traded 1973 second round pick). The Rams then traded the first round pick to the Chicago Bears.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1975, along with a second round pick in 1976, was traded to the San Diego Chargers for Duane Thomas.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1976 was traded to the Miami Dolphins for Joe Theismann.
* 1 2 The Redskins' first picks in 1977 and 1978 were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, along with a second-round pick in 1979, for Dave Butz.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1979 was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals for Lemar Parrish and Coy Bacon.
* ↑ The Los Angeles Rams traded their 1981 third round pick (#69-Russ Grimm), two 1981 fifth round picks (#117-Byron Braggs and #132-Gary Sayre), and a 1982 second round pick (#49-Vernon Dean) to the Redskins for their first pick in 1982.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1984 was traded to the New York Giants for a second-round pick and third-round pick.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1985 was traded to the New Orleans Saints for George Rogers, and fifth, tenth, and eleventh round picks in 1985.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1986 was traded to the Atlanta Falcons before the 1985 Draft, along with a second round pick in 1985, for a second round pick in 1985 and 1986.
* ↑ The San Francisco 49ers traded their 1986 second round pick (#45-Walter Murray) to the Redskins for a 1986 tenth round pick (#270-Harold Hallman) and their 1987 first round pick.
* ↑ The Redskins' first round picks in 1988 and 1989 were traded to the Chicago Bears, as compensation for Wilber Marshall.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1990 was traded to the Atlanta Falcons before the 1989 Draft, along with a second round pick in 1989, for Gerald Riggs.
* ↑ The Redskins acquired their first pick in 1991 from the Houston Oilers via the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 1998 was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, along with a third-round pick in 1998, as compensation for Dan Wilkinson.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 2003 was traded to the New York Jets for Laveranues Coles. The pick was eventually traded to the New England Patriots.
* ↑ The Redskins' first pick in 2006 was traded to the San Francisco 49ers via the Denver Broncos. It was part of the 2005 Draft transaction between Washington and Denver. See citation above.
* ↑ The Atlanta Falcons traded two 2008 second round picks (#34-Devin Thomas and #48-Fred Davis), and a 2008 fourth round pick (which was then traded to the Tennessee Titans who drafted William Hayes) to the Redskins for their 2008 first round pick (21st overall–Sam Baker), a 2008 third round pick (#84-Harry Douglas), and a 2008 fifth round pick (#154-Kroy Biermann).