Washington picked up a player who was favored to go in the first round in the early part of tonight’s second round.
Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton went to the Commanders with the 36th overall pick.
The 21-year-old Newton had an excellent career at Illinois, culminating in being named the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year last season. He was a two-time All-Big Ten player and an All-American in 2023.
The Commanders believe they got their quarterback of the future in the first round with Jayden Daniels. Now they hope they’ve added a major building block of their defense in Newton.
