Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew made several critical errors during their disastrous tenure with the Washington Commanders. It came as no surprise to see both eventually leave the franchise when some fresh blood came into the fold.
In fairness to Mayhew, he didn't get the final say on personnel. Dan Snyder gave that distinction to Rivera in one final attempt to restore order during his toxic reign as owner.
It didn't work. And one can point the finger squarely at Rivera's draft failings as a huge reason behind his demise.
There are too many examples of poor decision-making to count. One of the most notable centered on the Commanders' decision to take wide receiver Dyami Brown over several other enticing options at No. 82 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Brown was expected to be a deep threat capable of becoming the No. 2 option behind Terry McLaurin. This never materialized, and the Commanders felt he wasn't worth the money to keep him around in free agency after the Jacksonville Jaguars came in with a decent offer.
Commanders' passing on Amon-Ra St. Brown was one of many draft errors by Ron Rivera
Fans were clamoring for two names at the time, both of whom have enjoyed far more success. The most obvious was Amon-Ra St. Brown, who got discarded until the Detroit Lions ended his slide at No. 112 overall.
He's been making everyone regret their lack of conviction ever since. And nobody was surprised when Damian Parson from The Bleacher Report named St. Brown among his biggest steals from the 2021 NFL Draft class.
"[Amon-Ra] St. Brown is one of the best pound-for-pound wide receivers in the league. He has outplayed his draft position and brought immediate reliability and consistency to the Lions' passing attack. The Lions’ passing attack would be less efficient and effective without St. Brown’s high-end production. He is the engine for their offense and is a top-10 wide receiver in the league. St. Brown’s career has been outstanding, and he isn’t slowing down anytime soon."
Damian Parson
Hindsight is a wonderful thing to have. St. Brown was arguably more NFL-ready and would have been taken a lot higher had it not been for an injury that restricted him to just six games at USC in 2020. That was enough for the Commanders and others to go in different directions, which ended up being a grave error in judgment.
Brown had all the physical attributes. He often starred during off-season workouts and training camp without bringing it through to a competitive setting. By the time he showed signs of life down the stretch in 2024, it was too late to turn the tide.
St. Brown would have been the better pick. Rivera's time at the helm is loaded with examples of huge opportunities staring him in the face that he simply couldn't see. This is just one of them.
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