Commanders' Rooting Guide for 2024 NFL Draft Implications of Week 12

There wasn't a lot for the Washington Commanders to be thankful for on Thanksgiving day. Ron Rivera's team hit a new low for the season in a 45-10 blowout loss on national television.

The loss dropped their record to 4-8 on the season and put them in line for the seventh pick going into Sunday's action, according to Tankathon's live draft order tracker.

This season hasn't gone well, but the Commanders do have cause for optimism. With new owner Josh Harris taking over this season there is hope that the organization will look to make changes and build a contender over the next few seasons.

That really starts with the 2024 draft where the Commanders have a 45.4 percent chance to get a top-five pick according to ESPN's projections.

With another loss already in hand this week, here are three outcomes the Commanders should be rooting for this week to get closer to securing that top-five pick.

Titans over Panthers

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JACKSONVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 19: Will Levis #8 of the Tennessee Titans warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

The clash between the Titans and the Panthers is one of the worst games of the week, but it'll go a long way in determining the draft order.

The Panthers currently own the worst record in the league, but they don't own the rights to their pick. They traded it to the Bears as part of the deal that helped them move up to draft Bryce Young last spring.

So while the Panthers have been terrible this season, they don't have a reason to tank.

The Titans are in the midst of their most disastrous season since Mike Vrabel took over as head coach. They've turned things over to rookie quarterback Will Levis on offense and the defense is uncharacteristically below average.

Levis was impressive in his first start and the Titans beat the Falcons but they are on a three-game losing streak since.

Despite the losses, the Titans should be able to win this one. Levis is working with a lot better weapons than Young is at this point. Young's top receiver is a 33-year-old Adam Thielen while Levis at least has Derrick Young behind him and DeAndre Hopkins on the outside.

They should be able to help the Commanders out, moving to 4-7 and behind Washington in the draft order.

Giants over Patriots

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Saquon Barkley

The Commanders got a front-row seat to the Giants third win of the season in Week 11. Tommy DeVito had a stunning performance in which he was sacked nine times but still up 246 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against Washington's secondary.

Now Washington needs to hope that DeVito can continue to breathe some life into this Giants offense and move them down the draft board.

They have a good matchup to do it too. The Giants will host the 2-8 New England Patriots. The Pats continue to be an absolute mess offensively. They have scored 20 points or more just twice this season and only once in a win.

Mac Jones has been the starter all season but he has been benched at times for Bailey Zappe. Coming out of the bye week, Bill Belichick has been noncommittal about who is going to be under center for his team.

The Pats could wind up playing Bailey Zappe or Will Grier there. Even if one does start, it doesn't mean that they'll finish the game.

Even if the Pats do win this game, it's hard to see them cobbling together enough offense to move out of the top five in the draft.

The Giants, with some momentum behind DeVito, could do just that, especially if they beat the Patriots on Sunday. That's the best draft scenario for Washington and a result they should be rooting for.

Bears over Vikings

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Justin Fields

The Commanders handed the Bears their first win of the season back in Week 5. Now they can return the favor by beating the Vikings on Monday Night Football and improving Washington's draft stock.

The Bears are a half-game ahead of Washington in the draft order right now at 3-8, but a win on Monday Night would send them to a tie-breaker with both teams at 4-8.

Regardless of whether Chicago wins or not, the Bears have a good beat on the No. 1 pick. They own the Panthers pick and Carolina appears destined to have the worst record in football right now.

That gives the Bears the freedom to be as good as they can be the rest of the season. Everyone from the coaching staff to quarterback Justin Fields could be playing for their jobs so it does them no good to tank when they might wind up with the No. 1 pick regardless.

That's all good news for Washington as the Bears came close to upsetting the Vikings the first time they played earlier this season. They lost 19-13 in a game where Tyson Bagent was forced to play quarterback and only had 83 yards passing.

From here on out, Fields could be playing to convince the Bears not to take a quarterback at the top of the draft. With him back in the lineup and Kirk Cousins now out of the lineup the Bears have a good shot at pulling off a win this time around.