Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew answer questions about the Washington Commanders 2023 draft

LIVE: HC Ron Rivera and GM Martin Mayhew meet with the media after the #NFLDraft https://t.co/ijRJcEcByf

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) April 29, 2023

Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew addressing the media. On K.J. Henry, Rivera was impressed with his tape and thought he was overlooked by teams

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) April 29, 2023

Rivera says Eric Bieniemy was particularly high on running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. He says he’ll have a role,

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) April 29, 2023

Rivera said Eric Bieniemy feels comfortable with how Chris Rodriguez will fit in the Commanders’ backfield behind Gibson and Robinson

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) April 29, 2023

Chris Rodriguez was “sticking out like a sore thumb” on the Commanders’ draft board and Eric Bieniemy was a big proponent of his, according to Ron Rivera

— Pete Hailey (@PeteHaileyNBCS) April 29, 2023

Sounds like, per Ron, that Braeden Daniels will get a shot at being a tackle first. “Getting his footwork straight” is a priority and Daniels can work in at guard as well, but tackle appears to be his first stop as of now

— Pete Hailey (@PeteHaileyNBCS) April 29, 2023

Braeden Daniels will primarily be a tackle to start out. I asked Rivera if he could be in the mix for left guard, but he said they’d look at him at tackle first and then mix in guard as they go along.

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) April 29, 2023

Martin Mayhew says some other trade discussions were had (sounded like moving up besides the trade up with Buffalo for KJ) & indicated the relationship between #Bills & #Commanders were fine.

— Chris Russell AKA the ! (@Russellmania621) April 29, 2023

Mayhew said he wished he was little more aggressive on some trades. There were several that they almost made today, but they didn’t for various reasons. That said, he feels very comfortable with the guys they ended up with

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) April 29, 2023

Rivera said Ricky Stromberg is a guy they are thrilled to have. Met with EB during his visit and had a very positive conversation

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) April 29, 2023

Ron Rivera says he feels no additional urgency..They followed the plan & improved.

— Chris Russell AKA the ! (@Russellmania621) April 29, 2023

Mayhew: the players we drafted fit our culture

— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) April 29, 2023

“We’re not done yet..” says Ron Rivera. Want to have best 53 by September.

Obviously UDFAs & the next couple of tiers of free agency still await.

— Chris Russell AKA the ! (@Russellmania621) April 29, 2023