The Washington Commanders used their third pick of Day 2 in the 2024 NFL Draft to take Kansas State's Ben Sinnott. Here are five things to know about the team's newest tight end.

1. He's one of the best tight ends in Kansas State history.

Sinnott made the most of his time at Kansas State. He walked away from campus with several career honors, including two All-American nods (academic and honorable mention in 2023) and two First Team All-Big 12 selections. His legacy goes deeper than that, though.

Sinnott, who finished his career with 1,138 yards and 10 touchdowns, is one of the most productive tight ends in program history, finishing his career tied for the most receiving touchdowns by a player at the position. He grabbed 82 receptions over three seasons, which ranks third among all K-State tight ends, and his receiving yards rank fourth.

Sinnott was also the fourth tight end in program history to have at least 1,000 receiving yards, and that's a credit to his standout 2023 season, when he led the team with 676 yards and six touchdowns. His receiving total ranked fourth among FBS tight ends, while his touchdowns were tied for the most at his position with Brock Bowers and Colorado State's Dallin Holker.

Time will tell as to whether Sinnott will be as successful in the NFL as he was in college, but at least Washington got one of the most productive tight ends available to shore up the position.

2. He was a standout hockey player.

Football wasn't Sinnott's only sport growing up in Waterloo, Iowa. He was a multisport athlete at Columbus Catholic High School, lettering in baseball, golf, tennis and track. Sinnott was also a standout hockey player, and that's where he first learned how to be physical.

Sinnott first started playing hockey when he was 3 years old. Over the course of his four-year high school career, he scored 130 goals and accounted for 206 points. He even had a goal and three assists during the team's playoff run in the 2019-20 season.

He also led his high school team in penalty minutes for plays like this:

If Sinnott can bring that level of physicality to the field, then the Commanders got a player who knows how to pack a wallop.

3. He feels his skill set is unlimited.

Sinnott was viewed as an all-around tight end who could do it all for K-State. Analysts graded other players at his position as better receiving threats and more helpful as blockers, but there was little doubt that he had at least some experience in everything that was asked of him.

The way he sees it, his complete skill set will lead to serious potential at the NFL level.

"The amount of things I can do is unlimited," Sinnott said. "With my alignments, with what [Kansas] K State trusted me with. I think Coach [Kliff] Kingsbury's going to have a lot of fun with what he can do and with where he can put me."

That's a lot of confidence from a rookie, but it does sort of fall in line with how he was evaluated during the draft process. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote in his draft profile that Sinnott can "compete against man coverage on all three levels and get additional yards after the catch." Zierlein notes that he'll need to be more physical in his blocking duties, but he does know how to operate in space.

We'll see how impactful Sinnott can be as a rookie, but he at least is determined to improve.

4. He thinks Washington is the perfect fit for him.

Players don't get a say in where they're drafted, but most of them do have dream scenarios and preferences that they develop during the draft process.

Washington was an ideal situation for Sinnott.

"I'm so excited," Sinnott said. "This is an organization that I've been really hoping to get taken by and couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity."

Most of the reasons why Sinnott liked Washington as a destination come from his conversations with the coaches. The Commanders have had an eye on him since the Senior Bowl, and he connected with tight ends coach David Raih "pretty easily." He's a big fan of Kingsbury's offensive philosophies and heard "fantastic things" about head coach Dan Quinn.

"I think it's very like-minded people," Sinnott said. "I felt very comfortable instantly."

Sinnott believes "the fit is perfect," and the Commanders agree.

"He's got great hands, can get open," general manager Adam Peters said of Sinnott. "He can beat man coverage, and he's got that mindset when he gets the ball in his hands, he is not going down."

5. He reminds Adam Peters of some impressive tight ends.

Peters was around some of the best tight end in the game as a member of the San Francisco 49ers' front office. George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk have been critical parts of the team's success, and while both have unique roles in that offense, they do share the trait of being exceptional blockers.

Peters isn't comparing Sinnott to those players, but the way he blocks does remind Peters of the Pro Bowlers.

"The way he blocks and in the way he moves, and just the way he competes," Peters said. "Certainly not putting him in that, those guys are All Pros, Pro Bowlers, everything you'd want, but Ben has that same mindset and he plays with that mindset. He can block really anywhere."

That works out well for Sinnott, because blocking is going to encompass most of his responsibilities as a rookie. Sinnott can still have a positive impact on the team in that role, too. While John Bates does have reliable hands, he's mostly known for excelling as a run-blocker.

We're still months away from seeing where Sinnott falls on the depth chart and how many snaps he'll get during the season, but it sounds like the Commanders believe he can handle anything they throw at him.

"You can put him at the end of the line of scrimmage and you can block a D end, you can block a linebacker, you can block a defensive back in space, you'll block two people on the same play," Peters said.