There are moments where trying to find a partner is love at first sight; others require a little more time. The intrigue is there, but each side must feel the other out before deciding if they're "the one."
Jayden Daniels -- the 2024 No. 2 overall pick and the first for Adam Peters as the Washington Commanders' general manager -- was the former. It didn't take long for Peters to realize that Daniels was his guy, and there was little another team could offer to convince him otherwise.
It took longer to land on Oregon left tackle as the Commanders' top target with the No. 29 pick in this year's draft. They went through the same process -- they visited Conerly at the Senior Bowl as well as the combine and had him over as one of their 30 visits -- but there were other factors to consider. Offensive tackle was not an obvious need, and even if they did like him, there was no guarantee he would be available when they were on the clock.
But by the time the Commanders were ready to submit their pick, it was Conerly who caused the draft room to erupt with cheers. That's because it became clearer as the staff vetted him that he was the perfect match for their future.
"It's really the total package," Peters said at the conclusion of the first round.
For the Commanders, realizing Conerly was their guy started early in the draft process. Peters likes to talk to all the scouts near the beginning of the season to get a feel of what they're looking at, and one of the questions he wants answered is, "Who's your guy?" Paul Skansi, who covers the West region, had his answer: it was Conerly.
Peters hadn't even seen Conerly at that point, but it stuck with him that Skansi "really stood on the table for him." Obviously, Skansi was impressed with the player Conerly was -- he had just come off a 2023 season where he allowed just one sack as a sophomore -- but there was more to it than that. Skansi loved everything about Conerly from who he was and what he stood for to his competitiveness and maturity.
Peters recalled Skansi's case being "super impressive," and as a former area scout himself, he put a lot of stock into it. Peters joked that perhaps there was a little bias considering that both Skansi and Conerly are from the Seattle area, but he was willing to overlook that after seeing Conerly in person.
"I think, first, you look at the tape and you see what an incredible athlete he is for his size, which is backed up by a lot of his testing numbers, too," Peters said. "But just really the way he moves. Just great feet, great lower body structure, great bend, and just super talented for a big man."
Peters and head coach Dan Quinn have said they want to add "Commanders" to their roster through the draft and free agency. Although neither are going to expound on exactly what that means, there's a rough idea of their ideal makeup after seeing the players they have added in the past year. They value competitive, team-driven individuals who love the sport and are willing to put in the work to be the best at their position. Anyone who doesn't possess those qualities, regardless of their skill level, will find it difficult to fit into their culture.
If the staff had any concern about Conerly, they evaporated quickly. Despite him being just 21 years old -- "a baby in terms of age wise," as Peters put it -- Conerly showed a high level of maturity for his age. He exuded a quiet confidence and was "really thoughtful" when talking to the coaching staff. They had heard he was routine oriented and "one of the hardest, if not the hardest worker on the team" at Oregon, and that came through when they watched him at the Senior Bowl and combine.
The Commanders got an even better perception of him when he came to the facility as one of their top 30 visits. He wasn't much of a golfer, Peters joked in reference to the team taking prospects to Top Golf, but he impressed in every other area.
"We debrief after those 30 visits, and you go around the room and talk about how each person interacted with him, and it was all superlatives," Peters said. "We had like three really, really special guys here, and he was one of them.
"When everybody gets that great vibe for him," Peters added later, "it really makes you feel confident to make the pick."
It also helps that Conerly has elite talent for his age. He allowed just two sacks in his final two seasons at Oregon and played a large role on an offensive line that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. He was a First Team All-Big Ten and Third Team All-American for his performance, which included getting a team-best 83.6 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.
But what stood out the most was how he fared against top-end talent. Penn State's Abdul Carter, this year's No. 3 overall pick, had a fruitless evening against Conerly, who held him to zero sacks. The Commanders' Research & Development department provides metrics for players who perform well against "high draftable" prospects, and the numbers backed up that Conerly performed well against some of the best players in college football.
"He went toe-to-toe with Abdul Carter, who's the best pass rusher in the draft," Peters said. "He did really well, and he did really well against a lot of really good players. He played Ohio State twice, and they were getting the brakes beat off in the second game and he was still competing to the very last second and that showed a lot ... He's not going to freak out, he's not going to panic, he's not going to do things that he doesn't normally do when he is face to face with a really great player."
All of that -- and perhaps a note from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury asking Peters to take the Oregon tackle -- convinced the Commanders that if Conerly was on the board at No. 29, they were going to take him. It was a scenario they had talked about before the draft, and there were moments when "we were holding our breath for a while thinking he might go ahead of us."
And the Commanders had offers to tempt them, some of which were to move slightly down the board, but the thought of missing out on Conerly was viewed as too risky.
"He was the highest player on our board, is really what it ended up being," Peters said. "It wasn't really so much we needed to get an O-Lineman or anything like that, but he was clearly the highest player on our board."
It could be argued that the Commanders had other needs on their roster, many of which can still be addressed with their four other draft picks, even if it isn't one of the best players available. Many analysts believe the Commanders made a solid pick, but the Commanders would say they made the right one. They're confident he makes them better because of how he fits in with their culture.
And for the Commanders, falling in love doesn't mean settling on a player just to fill a need.
"We were thrilled when he was there," Peters said. "It was an easy pick for us to make and we're really, really pumped that we had another Commander in the building."
