I think that's a fair description... Peters has said a number of times that he views the draft as the core means to build a roster, and free agency as a way to 'supplement' it. I think he self-sabotaged and set that philosophy aside after the 2024 season, getting seduced by the idea that Washington got within 1 win from a Super Bowl appearance. He gave away draft capital to try and fill some obvious short-term holes instead of using it for longer term needs.
Maybe, but I think your timeline is off a bit.
The absolute worst move, by far, is the Lattimore trade, and that happened in-season in 2024. Because the secondary was garbage and he was trying to do something to put them over the edge while they were on a hot streak. I didn't have a problem taking the swing at the time, don't have a problem with it now. You have to be aggressive. The problem is, it didn't work. Sometimes you swing and you strike out. But if you don't swing, you can't hit a home run. He swung, he missed. Took the walk back to the dugout with his bat in his hand and his head down. It's unfortunate, but it happens. Importantly though, this move happened in-season.
You'll never hear me complain about trading for a top-5 LT. It cost us essentially 4 mid-round draft picks over 2 years to get a top 5 tackle. I'd sign up to do that every day of the week and twice on Sundays. You can't sign those guys in FA, and even drafting one high, the hit rate isn't 100%. You have to draft them and also get lucky. It doesn't matter to me what the philosophy is, if you can get a Tunsil or a Trent Williams in their prime without giving up a 1st round pick, you do it. (You agree with this.)
And I can't complain about the 5th for Deebo. If you do a quick scan through 5th round picks, you're not going to find a lot of them who actually out-performed Deebo. Most 5th round picks are ST players and out of the league in 2-3 years. They got a legitimate starting caliber player at WR, who was very good for them, and for long stretches of the season, the only starting caliber WR on the roster because of Terry and Noah Brown's injuries. A 5th for a 1 year rental for a starting WR? Eh. I'm not going to complain about that much.
If we part ways with Deebo after just one season after giving up a 5th rounder to obtain him, that's a big fail. Lattimore has been a big fail. The only super solid FA move Peters has made was acquiring Tunsil. Yes - we gave up a lot to get him, but it's extremely rare to have an opportunity to bring in a top 5 NFL left tackle who still has gas in the tank, so that move can be justified (especially when his most important job is protecting your young franchise QB's blind side). If they mess up and can't re-sign Tunsil to a long-term contract, that will be the biggest fail of all.
I actually disagree about Deebo. If they spent a 5th and got 1 good year of production, and then didn't want to spend a lot of money in FA and somebody signs him to a 2-3 year $20m AAV contract and they let him walk, that's fine with me. I know I have a lower value on 5th - 7th round picks than most, but the numbers say, if you get 1 good season out of a 5th round pick, you're doing really well.
Lattimore has been a complete and total swing and a miss, as I said above.
They HAVE to extend Tunsil. I expect they will. There could be a theory (and not a good one) that they could let him play out this year and then franchise tag him twice, and that's 4 years of total control. I REALLY hope they don't go down that route. There's no reason to piss off one of the top 5 LTs in the league. I have a lot of faith this is going to get done. Not sure when, but unlike Terry, who was asking for top 5 money when he's not a top 5 player, Tunsil is going to be asking for top 1 money and he is a top 5 player, and on any given day, maybe the best LT in football. And unlike Terry, Tunsil has more leverage because of how good he is and the draft capital we used to get him.
Peters needs to get back to his supposed core philosophy in 2026. Treat draft picks like the gold they are. And I also think you are right that he needs to re-think his mindset on free agency and that it would be better to spend big money on a couple of real difference makers vs. nickel and dime bargain basement shopping as we have mostly seen so far.
I don't think he really can get back to anything in 2026. Because we have only 5 draft picks. I still keep screaming the team should trade Coleman for a 2nd or 3rd. He's a potential better than replacement level player at LT, there is a market for that. I get that it's punting on a 2024 draft pick, but now that you have Tunsil and Connerly, there isn't a tackle position for him to occupy, and he's clearly better at tackle than guard. Re-sign Wylie as the swing tackle for no money, pick up a mid-round draft pick. I doubt they do it, but they really should. UNLESS they think Coleman can actually start at guard. But he couldn't last year and Paul beat him out and played really well. They should re-sign Paul and keep the continuity and trade Coleman. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The biggest problem for Peters hasn't been FA or philosophy. It's been he that he hasn't hit on enough of the draft picks he has had.
2024:
Rnd 1: Daniels - Hit
Rnd 2: Newton - Miss - Backup average rotational player. Newton was also a HIGH second round pick, almost a 1st. Need more production from that draft position.
Rnd 2: Sainristil - Incomplete - I think he's good, he has played well at times, I think he's been used out of position which is not his fault. Let's see if he gets better coaching and improves.
Rnd 2: Ben Sinnott - Miss
Rnd 3: Coleman - Miss - Relegated to backup
Rnd 3: McCaffery - Miss - At best replacement level
Rnd 5: Jordan Magee - Jury's out but hasn't gotten on the field
Rnd 5: Dominique Hampton - On the Bears
Rnd 7: Jean-Baptiste - Very good backup. (I'd consider this a hit for a 7th round pick, he got hurt last year, but he was a good rotational DE.)
I don't judge 5th - 7th rounders because the hit rate is like 5% of them becoming a starter.
But for rounds 1-4, 6 picks, 1 hit (Daniels), 1 incomplete and 4 misses. That's not great.
2025:
Rnd 1: Connerly - Hit
Rnd 2: Trey Amos - Hit (until he got injured)
Rnd 4: Lane - Hit as a punt returner
Rnd 6: Medrano - He rarely played
Rnd 7: Bill Croskey-Merritt - If he develops into a consistent starter, he would be the best find of both drafts.
So the 2025 draft, even with limited picks, looks more promising than the 2024 draft.
In order for the "build through the draft, horde draft picks, supplement with FA" philosophy to work, you have to hit on draft picks. 2025 seems like it's heading in the right directly.
2024? Eh. It's nowhere near as bad as the draft we do not mention with the player we do not name (think hair grooming product) where we spent 3 second round picks on mostly busts (Fred Davis was ok), but it's not looking great except for Daniels.
IF Sainristil rebounds in year 3, that would go a long way to redeeming the draft class. Also, there is a non-zero chance both Newton and Sinnott improve with different coaching. Sinnott might have just not been a scheme fit with Kliff. Newton might not have been a scheme fit with whatever Whitt was trying to do, though I'm not sure what he was trying to do.
This is a BIG year for the 2024 draft class.