Virginia wide receiver Malik Washington was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 184th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.

Washington had to wait a little bit longer than expected to hear his name called, as the Cavalier record-breaking wideout was projected to go as high as the fourth or even the third round. Instead, in a draft packed with talented pass catchers, Washington’s smaller stature at 5’8″ ultimately worked against him and he wound up being the 26th wide receiver taken in the draft.

Miami could be a great landing spot for Washington, though, as the Dolphins have a need for depth at wide receiver behind starters Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Braxton Berrios. Head coach Mike McDaniel is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL and should be able to make good use out of Washington’s abilities. Washington will also benefit greatly from playing alongside Tyreek Hill, another shorter receiver (5’10”) who is arguably the best wide receiver in football.

In just one season at Virginia, Washington rewrote the program’s receiving record books. His 110 receptions broke the school record and led the nation. His 1,426 receiving yards set the program record and were 4th in the country. Washington had a nation-leading 10 100-yard receiving games, more than any Cavalier wide receiver has ever had in a career. At the end of the year, Washington was named to the All-ACC First Team and was a Second-Team All-American on Associated Press and several other college football publications.

Washington is the fifth UVA wide receiver to be selected in the NFL Draft since 2000, joining Billy McMullen (2003), Marques Hagans (2006), Joe Reed (2020), and Dontayvion Wicks (2023). He is the first Cavalier to be selected by the Miami Dolphins since Terry Kirby in 1993. Virginia has had a player selected in each of the last three NFL Drafts (Jelani Woods in 2022 and Dontayvion Wicks in 2023) and in six of the last seven drafts.

With Washington entering the ranks of the National Football League, there are three active wide receivers from Virginia in the NFL: Olamide Zaccheaus (Commanders), Dontayvion Wicks (Packers), and Malik Washington (Dolphins).

The Washington Commanders entered the 2024 NFL Draft in a position to alter the trajectory of the franchise in a positive way. Under the leadership of General Manager Adam Peters and Head Coach Dan Quinn, the Commanders made five more selections on Friday evening after electing to use the No. 2 overall pick on former LSU star Jayden Daniels.

Washington drafted Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton (No. 36), Michigan cornerback Mike Sainristil (No. 50), and Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott (No. 53) in the second round before securing TCU offensive lineman Brandon Coleman (No. 67) and Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffery (No. 100) in the third round. The selections are earning the Commanders national attention.

ESPN analyst and NFL Insider Field Yates didn’t waste any time naming Washington as the winner of the second day of the draft while breaking down the festivities on SportsCenter. Yates believes that the franchise potentially found “three or four starters” over the second and third rounds. The one who’s earning the most buzz is Sainristil after former Alabama head coach Nick Saban heaped praise on him following his selection.

“I’ll go with the Washington Commanders, a little bit of an assist here from I don’t know the greatest college football coach of all time in Nick Saban,” Yates said. “The Commanders had a bunch of picks on day two specifically and that included Mike Sainristil, a slot corner from Michigan who this past season had six interceptions, he’s a forced turnover waiting to happen as well as Johnny Newton, their first pick of the day. Ben Sinnott, h-back, full back, tight end from Kansas State but Sainristil was according to Nick Saban ‘pound-for-pound the best player’ in the entire draft. If you have that kind of endorsement from the GOAT of college football you certainly have my attention. I think this Washington Football team may have had three or four starters from start to finish on day two with more ammo to work with on day three.”

The future looks bright in Washington with the way that the franchise has operated throughout this draft. The best part is that the fun isn’t over just yet. There’s still another day remaining for the Commanders to finalize a strong draft haul.

As of now, the Commanders are slated to pick twice in the fifth round (No. 139, No. 152) before wrapping things up in the seventh round (No. 222).

*Article courtesy of Dustin Lewis

Stick with CommanderGameday for more coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 NFL Draft.

DALLAS — A couple of heated confrontations during the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 101-90 Game 3 win over the LA Clippers on Friday night resulted in a pair of ejections and a boost to P.J. Washington’s local popularity.

Washington, the power forward acquired by the Mavericks at the trade deadline, was ejected along with Clippers guard Russell Westbrook with 6:10 remaining.

That confrontation began with Westbrook fouling Mavs superstar Luka Doncic by grabbing his right arm from behind and yanking on it, pulling Doncic backward. When Doncic approached Westbrook to object, Westbrook shoved him with his left arm. Washington and Westbrook then exchanged shoves before other players, coaches, officials and security prevented the skirmish from escalating.

“Always got to protect 77 at all costs,” Washington told ESPN. “So I mean obviously it was a hard foul and then he pushed him afterwards, so I was right there and I just had to step into it.”

Westbrook, who finished with 1 point on 0-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes, was called for two technical fouls and ejected from a playoff game for the first time in his career. He exited the American Airlines Center without speaking to the media.

“You got to keep your composure,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It gets chippy in the playoffs and everyone wants to play well and do well, but you got to keep up composure no matter how the calls go. So we got to be better than that down the stretch when it comes to that.”

Washington, who had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in the win, was also ejected after being whistled for his second technical foul. His first came after a confrontation with Clippers guard Terance Mann with 10:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.

In that instance, Washington struck an instantly iconic pose in the midst of players pushing and shoving, crossing his arms and staring at the Clippers bench.

“[Mann] was mad that I was looking at their bench, so I decided to look at it again,” Washington told ESPN. “Just coming in and trying to set a tone.”

As Washington posed in exaggerated fashion, Doncic stood next to him and smiled with delight. Washington kept a stone face.

“I wanted to get my flicks right for after the game,” Washington said with a grin, referring to the moment as a photo opportunity.

Doncic, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists despite describing his right knee as “really stiff” after injuring it late in the first quarter, expressed appreciation for Washington’s willingness to serve as an enforcer.

“Amazing,” Doncic said. “The things he does, he’s a team player. He helps all of us. I’m just really happy we’ve got him on our team.”

Westbrook was also called for a flagrant 1 foul for hitting Dallas wing Josh Green in the head during a fast-break dunk attempt with 8:37 remaining in the second quarter. He had a post-whistle brush of Doncic reviewed in the final minute of the first half, but the officials determined that incident didn’t merit any punishment.

“I’m used to that,” Doncic said of being subjected to extra physicality. “I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball.”

After the Mavs called themselves out for a lack of physicality in their Game 1 loss, they have held the Clippers to 93 and 90 points in the past two games to take a 2-1 series lead. Dallas coach Jason Kidd considers the friction that emerged in the fourth quarter to be typical for a physical series.

“We’re all competing for each inch to try to win,” Kidd said. “This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality. It’s very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what’s taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another.”

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.