President Biden used his stand-up routine at the 2024 White House correspondents’ dinner to essentially campaign against Donald Trump, making his Republican rival the butt of nearly half his set. The president’s other targets included “Weekend Update” host and SNL writer Colin Jost (who emceed the event), SNL creator Lorne Michaels (who was in the audience) and Biden himself (sort of, not really.)

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.