New Commanders GM Adam Peters: Interviews key to QB search

INDIANAPOLIS — The first question new Commanders general manager Adam Peters was asked Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine was about Brock Purdy.

Peters came to Washington from the San Francisco 49ers, where he was the assistant GM when the front office pulled the trigger on drafting the Iowa State quarterback with the final pick of the 2022 draft. The rest was history.

"Now I've got to find a new quarterback," Peters smiled.

It was not breaking news that the Commanders would seek an upgrade over Sam Howell and potentially draft a franchise quarterback this year. But Washington owns the No. 2 pick in April's draft, a far cry from the final pick that Peters spent on Purdy. The Commanders sit ahead of QB-needy New England but behind Chicago.

Peters, in the GM seat for the first time of his career, will have plenty of say on the Commanders' final decision. Peters said he will be meeting the crop of quarterback prospects in person for the first time this week, with some interviews lined up for Tuesday night and Wednesday.

"That's just the beginning of the process," Peters said. "It's a huge part of really any position, is getting to know the person. That's where we've always found, in scouting, you make the biggest mistakes more so on the person than the actual talent."

Caleb Williams of Southern California, Drake Maye of North Carolina and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU are considered the cream of the draft crop. The running ability of Williams and Daniels in particular might make them an ideal fit for new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, the former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals head coach who has worked with Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray.

"We've really just talked about quarterback play in general, and what he looks for in quarterbacks and how we can find that right fit for him, if that's what we're gonna do," said Peters, who hired Kingsbury three weeks ago.

"Certainly that hasn't been decided yet by any stretch of the imagination. We still have a lot of work to do, whether it's that pick or later."

Peters went on to claim the Commanders "really like what we have" in Howell, a fifth-round pick by the previous regime in 2022, and that the quarterback room needs to have competition to ensure the best outcomes.

"You guys know how construction goes. It doesn't go real fast," Peters said.

New Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was scheduled to meet with reporters at 5 p.m.

—Field Level Media