A central theme to the Commanders’ 2024 rebuild — sorry, recalibration — was to build through the draft and supplement in free agency. The cornerstones of the roster would be “homegrown” players, who began their careers in Washington as draft picks or college free agents and developed into key contributors. Veterans signed to longer-term deals — three, four years if not more — would fill in the holes and provide a blueprint of sorts to their younger teammates.“We’re going to be very process driven and diligent in who we select in free agency,” general manager Adam Peters assured in his introductory press conference. “But we’re going to build through the draft here.”This was not new and certainly not unique. It was tried and true; the majority of Super Bowl-winning teams over the last decade have featured more drafted starters than free-agent acquisitions. Even the 2021 L.A. Rams, who made “F them picks!” famous, had 13 starters in Super Bowl LVI who were originally drafted by the team or signed as undrafted rookies.Washington’s immediate success in 2024 was mostly because of its prized No. 2 overall pick, quarterback Jayden Daniels. But as Peters and coach Dan Quinn begin a critical Year 3 together and try to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season, the franchise is still searching for its cornerstone players who will stick around for the long haul and help shape the team’s future.The last two seasons in Washington were built mostly with veterans on short-term deals to give the roster flexibility and needed talent. The thought in 2024: Use the veterans to set the tone and help develop the young guys. The thought in 2025: Re-sign many of those veterans, again to short-term deals, because it worked out so well the previous year, then supplement them with trades.Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, acquired at the ‘24 trade deadline when the Commanders were 7-2, cost the team essentially two draft picks. Another pick was used to get Deebo Samuel and basically three more were needed to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Tunsil, who will miss significant time this season because of a torn triceps, is the only one of the three still with the team.Commanders camp takeaways: Jayden Daniels locked-in; injuries mountNicki JhabvalaThe circumstances of each trade made them somewhat logical at the time. Washington was on a tear in ‘24, but had a glaring weakness at cornerback. Though Lattimore was injured at the time, he was still an upgrade, at least on paper. But, at least in retrospect, the price was too steep.Samuel was supposed to provide Daniels another versatile targe. The cost was minimal, but he was never able to be what the team had hoped because of injuries to the rest of the receiving corps.Tunsil was a major investment — and even pricier after the two-year $60.2 million extension he signed in March. But he instantly upgraded the offensive line, and Washington was unlikely to find a premier left tackle on the open market or in the draft, especially after their success left them with the 29th pick in 2025.“I think I would do that one all over again,” Peters said in January of the Tunsil deal.Peters and Quinn inherited a roster in 2024 that needed significant work largely because of previous draft misses. Only four of the 48 players selected by Washington from 2018 through ’23 — safety Quan Martin (2023), guard Sam Cosmi (2021), receiver Terry McLaurin (2019) and defensive tackle Daron Payne (2018) — have been multi-year starters who remain on the team.Peters said throughout the most recent offseason that he hoped to add youth and speed to the group after building the oldest roster in the league last season. He also said he wanted to sign more veterans to longer deals to add more cornerstones through free agency.The Commanders achieved the first part — initially, anyway. But because of training camp injuries and obvious needs for depth, they enter the season with the fifth-oldest roster in the league, according to Spotrac.They did, however, sign more vets to longer, three- and four-year deals. Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, 27, signed the largest, for four years and up to $100 million, and is likely to stick around through at least the 2027 season because of the contract’s structure. Linebacker Leo Chenal (25), defensive tackle Tim Settle (29) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (27) also joined on three-year contracts.But what about the team’s drafted players?It’s still early to make definitive judgments about Peters’ draft classes, but Year 3 is when a new regime is often expected to show the value of its young talent. So far, Washington’s younger group has, on the whole, yet to truly prove its worth.Seven of Washington’s 11 projected starters on offense for Week 1 were drafted by the team. Of them, Daniels, Cosmi and right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. have perhaps the best chance to stick around beyond 2027 because of their contracts, age and value to the team. Brandon Coleman, a third-round pick in 2024, might have the best chance to prove his keep this year while filling in for Tunsil at left tackle.McLaurin has been a face of the franchise since he was selected in the third round in 2019, and he remains a vital piece of the offense. But he will be 31 with a $34 million salary cap hit next season, two figures that will weigh into his long-term future in Washington.Only four of Washington’s projected defensive starters were drafted by the team and have stayed with the team for the entirety of their careers. Payne is in the final year of his contract, and the long-term prospects for cornerbacks Trey Amos and Mike Sainristil and rookie linebacker Sonny Styles are based mostly on their potential. Sainristil started the last two seasons, but struggled at times in 2025. Amos has dealt with injuries since last November, and Styles has yet to play a regular-season snap.Martin, a 2023 second-round pick whose improvement earned him a starting role the following seasons, was often a liability in coverage last year and may have seen his role significantly reduced when the team acquired Nick Cross, 24, in free agency and gave a bigger role to Jeremy Reaves in camp.There are plenty of others who have hope of becoming staples for Washington. Running back Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt, a seventh-round pick in 2025, is brimming with potential. But consistency and availability may determine his future with the Commanders.The same goes for receiver/returners Jaylin Lane (a fourth-round pick in 2025) and Luke McCaffrey (a third-round pick in 2024), and even defensive lineman Johnny Newton (a second-round pick in 2024), should he return from a pectoral muscle injury late this season or next.Then there’s undrafted rookie kicker Drew Stevens, soon to be Washington’s eighth kicker to start a regular-season game since Peters and Quinn arrived. A consistent season could land him more.But for Washington to avoid future “recalibrations,” it needs to find more cornerstones.