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Washington Commanders quarterback and 2026 7th round pick Athan Kaliakmanis.

The Washington Commanders learned the hard way in 2025 that having 3 reliable quarterbacks is a must after starter Jayden Daniels missed 10 games due to injuries.

While Washington brings backup Marcus Mariota back for a 3rd season on a 3rd consecutive 1-year contract to play behind Daniels, they showed they don’t have as much confidence in their 3rd quarterback spot, occupied by popular reserve Sam Hartman the last 2 seasons.

The Commanders drafted Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis in the 7th round (No. 223 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft — a move that seems to show they’re keen to move on from Hartman.

“Jayden Daniels is the runaway No. 1 QB, Marcus Mariota the clear No. 2,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote. “Kaliakmanis enters after that, as he must unseat Sam Hartman for the No. 3 job. Hartman struggled last preseason, and Washington clearly views Kaliakmanis as someone who can win the job. He is also a good fit in new coordinator David Blough’s play-action system. The question is whether Kaliakmanis is able to develop into a No. 2 option, but we’ll have to wait a couple years to answer that.”

Learn More About Rookie QB Athan Kaliakmanis

Kaliakmanis, 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, was a 2-year starter for Minnesota before transferring to Rutgers before the 2024 season.

In 2 years as the starter for Rutgers, Kaliakmanis went 12-13 while throwing for 5,820 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He also rushed for 254 yards and 5 touchdowns. In 4 seasons, he made an impressive 42 starts — that’s experience NFL teams find invaluable.

“Kaliakmanis displayed solid improvement in his play and production during his five college seasons, which he split between Minnesota and Rutgers,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “He’s a full-field progression reader who made his own protection calls … he throws with adequate deep-ball touch but needs to become more consistent with his placement and timing over the first two levels. He’s not much of a threat to make plays with his legs. He has enough size, experience, and football intelligence to eventually make a roster as a QB3.”

Sam Hartman Became Commanders’ Fan Favorite

Hartman, 6-foot-1 and 209 pounds, has become a Commanders fan favorite over the last 2 seasons thanks in large part to his matinee-idol looks.

The Commanders essentially showed they have zero faith in Hartman at the end of the 2025 regular season when, having already been eliminated from the playoffs, they decided to bring in journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson to start 2 games late in the season with both Daniels and Mariota out.

“Kliff Kingsbury says it wouldn’t be fair to have Sam Hartman make his first NFL start on a short week without real reps,” NBC 4 Sports reporter JP Finlay wrote on X.

If Hartman didn’t know the Commanders’ offensive system after 2 years playing there, there’s some question as to why they would even be keeping him on the practice squad, where he’s been parked most of the last 2 seasons.

A more likely scenario is that the Commanders were worried Hartman might actually do too well. Washington wound up with the No. 7 overall pick and selected Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles. The Commanders went 5-12 in 2025 — winning just 1 more game could have dropped them all the way down to the No. 11 pick.

“What exactly is the point of having Sam Hartman on your practice squad/roster if you’re not going to play him this week or next week?!” 7 News DC’s Scott Abraham wrote on X. “Hartman has been in the system for two years and you would rather start a 39-year-old Josh Johnson or Jeff Driskel. This makes zero sense.”