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Who is Athan Kaliakmanis? Why Commanders took this QB over Garrett Nussmeier, Diego Pavia
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- Who is Athan Kaliakmanis? Why Commanders took this QB over Garrett Nussmeier, Diego Pavia
Who is Athan Kaliakmanis? Why Commanders took this QB over Garrett Nussmeier, Diego Pavia originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Washington Commanders welcomed Athan Kaliakmanis on an official '30' visit in the pre-draft process.
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And with the 223rd pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, they took the QB out of Rutgers.
On paper, he's an intriguing long-term backup.
Fascinatingly, they took him with the likes of Garrett Nussmeier and Diego Pavia still on the board.
But clearly this wasn't random. The Commanders dove deep into him before the draft, and they take Kaliakmanis now.
2026 NFL DRAFT HQ: Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Best players still available
Who is Athan Kaliakmanis?
He's the new young QB on the Washington depth chart.
Kaliakmanis began his college career with a pair of seasons at Minnesota before ending it with two campaigns at Rutgers.
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His passing yardage increased each year of his college career, allowing him to total 8,604 passing yards with 55 touchdowns compared to 27 interceptions.
He also ran for 459 yards and 10 TDs in his college career.
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Kaliakmanis had a strong 2025 season. He completed a career-high 62.2% of his passes for a career-high 3,124 yards and a career-high 20 touchdowns. He threw seven interceptions.
He measures up at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, which is prototypical QB size.
And now he'll be behind Jayden Daniels on the depth chart in D.C.
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