Redskins trade for Jason Taylor

A lot of people believe the Washington Redskins gave up way too much for Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor when they gave the Fins a second round pick in 2009 and a sixth round pick in the 2010.

The critics say that trading two draft choices doesn’t equal the value of a player that likely has only two years left ahead of him. I completely disagree.

Every NFL team has the mentality that they have to win now, because today’s NFL is a dog eat dog world where you are here today and gone tomorrow. The Redskins are trying to put a contender on the field in a division where a team has been to four NFC Championship games since 2000, the team that had homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, and the team that won the Super Bowl last season.

Regardless what people say there’s no doubting whether or not Jason Taylor is one of the better defensive players in the entire NFL. I’m not saying he is going to be as impressive as he was in Miami during his short time in Washington but why not give it a shot? Draft picks aren’t a sure thing, but you know exactly what a great player like Taylor brings to the table.

Meanwhile in an incredible turn of events the Miami Dolphins no longer have arguably their three best players. Chris Chambers was traded to San Diego, and both Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor are now playing in the NFC East. All three have either been traded or lost in free agency in less than a year.

I’m not sure how anyone can say that any division in football is harder than the NFC East.  This year it should be very fun to watch, and you could argue it is the only division in the entire NFL where four experts could realistically see four different teams making the playoffs.

Taylor being traded to Washington just makes this argument even easier. I guess in the next two years we will find out whether or not it was a good deal, but right now I like it for Washington. Why not? They made the playoffs but didn’t make it past the first round last season. It’s time to improve.

And they have with Jason Taylor on the defensive line.