Team Mock Draft: Washington Redskins

Even though I’m a Giants fan I have nothing against the Redskins, in fact, of the three other teams in the N.F.C. East I’m always rooting for them to finish in second behind the Giants, but that’s never going to happen if they keep treating their draft picks like cooties. Every year when the draft rolls around I say no way the Redskins lost all of their draft picks again this year…and then whammo! They don’t have 7 draft picks..and they don’t have a great team.

STOP SPENDING MONEY AND TRADING DRAFT PICKS, THERE IS NO QUICK FIX!!!!

Had to get that out there in caps for Mr. Snyder and the Redskins front office. The Eagles hoard draft picks, and the Giants guard their so that it would usually take Tom Cruise and a cable wire to pry one away from them. Iti is not a coincidence that both of these teams have won a lot the past decade. The Redskins need to see this and keep their picks for once. Anyway, again that did not happen as the Redskins have only 2 in the first four rounds.

Let’s start with the Redskins team needs:

QB I was hoping the Redskins would make the Eagles pay for sending them Donovan Mcnab for a second rounder, but that didn’t happen. Now, it seems like a foregone conclussion that D-Nasty won’t be back next season in Washington and that the Redskins will be moving forward with Rex Grossman or a rookie (neither is good news for Redskins fans). The QB position must be figured out for next year.

RB? Shanahan believes he can turn RB water into RB wine, and perhaps he can, and while I think it’d make his job a lot easier if they had a very talented running back it seems probable that they will make due. Ryan Torain came on strong last year at times and could be that guy moving forward. Clinton Portis appears done.

Defensive Linemen-despite the fact that the Redskins Defensive line played well the last few weeks of the season,they could still use some more depth and upgrades. Adam Carriker is ok, anthony Bryant is massive (listed conservatively at 376 pounds), but Vonnie Holliday could be upgraded.

LB-The Redskins need a linebacker if they don’t retain the services of Rocky McIntosh who could be a free agent (I have no idea what’s happening with the C.B.A. mess). They could also use a better player across from Brian Orakpo as Andre Carter is on his last legs and Lorenzo Alexander didn’t wow me (1.5 sacks in 16 games played…12 games started).

WR-The Redskins have an aging (but still productive Santana Moss) and Anthony Armstrong, but they play in a division where all the other teams have two VERY Good WR (Bryant and Austin, Nicks and Smith, Maclin and Jackson) and need to keep up with the times.

Depth everywhere-The problem with always giving up your draft picks for aging players is that you don’t have the picks to build up good depth. On top of that the new coaching changes all the time means, that not all the players are going fit the new systems. The Redskins need depth at a lot of positions. They need future replacement CB as Buchannon and Rogers, and to an exten, Hall, are aging. They need depth along the Offensive line and maybe even upgrades in the interior of their OL, they could use a new kicker (Gano wasn’t great last year), they could probably even use another safety…well this is getting depressing and I’m not even a Redskins fan.

1st round, pick 10: Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

Let’s assume that both Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert go in the top 10 (Buffalo, Arizona, San Fran, Tenneesee are all possibilities) and that the Redskins decide not to reach for Locker, what are the other possible options here? I think based on the talent in the draft that it’ll come down to a Rush OLB (Quinn or Aldon Smith), the top OT on the board, or Julio Jones. In that scenario Jones makes the most sense. Jones to me is a more talented Anquan Boldinwho absolutely thrived in the short passing game. Jones is physical and great with the ball in his hands. Jones will help whatever QB the Redskins settle on and is the only pick that makes a lot of sense here for me if two QB are off the board already. Ideally, if the QB they want’s not available here, they should really consider trading down.

Round 2 41st overall: Jake Locker, QB, Washington

I’m a man of compassion and because I am and I feel bad for Redskin fans (I don’t mean to make them sound like the worst franchise in the league because they are not that), I’m going to give them Locker in the second round. With all of the QB needy teams I don’t know if Locker would make it back to them in the second round unless Ponder or another QB can pass Locker, or Mallett goes before Locker, but this is my mock and I can do what Iwant so they land Locker in the second (even though there are many people who believe the Redskins will draft him in the first).

Round 5 pick 140 Casey Matthews, ILB, Oregon

I’m not in love with Casey Matthews as a prospect for the N.F.L. draft, and I think his name might get him drafted higher than here (which is where I think is actual value is), but if he is available here he’s a good pick for the Redskins here. London Fletcher is not getting any younger (though he’s the most underrated LB in the league the past decade) and Rocky Mcintosh might not be with the team next year because of Free agency. The Redskins need to figure out who’s going to play MLB for them next year and in the future. Matthews, as great bloodlines and hustle, which can get you somewhere in the league, but he’s not a great prospect. Still good value here in the 5th.

5th Round 152nd overall, Jake Kirkpatrick, C, TCU

The Redskins have talent at the tackle positions, but they could use an upgrade in the interior of the offensive line, and at this point get a nice developmental linemenwho could start in a year or two. I see some places where people have Kirkpatrick as a 2nd round pick, and then others where he’s not even in the top 200 picks. On top of that he was’nt invited to the combine so perhaps his value is closer to here, and at this point he could be the best value among all positions.

Round 6 pick 171 Cortez Allen, CB, Citadel

Allen is a large cornerback (listed at 6-2 and a 185 pounds) and has the upside to be worthy of a late round flier as CB depth and maybe a guy who develops into a starter. Once you hit this late in the draft you’re just looking for guys with tremendous measurables, great college production, a player who falls for some reason in the draft (medical usually), or a guy who fills a niche. At this point in the draft you’re not looking for starters, generally. You just luck into them. Allen is one of those guys people could say three or four years from now…that was really good value in the 6th round of the draft.

Round 7 pick 201 Adrian Moten OLB Maryland

Once you get into the 6th and 7th rounds you just want to grab players who might have a shot at making a roster. Moten is one of those guys because he has good speed and potential as a pass rushing specialist in a 3-4 scheme and could be very good on special teams. He’s a depth guy something I think the Redskins could use. I was trying to think of a solid 3-4 DE who could be had here at this point in the draft, but finding value at that position of need is unlikely.

Let me know what you think Redskins fans. It’s tough with so many needs and so few picks. What makes it even tougher is that there are only two early picks, so after the first two rounds you can’t really adress needs you just have to get value after the first four rounds because a large majority of the players drafted after the first few rounds never develop into quality N.F.L. players. There are, of course, many good exceptions of players who do become starters or even pro-bowls, but really if you go look at the draft history players that are starting that were drafted in the 6th and 7th rounds is maybe 2-5 a year, on a good year (4 years or more after the draft), and often much less than that number.

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