Washington Redskins get Greedy in the 2019 NFL Draft

The Washington Redskins have a ton of options in the 2019 NFL Draft, including taking LSU cornerback Greedy Williams with one of their top picks.

With just hours to go before the 2019 NFL Draft it’s time for the Washington Redskins brain trust to put up or shut up.

No team can afford to stray too far from the best player available strategy, especially in the first round. Washington’s quarterback controversy started early this year. Only it didn’t involve who should start but whether or not any of the QBs would be there at pick number 15. And, even if they were, are any of them worth a first round pick?

I think the Redskins are dealing with another dilemma. With Case Keenum on board I think they will look to surround him with as much talent as possible and let him prove that 2017 wasn’t a fluke. The Vikings surrounded him with talent and he took his team into the playoffs boasting a 13-3 record.

So, I can see the members of Washington’s war room adopting a strategy that gives Keenum some additional weapons but that first pick is still troublesome. A lot of people are clamoring for DK Metcalf. He is definitely a freakish athletic specimen but spending the 15th overall pick on a guy that caught an underwhelming 26 passes last year is a bold move.

I’ve heard a lot of fans talking about drafting Marquise Brown and his 4.2 speed. I’ve ruled this out for two reasons. Most importantly, is there value in drafting a guy that can blow by the secondary if neither of your current quarterbacks can throw the ball much more than 50 yards? I would say no. Secondly, Todd McShay has the Redskins taking Brown in the first round and he hasn’t been right, well, ever.

The only top 10 rated player that makes sense for the team to take is Greedy Williams, the cornerback out of LSU. The Redskins brought in some creative defensive minds and I’ll be surprised if we don’t see them put their imaginations to good use.

There will be some very talented tight ends and WRs in rounds two and three. The ‘Skins could even double down on some receivers in the later rounds but they still have to be able to stop other offenses as it is unlikely they will be putting up a ton of points.

Washington’s defense might be only a player or two away from being able to shut down a lot of teams if only the offense could manage to control the clock a little bit. They don’t have to score a bunch of points but they can’t force the defense to be on the field for 40 minutes a game.

Imagine a defense with DaRon Payne and Tim Settle in the middle and Matt Ioannidis and Jonathon Allen on the ends. That allows you to play three linebackers. Probably Reuben Foster, Shaun Dion Hamilton and Josh Harvey Clemons. Harvey Clemons can cover any TE or RB as he played safety at Louisville. As a 6’4″ 225 pound safety he ran a 4.5 forty at the combine. I’m pretty sure he can still do that as a 6’4″ 230 pound linebacker.

ESPN has Harvey-Clemons listed as a starter on the Redskins depth chart. Granted at this time of year that means very little but I have to believe they were thinking along the lines of three linebackers as well. Actually, Landon Collins almost gives them a fourth linebacker with his style of play.

The glaring problem with this scenario is that in order to pull it off you need a couple corners that excel in man coverage. Dunbar can do that but frankly I’m not convinced he’ll be back. Nerve damage has ended many careers and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we’ve seen the last of Dunbar. I need to add that I really hope I’m wrong.

However, Fabian Moreau has demonstrated that his skill set includes being able to stick with WRs in tight man to man coverage. Moreau’s problem has been that he sometimes appears confused in zone schemes which is unfortunate because that is what Washington runs almost exclusively.

If the Redskins played more of a 4-3 base defense it would put Moreau in a position to do what he does best. The obvious glitch in this scenario is that the other corner, Josh Norman, is considered by many to be one of the best zone cover corners in the league. Again, man to man coverage is not his specialty.

This is where the Greedy Williams pick at 15 makes sense. It would give the Redskins defense the ability to mix things up. Williams is an exceptional man to man cover corner. It has been quite a while since Washington’s defense has been able to attack from any direction. They are at least as guilty as the offense as being predictable.

The Greedy Williams pick would give Washington’s defense an opportunity to throw all kinds of crazy looks at opposing offenses. And, as mixing things up would be the ultimate game plan there would still be plenty of opportunities for Norman and Kerrigan to get there snaps.

The defense would be rocking and rolling their safeties (I’m still a Montae Nicholson fan but also think Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was brought in to transition to safety a la Deangelo Hall) and switching back and forth between personnel groups that would keep teams guessing.

With a shut down corner in the fold the Redskins could use their next 4 or 5 picks surrounding Keenum and/or Colt McCoy with some offensive weaponry that might finally give Jay Gruden a chance to get past the third page of his playbook.

If the Redskins are serious about winning this year they are going to have to spend a high pick or two to strategically strengthen their defense and then get busy surrounding Keenum and McCoy with as many weapons as possible. I hope a scenario like this plays out on Thursday night. On the other hand, if Dwayne Haskins falls to them at 15 how could they pass him up? My hunch is they wouldn’t.