Washington Redskins 2020 NFL Draft Grades

Antonio Gandy-Golden was the 18th receiver taken in the 2020 NFL Draft which is much later than most analysts and fans would have guessed. This pick is one that I can strongly stand behind, as Gandy-Golden fills a need for the Redskins on the outside across from Terry McLaurin. The reasons he slid to the fourth round could include his limited route tree and ability to separate but I think the positives offset these negatives.

Gandy-Golden has shown his ability to climb the ladder and snag balls out of the air with ease. He has a massive catch radius and extremely impressive hands, dropping only two balls the entire 2019 season on 138 targets. His ability to work himself open by boxing out and working around players will give Dwayne Haskins another great weapon.

This pick caught a lot of analysts and fans by surprise and was extremely early compared to what he was projected. Keith Ismael prior to the draft was thought as a late day three pick or even potentially an UDFA (undrafted free agent) option and I don’t see the upside to grab him in the fifth round.

Ismael has positional versatility and can play both center and guard but he lacks the strength and power that is needed at the NFL level. He has fairly good technique but gets overpowered by group of five talent so I don’t know how he will transfer to the NFL. He is a redshirt prospect as he has a lot to add in the strength department which should happen in the NFL but a prospect with so much needed to succeed is the reason this pick seems like it came way too early.

The biggest reason for the D grade here is the talent that Washington passed up on to get Ismael. There was other interior offensive line talent still available like Nick Harris, Netane Muti, Michael Onwenu and Jon Runyan all going off the board later in Day 3. Players at other pressing positions of need such as Bryce Hall, Alohi Gilman, Antoine Brooks Jr., Evan Weaver and Markus Bailey were all still on the board as well.