Redskins Draft Analysis Thread

That's actually Tony Pauline writing, not King.

Opps. Thanks for the correction. I edited that.

First off, the FO did a great job in acquiring picks and I loved the philosophy. I think the last 4 picks were arguable the best at a value standpoint outside of Hankerson. I didnt like the WR and CB/S picks from Nebraska...I think much much better picks out there at that point.

I think this draft was the most surprising and intriguing not only from the Skins viewpoint which it certainly was, but in general leaguewide. Its because of the lockout and no free agency...but wow, very interesting. Alot of stuff just didnt make sense ie all those 3rd and 4th round QB going in the 1st and 2nd. The second round was just insane to me...a ton of effing reaches by alot of teams.

2 surprises from the Skins:
1. No QB taken (which I thought was brillant)
2. No prominent NT or ILB picks. Ive mention NT perspective in a couple threads, but think for a second about ILB...Rocky is NOT coming back and London is still effective, but is getting up there. Is this a free agency fill? I tend to think not, much more other needs. So are we going with Riley, Henson or One Man Gang next to London? I think(hope) so, but Id woulda thought a middle round pick woulda been spent there to add another piece for competition.

I think the grade is a B, kudos to the FO

Remember at ILB Henson was actually showing how he was a serious contender to start at some point over Rocky before he got hurt and put on IR.
FCuaY0RZE-c

If I'm going to lose ten games in a season I'd much rather lose them with young players growing and learning together through the maturation process, than losing with highly paid often injured older players no longer possessed with that burning desire.

I thought it might be interesting to hear from some fellow Redskins fans on their overall analysis and/or opinions concerning our draft. I'll get it started with my observations and comments.

Overall, I think we had a very good draft. The Skins seemed to come into this draft with a plan that included:

1. Targeting needs without straying to far from their draft value board.
2. Acquiring more picks to add depth to the team and to increase competition for roster spots.
3. Keeping their future picks.

I think they accomplished these goals, for the most part.

I think it was evident that the Skins wanted a pass rusher to play opposite Brian Orakpo as much as any other need. They got that player in Kerrigan and they did it the right way by trading down to get him about where he should have been drafted rather than giving away the store to get a higher rated pass rusher, like Von Miller.

We needed a run stopper in a big way. I think the Skins may have decided to pick Jenkins where they did because they rated him as the second best run stopper behind Phil Taylor and they weren't sure what they might do with their second 2nd Round pick, so they didn't want to take the chance of leaving that need unfilled.

I think the Skins may have made a mistake in the second round that cost them one of my favorite players in the draft, Stephan Wisniewski. I gathered that the Skins intended to draft Wis because SmootSmack posted that the Skins would go C next right before he had to sign off. Then, in his post draft news conference, Shanny was asked about not picking and OL high and he said that sometimes things happen in the draft such as another team picking the player you want right in front of you. I think that may have actually happened when Oakland picked Wis at #48 while we had the #49 pick.

The mistake was not trading up in front of Oakland to get Stephan because of his uncle Steve being a coach and a former OL great with the Raiders. Bruce Allen should have known the way they think in Oakland. Damn!

Picking Leonard Hankerson at #79 was a brilliant move! I think he'll be a very good NFL receiver for many years.

Helu was also a great pick. Whenever I saw him play in college, watching him run in an offense that is similar to the Skins' offense, in his one-cut-and-go style, I felt that he was a back that Shanny would like. I think he'll do well here.

If we could have gotten Wis, we could have folded our tent right after we got Helu, as far as I'm concerned, and we would have had a near perfect draft: OLB Kerrigan, DL Jenkins, C/G Wisniewski, WR Hankerson, RB Helu. Wow!

Honestly, I don't know much about the other players we picked, except one, but I'm hoping some of them can help us. The one exception is Chris Neild. I saw him play a number of times and I came away very impressed. I think Chris may turn out to be a good NFL player at NT. He was a very effective run-stopper in college and he is relentless. If Neild can help with the rotation at NT and we can move Jenkins to RDE, then we should have a much improved run defense.

Draft Grade: B.

we couldn't have gotten wisniewski AND hankerson, since we drafted hankerson with the 3rd rounder we got from trading back in the 2nd, if im not mistaken. if its one or the other, im good with hankerson and getting more picks.

Drafting Kerrigan was a solid choice in and of itself, but trading down and accumulating picks while drafting Kerrigan was a stroke of genius. Kerrigan can and should come in and start from day one and have a great impact-especially on Orakpo on the other side.

I was a bit surprised by the Jenkins pick, but in retrospect it makes plenty of sense. Our depth behind Carriker is PD and Holliday. Great guys but how much longer can we count on them to defy father time?

The fact that most everyone knew we were eyeing Hankerson in the mid 2nd, and we got him in the 3rd was another stroke of genius. I know the Shanahans still believe very strongly in MK but they're also preparing themselves instead of just waiting around for him. Hankerson should be another day one starter.

They showed so much interest this off-season in Royster, I actually thought there was no way they'd draft him. But they did. Royster and Helu are very solid, but neither wows me. But it's better to let two young guys battle it out than say LJ and Willie Parker.

I know nothing of Gomes or Nield for that matter

Robinson is a very good player, but I'm thinking practice squad. He's got a little Eddie Royal/Santana in him

I'm not concerned we didn't draft more than one OL. We have youth at the OL position.

It does bother me that we couldn't find a single QB out of 12 draft picks. Best as I can tell, we're the only team in the league without at least one QB under 30 years old. I hope that's not the case when the season starts.

Overall, I'm very pleased with most of the players we got and the fact we were able to maneuver the draft board well enough to add players and get most of the guys we wanted. But we should have added a QB somewhere along the way

If I'm going to lose ten games in a season I'd much rather lose them with young players growing and learning together through the maturation process, than losing with highly paid often injured older players no longer possessed with that burning desire.

:food-smil

we couldn't have gotten wisniewski AND hankerson, since we drafted hankerson with the 3rd rounder we got from trading back in the 2nd, if im not mistaken. if its one or the other, im good with hankerson and getting more picks.

Good point.

I really would have liked more O-lineman than just a 7th rounder, but we have so many needs and you can only do so much with one draft. I imagine we'll sign at least a couple O-lineman in free agency.

I heard Todd McShay earlier say there's absolutely no chance that Ryan Kerrigan is a bust (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6446007). Bill Parcells also said that whoever drafts him is gonna get a heckuva football player. Me likey.

My favorite pick was Hankerson, and Helu was very solid, too. Between those two, Neild, Kerrigan, and Jenkins, we could very well have 5 drafted rookies starting. So I'd call that a successful draft for the most part.

I'll give it a B+. The only reason it falls short of an A is because of the O-line.

I'll go with a B too.
I'll also say this was the best fraking draft we've had in a long time.
I would have done things a bit differently though -

I would not have gone defense on the second pick and would have taken the best tackle or guard on the board.
Same thing with the 4th and first 5th round picks (however I do like Helu now that we have him)

We may have gotten four starters from this draft.
:food-smil

I added up each picks value against my big board, and the only three teams that are getting A grades from me this year are the Giants, the Redskins, and...the Vikings?

With regard to the O-line- one thing that does make me feel a bit better about not drafting any players before the 7th round is that this was a particularly weak draft for tackles and guards.