With the 5th pick in the draft the Washington Redskins select...

I like Cooper a lot...with a few of the guys that are pretty certain to be there at 5 Cooper isn't the slam dunk BPA. There will be at least 1 very good OLB that has similar upside to Cooper and various other top-end players. Cooper would be a luxury

I pick Williams. No questions asked..even if it was Fowler and not Beasley I would still pick Williams.

I think its much easier to find a good edge rusher then it is to find an impactful 34 DE and our DL needs them...Hatcher is merely a rental. And more importantly for me Leonard is clearly the BPA in my eyes.

I don't buy that whole sure thing or guarantee baloney some draft guys say. I think prediction is a myth because people are people there is no predicting what anyone will do. HOWEVER I believe in assessment and evaluation and based on those I believe its possible to accurately rank the draft eligible players based on what we can know. Prediction? Imho is myth. Any prospect can bust or pro-bowler from the 1st pick to an UDFA and the difference in talent that separates is never as great as we think. The difference in actual talent between a 1st round QB and UDFA isn't nearly as wide a margin as the distance in their draft selection.

I say all that only to say any prospect can bust and there are no guarantees.

For my money I'll take Cooper.

I lean more towards being a BPA guy then a 'need' guy but even when it comes to need I wouldn't put OLB/edge rusher as a premium 1st round need on this team. I'm of the mindset that you a 34 defense "needs" 1 premium OLB pass rusher and having a 2nd while nice isn't something to chase after at the expense of other positions.

Also I think Coopers impact on the passing game would be greater then any other receiver selected in this draft and I'm not sure about the difference between Fowler/Beasley and say an Eli Harold or Nate Orchard or Frank Clark or Davis Tull or Deion Barnes or Art Norman. Heck the top rookie edge rusher last year weren't first rounders they were 5th rounders.

So given the choice between Cooper/Fowler/Beasely I take Cooper easy.

wr's can be found anywhere in the draft. Look around the league and see how many mid rounders are playing. Elite pass rushers are much harder to find. We only have one pass rusher and he's not even elite. Obviously we still struggle to get off the field on 3rd down and getting a sack master seems to be a priority. Murphy simply didn't show that skill set last year.

I don't know about you but 6'1 doesn't impress me due to the fact that there are a lot of corners in this league that's 6'0+. If you're talking about a guy in 6'5 or 6'6 range then you're talking a match up nightmare.

This team has been needing a consistent pass rush for years. It's an immediate, short, and long term need. If you ever want to ever have a good team? We need a good defense. There are some good pass rushers in this draft. I'm more than willing to risk getting one of them before a draft a player we definitely don't need.

DeSean Jackson is a matchup nightmare, Steve Smith was a matchup nightmare, Santana Moss, Hakeem Nicks, Odell Beckham, Dez Bryant, Torry Holt, Wes Welker all these guys are or were matchup nightmares, you just don't want to draft a WR, but don't make it seem like if you aren't 6'5" you can't be a matchup nightmare.

Drafting Cooper would be a mistake. Cooper might be a great receiver but good teams don't invest 1st round picks in receivers. Just look at the two Superbowl teams and how many 1st rounders they used on their receivers. It is like drafting a Running Back in the 1st round.

Drafting Cooper would be a mistake. Cooper might be a great receiver but good teams don't invest 1st round picks in receivers. Just look at the two Superbowl teams and how many 1st rounders they used on their receivers. It is like drafting a Running Back in the 1st round.

Didn't 6 teams just draft a WR in the first Rd last year? If Cooper is the BPA, take him

Changed my pick from mariota to fowler Jr

1. While he is a very good football player, Kerrigan isn't what I consider to be a premium OLB pass rusher.We're gonna have to agree to disagree on this. Ryan was tied for 7th in sacks and top 3 in OLB behind only Justin Houston and Pernell McPhee for pass rush productivity.

2. Since when is one top-notch edge rusher enough?Who said having one was enough? I didn't.

Here's what I did say......I wouldn't put OLB/edge rusher as a premium 1st round need on this team. I'm of the mindset that you a 34 defense "needs" 1 premium OLB pass rusher and having a 2nd while nice isn't something to chase after at the expense of other positions.........and I'm not sure about the difference between Fowler/Beasley and say an Eli Harold or Nate Orchard or Frank Clark or Davis Tull or Deion Barnes or Art Norman. Heck the top rookie edge rusher last year weren't first rounders they were 5th rounders.

wr's can be found anywhere in the draft. Look around the league and see how many mid rounders are playing. Elite pass rushers are much harder to find.Any position can be found anywhere in the draft that statement doesn't really say anything.

You know which edge rushers led this rookie class in sacks? Jonathan Newsome and Aaron Lynch were tied with 6 sacks both were 5th round picks.

Meanwhile the 1st round rookie WRs are making a huge impact with the tougher pass interference rules.

This really isn't my point but since you brought it up it seems the opposite of your intention is true.

Obviously we still struggle to get off the field on 3rd down and getting a sack master seems to be a priority. Murphy simply didn't show that skill set last yearWe really don't know what Murphy is right now good or bad. And the defense had a lot of issues last year not just OLB/edge rusher and for me the problems started on DL where we still only had 1 DL that could create any type of pressure or upfield penetration and a secondary that was giving up quick easy throws all day.

Didn't 6 teams just draft a WR in the first Rd last year? If Cooper is the BPA, take him

This whole BPA thing is overblown. What if the BPA in each round is a WR? Should SM draft seven WR's? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. Need must factor into the equation.

A good question to ask prior to the draft would be "Where do we need to get better?". Dallas drafted OL in the first round two years in a row and were criticized by the draft experts for their picks. Both of those players earned All-Pro honors and now Dallas has one of the better O-Lines in the NFL.

^^ Exactly. I get that Cooper is a bit of a luxury (this year, not so much next year or the year after) AND that a explosive pass rusher to pair with Kerrigan would significantly improve the pass rush.

At the same time, neither Beasley, nor Fowler, nor Gregory, nor Ray stands out to me as a clear "This guy is a guaranteed game changer at the NFL level." In fact, each one has a good chance of being a bust. Cooper will not be a bust.

As for the "you can get WR's anywhere" argument, the same can be said for OLB or, for that matter, any position.

If you trust your talent evaluation, you take the BPA unless you do not and, in the next two to three years. Even then, if you have the BPA head and shoulders above the need play (for example - safety or OT in this year's draft), take the BPA. That's how you build long term, otherwise you have a team of mediocre talent always chasing risks.