MVN - Most Valuable Network

Grading the Redskins on the Draft

The Washington Redskins will regret the 2008 draft when the results start having an effect on the NFC East standings.

The Cowboys, Eagles, and New York Giants added players at impact positions on the first day.  Trevor Laws is an Eagle.  Mike Jenkins is a Cowboy. Kenny Phillips is a Giant.  Clearly, defenses across the division improved, and I think the Redskins will live to regret not keeping up with this trend.

But Vinny Cerrato’s draft should tell Redskins fans everywhere that they have a reason to be optimistic for the future.  And that is why I am optimistic following this draft.

The Redskins, per multiple sources, were primed to use the 21st overall pick on WR Devin Thomas.  At the last minute, the Redskins were able to finalize a trade to the Falcons for two additional picks in the second round.  I loved the message that Vinny Cerrato sent here.  He was totally willing to lose his guy, if he could get better draft position out of it.

For the Redskins, this is a new chapter in the Snyder-era.  Dan Snyder was famous for not setting a limit for himself when trying to acquire a player he liked.  This change is a rather welcome event for Skins fans across the nation.

Cerrato landed his guy at No. 34, and the Redskins made Devin Thomas the second wide receiver taken.  Some people, such as ESPN’s Mel Kiper, believe that Devin Thomas was the best receiver in the draft.  Other experts feel that Limas Sweed or even Jordy Nelson was the top receiver in the draft.  The Rams liked Donnie Avery more than Thomas.

I did not have him in my top ten when I made MVN’s draft rankings.  He undoubtedly has top ten talent.  The issue with Thomas is that he went from off the NFL draft radar to the top five with one impressive season, and instead of going back to school and refining his game, left for a big payday in the NFL.  That’s not encouraging and speaks of a player who is more interested in the money than the fame of being a great receiver.

With more college seasoning, Thomas might have been the best receiver in the 2009 draft, but he also might have fallen off the map entirely.  Remember, same player we are talking about here, and he very possibly may not have been drafted if he had stayed in school another year to prove his year wasn’t a fluke.  As analysts or fans, we have no idea if his year was a fluke, so we have to stay cautious here and temper our expectations.  Devin Thomas’ upside looks something like Eddie Kennison’s career.

With the 48th pick, the Redskins threw their fanbase a curve when they drafted Fred Davis, a Tight End from USC.  Davis was a surprise pick, but not a bad one.  I had him rated as a third round talent, but he’s fills a pretty critical need for the Redskins.  Let’s face it, Chris Cooley may be a total stud, but he doesn’t have any heavenly knack for avoiding injury.  Fred Davis could be a starting TE for the Redskins for an extended amount of time if anything happens to Cooley, and he’s an excellent red zone option, which is something the Redskins made a point of to get.  Ideally, Davis never starts a game here, but teams who rely on their Tight End to be a receiver need to go at least two deep with starting caliber players, and now the Redskins do.  If he can be at least average as a blocker, he will be a great pick.

At pick number 51, Malcolm Kelly was an odd selection.  I mean, the Redskins certainly have no place on their team for both Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly–one is destined to be a depth guy.  Kelly was good value at the 51st pick; his upside looks something like Keyshawn Johnson’s career (and he was a first overall pick), but will have to beat out Devin Thomas if he’s planning on cracking the lineup while on his rookie deal.  Call it a guess if you will, but my money is on Kelly as a starter, and Thomas as a backup.

Where the Redskins really went out and filled their needs was in the 3rd round.  With the 96th overall compensatory selection, which the Redskins got because Derrick Dockery signed elsewhere, the Redskins drafted Dockery’s replacement, Chad Rinehart.  He’s a FCS talent who played his college ball at Northern Iowa, but this kid can play.  He will fit nicely as a Left Guard, but if Randy Thomas gets hurt, he will have his mettle tested early in his career at the keystone guard position.

Justin Tryon was picked after the Redskins traded down in the fourth, and he’s really exactly what the Redskins need right now with Carlos Rogers out for a few games.  Tryon will be the Redskins’ nickel corner from day one and will prevent the team from having to deal with the second version of the Leigh Torrence experience.  Despite the potential reach here, Tryon won’t ever be needed after the first six or so games of the 2008 season, so anything he can do over the rest of his career for this team is a bonus.  If he can develop into a starter, so much the better.

The Redskins added a Punter, a Quarterback, and a Safety in the 6th round.  Durant Brooks was the best collegiate punter in the draft and should have the inside track to beat out Derrick Frost.  Kareem Moore was a player that, according to Jason La Canfora of the WaPo, the team had targeted in that round.  He should make the team and provide depth and special teams ability.

Colt Brennan will make a nice third quarterback and clipboard holder.  The guy’s statistical profile is incredible.  37 starts, 70.4% completion at Hawaii.  Regardless of having NFL quality skill or not, the kid is special and will polarize fans in a way that no other sixth round pick possibly could.  He clearly has the talent to succeed as an NFL starter, but who knows if he will ever get a fair chance?  Tim Couch is a guy who had a similar statistical profile to Brennan, had a few good, but injury shortened, years with the Browns, but got beaten out for his job before the team was ready to compete.  If Brennan is going to have success in the NFL, he will need to find a coach who is convinced he can be an NFL starter.  Based on the NFL Draft, if Jim Zorn isn’t that guy, no one is.   Regardless, he’s not going to be franchise QB material until the character dogs that haunt his past become a thing of the past.

Neither DE Rob Jackson or S Chris Horton are likely to make the 2008 Redskins roster, but could come up off the practice squad in case of injury.

The Redskins draft will be partially remembered for the help they didn’t get in the front seven, which is going to kill them if the older players on the DL and the LB’s have a dropoff in production.  In football, the worst thing that can happen to a team is for there to be a production decline for a veteran, and to not have a young guy behind him to receive playing time.  This could be a real problem for the Redskins in 2008.

The team drafted for value, and it got a pair of values in the second round in Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly.  If Devin Thomas ends up being the second best receiver in this class, or something of the sort, the Redskins will be fine.  The problem comes if neither Kelly or Thomas reaches their potential.  Then the Redskins will have passed on a few sure things on the defensive and offensive lines, ultimately for some wasted talent.  Now, all we as fans can do is hope.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 8:35 pm and is filed under Washington Redskins Offense, Washington Redskins Defense, Washington Redskins Draft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.