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Free Agency, Mock Drafts, Camps, Roster Predictions, 2018

To his credit, Swearinger dialed it way back the morning after. Chalked his initial response up to love for a teammate. He's a good guy and it's understandable an initial reaction would be an emotional one.
 
Oh, no doubt. But that's the bad thing about social media. Hard to un-ring the bell. I like him a lot. And like I said, this kind of stuff has been going on forever. We just didn't hear much about it.
 
The teammates seem to be more upset about losing a slot CB than the starting QB. Maybe the stuff about teammates not caring for KC1 wasn't so off, after all.
 
If you believe everything said there, it starts to look like it DOES have a chance to be a good trade. So is Sally right? She did a good job of cherry-picking stats, that's for sure! Picking last year for Alex Smith and talking up that year... is a little disingenuous. Looking at the bigger picture, last year looks like an anomaly, and he had some top flight targets in Hill and Kelce. I don't think we have the same targets in 2018 in DC. Maybe 2016 with Garcon and Jackson.

I like Alex Smith, I like his demeanor and all of that. I think with our team, he will not win a Super Bowl with us. I think that his price tag and his contract are just going to identify time wasted.

I was thinking about both these things last night.

And yup, here's come Optimistic Knighty again. :D

Kirk put up big numbers the last few years, but what I thought was noticeable last year was his struggles to get it together with his new receiver corps. In all the years he's been here he pretty much had the Garcon, Jackson, Reed and Crowder package and was very comfortable with that.
Last year without Garcon and Jackson and with Reed wearing the glass slippers he struggled to get any kind of chemistry with Doctson or Pryor. He still put up pretty big numbers but it looked like a struggle.

Smith traditionally has already flipped teams once and had to adjust to different receivers a few times. I'm wondering if this is is a limit of Kirk and might be a strength of Smith. Could he more easily get on the same page with the likes of Doctson or even Pryor? Especially with his deep ball accuracy. Just a thought.

I don't know about Superbowls with Smith. I not sure we're any worse off than with Kirk and I do wonder how much of KC not winning in the playoffs was Andy Reid. Kirk seemed to just have this thing where he would pick the worst games to bomb in, I'm not sure if Smith is the same or not. I'm not Gruden's biggest fan, but neither am I his biggest opponent. I think he's a coach that has brought us to a place of unspectacular competence bordering on better. Maybe we do need another coach to get us over the hump, I think time with Smith behind centre will tell us that. How much was our lack of post season success a coaching disaster or Kirk messing the bed at the worst times.

I think Smith could be a steadier more consistent QB, I think he'll run Gruden's offense well. This could be a perfect match, we'll see.
 
Burner's Burning Questions: Free Agency, Mock Drafts, Camps, Roster Predictions, 2018​

Greetings from BBQ to everyone in BGO land.

Today we bring you our first singular mock of the 2018 offseason and there are certainly a few changes. Alex Smith will be the new quarterback for the Redskins and this ends our weekly dual mocks. With the quarterback situation now settled, we can focus on one mock each time we make these posts.

Free agency is getting closer and the Super Bowl is lurking. The format for the mocks this offseason will feature shorter descriptions this year for each player. Time constraints from the fall and early winter have forced us to cram a lot of research into a smaller period of time.

Feel free to offer your own ideas about the draft, free agency, team cuts, team additions, coaching changes and anything else related to these subjects. Too, we'd like to see your mocks if you are so inclined.

An extra note: These mocks may not necessarily be what BBQ wants or what the members at BGO may prefer. These mocks are designed to try and get into the mind of the Redskins brain trust and see what they will do.

Without any further delays, let's take a look at the latest mocks of 2018.

Team Needs:
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End (?)
Left Guard
Defensive Tackle
Inside Linebacker (?)
Strike Safety (?)

Round One: Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
Payne is the space eating defensive tackle that Jim Tomsula has been coveting since his arrival at Redskins Park.
Other Possible Targets:
Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
Billy Price, OG/C, Ohio St.
Roquan Smith, ILB, Georgia
Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama
Rashaan Evans, ILB, Alabama

Round Two: Ronald Jones, RB, Southern California
The Redskins can't continue to rely on mid round prospects at running back.
Other Possible Targets:
Vita Vea, DT, Washington
James Washington, WR, Oklahoma St.
Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech
Maurice Hurst, DE, Michigan
Will Hernandez, OG, Texas-El Paso
Sony Michel, RB, Georgia
D.J. Chark, WR, LSU
Wyatt Teller, OG, Virginia Tech

Round Four: Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn St.
Jordan Reed could be released by the Redskins or traded in the offseason.
Other Possible Targets:
Justin Jones, DT, North Carolina St.
Luke Falk, QB, Washington St.
Korey Robertson, WR, Southern Mississippi
Uchenna Nwosu, OLB, Southern California
Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota St.
Kalen Ballage, RB, Arizona St.
Kyzir White, SS, West Virginia

Round Five: Kyle Lauletta, QB, Richmond
Lauletta is an underrated signal caller who would have the benefit of learning from a veteran.
Other Possible Targets:
Jaylen Dunlap, CB, Illinois
Micah Kiser, ILB, Virginia
Cam Serigne, TE, Wake Forest
Riley Ferguson, QB, Memphis
Marcus Baugh, TE, Ohio St.
B.J. Hill, DT, North Carolina St.

Round Six: K.C. McDermott, G/OT, Miami
Having depth and a great deal of flexibility along the offensive line helps the Hurricanes prospect.
Other Possible Targets:
Allen Lazard, WR, Iowa St.
Breeland Speaks, DE, Mississippi
Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado St.
Quin Blanding, SS, Virginia
Jack Cichy, ILB, Wisconsin
Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana

Round Seven: Jake Wieneke, WR, South Dakota St.
Coming from a lesser known program and conference, Wieneke actually has excellent skills and is an underrated prospect.
Other Possible Targets:
Folorunso Fatukasi, DE, Connecticut
Brendan Mahon, G/OT, Penn St.
Mike White, QB, Western Kentucky
Matt Elam, DT, Kentucky
Coleman Shelton, OG/C, Washington

Round Seven: Brandon Facyson, CB, Virginia Tech
An all around good player who has regressed a bit, but is a good prospect.

There is the first mock of February. The draft will be here before you know it, but we have many mocks in the weeks and months ahead. See you as we go along.

Hail To The Redskins!
 
Zach Brown‏Verified account
@ZachBrown_55
Hey alex welcome to DC! #HTTR #trustwecoming .. my boi @KeFu11er your always be family. Now go ball young man!! #HTTR 4life

Hmmm, maybe this means that Zach is still having positive conversations with the team about coming back
 
Swearinger's last tweet.

 
Last edited:
So then, with the QB question answered (though not official yet) it's time to turn to FA and the draft.

Hard to predict either, especially FA when we don't definitively know who will be available.

So, for a draft wish, let's hope 1 of the coveted QB's is available at 13, triggering a bidding war for our pick. Be nice to trade down, but not too far, and pick up another couple/few early picks. Or another good veteran player too.
 
You're over-thinking it (as are most Skins fans). Guy walks up to you on the street and says 'Hey - wanna give me your top tier slot corner for a proven Pro Bowl QB for the next 4-5 years?'.

The answer is ....

Hell yes.
It's hell yes today.
It's hell yes tomorrow.

It's. Just. Hell. Yes.

It's really not that complicated. Doesn't matter how ****king awesome, young, and promising said CB is. You do that deal. Every day. Every time. Period.

Feelings, whether we harshly shat upon them or not, have zero to do with anything. I don't know what happened in terms of communication with Fuller. But I know one thing - it matters not.

"Proven Pro Bowl QB" - I like Alex Smith. I like him - I think - more than average. Sally Jenkins article was correct in that Alex Smith doesn't get the flashy respect, but he does a good job for teams in extremely important ways, even beyond good performance. He's great in the locker room, and I really mean GREAT. He's top-tier, arguably the best (better than the top performing QBs who seem to reportedly not be as helpful to backups). He says all of the right things.

I am trying to steer clear of the Kirk vs. Alex kinds of comparisons, but does everyone realize that Kirk has better stats over a longer period than Alex? (That was just a side-note, because again, I don't want the team to keep Kirk, I haven't for a long time, but I just want to make sure we understand that we are not making as obvious a talent upgrade as some seem to think). Obviously Alex has been in the league longer, but in terms of tiers, he had a high-tier year last year. I think he had more of a second-tier look (stats-wise) in years past. These days, the bar for that top-tier passer seems to be 4000 yards, if you are thinking of guys who probably deserve the top-tier pay, and the idea that they can carry the team. That is part of my take, and maybe you disagree which is fine. Alex did it last year with a great supporting cast. In years past, he generally wasn't even close. This past year is the first year his Y/G breaks 250, most years it's close to 200 than 250.

The fallacy that fans and the media fall for is that there is this immediate direct relationship between QB and record. Yes, it IS the single most important position on the field. Still, you have to look at the numbers to determine how much a particular QB impacted a team's success vs being a solid, reliable, game manager. Alex is more than a game manager, no doubt (to me anyway, some would differ on that too). However, I don't call him a top-tier QB. I think he is actually similar to Kirk in my rankings (different strengths and weaknesses though, but overall I would probably rank them similarly in terms of team impact; I just haven't seen them being able to carry a team over the hump... like divisional playoffs?). For a 34yo QB, to think he's going to be better... it just doesn't seem realistic. Our best bet is that he can be consistent. The more likely thing to expect is some level of dropoff coming, in particular as he crosses 35.

I just don't see us getting a Super Bowl with Alex Smith, and I'm not keen on making the playoffs every year and losing (keep in mind, I'm not at all even saying that will happen, but I think that is probably our best outcome here). I actually like Alex Smith, but at this time, at this price... for me... it would have been a pass.

I do want to thank everyone here though because I feel like I can understand the FO thought process better. There is simply a difference on Alex Smith. I really thought my opinion of Smith was way higher than most. Did anyone else see some plays of KC vs the NYG? I mean, the Giants gave Kirk fits in a couple of games that may have hurt his contract chances with the Skins... I didn't see anything in that KC game to suggest Alex doing anything different.
 
So then, with the QB question answered (though not official yet) it's time to turn to FA and the draft.

Hard to predict either, especially FA when we don't definitively know who will be available.

So, for a draft wish, let's hope 1 of the coveted QB's is available at 13, triggering a bidding war for our pick. Be nice to trade down, but not too far, and pick up another couple/few early picks. Or another good veteran player too.

I'd love to get some more draft picks, for sure. Maybe that is part of their strategy here too, that they can trade down since they have their QB. I hope so, and if so, I hope it works out for them too.
 
I was thinking about both these things last night.

And yup, here's come Optimistic Knighty again. :D

Kirk put up big numbers the last few years, but what I thought was noticeable last year was his struggles to get it together with his new receiver corps. In all the years he's been here he pretty much had the Garcon, Jackson, Reed and Crowder package and was very comfortable with that.
Last year without Garcon and Jackson and with Reed wearing the glass slippers he struggled to get any kind of chemistry with Doctson or Pryor. He still put up pretty big numbers but it looked like a struggle.

Smith traditionally has already flipped teams once and had to adjust to different receivers a few times. I'm wondering if this is is a limit of Kirk and might be a strength of Smith. Could he more easily get on the same page with the likes of Doctson or even Pryor? Especially with his deep ball accuracy. Just a thought.

I don't know about Superbowls with Smith. I not sure we're any worse off than with Kirk and I do wonder how much of KC not winning in the playoffs was Andy Reid. Kirk seemed to just have this thing where he would pick the worst games to bomb in, I'm not sure if Smith is the same or not. I'm not Gruden's biggest fan, but neither am I his biggest opponent. I think he's a coach that has brought us to a place of unspectacular competence bordering on better. Maybe we do need another coach to get us over the hump, I think time with Smith behind centre will tell us that. How much was our lack of post season success a coaching disaster or Kirk messing the bed at the worst times.

I think Smith could be a steadier more consistent QB, I think he'll run Gruden's offense well. This could be a perfect match, we'll see.

Skins didn't trade for Smith based on 2017. A few numbers on him I put up on Twitter... 5 straight seasons of 3200 yards passing or more. 9 straight seasons of 60%+ completion rate (65%+ last 4 seasons). In last 7 seasons, highest INT total was 8, avg passing TDs 19.

Smith can play. The 'which QB can win you a Super Bowl?' discussion has always seemed silly to me. It's like the old joke, how to turn a million dollars into 20 million dollars...first - get a million dollars... Our goal is to become a perennial playoff team, a team that wins far more often than it loses. You do that, a title will eventually come. Smith has done nothing but win.

I don't know if Gruden will shift his offense to one more like what Smith has run previously, with a far bigger focus on the run. If we go RB with our first or 2nd pick this year, that may signal he feels we need a bigtime rushing attack and that he doesn't want to have Alex Smith airing it out 30+ times a game as Kirk did. But I think Smith is capable of not only matching Kirk's passing production, but exceeding it. He just hasn't been asked to do that much in the past because he's played for mostly run-first offenses.

It's going to be exciting to see what happens in the next couple of years.

One big question for me relates to what I see as the biggest dilemma they face with this year's draft. Do you go defense-heavy with your picks (especially having traded a talented corner) or do you try to fill the #1 WR and RB gaps we have in order to give Smith a better slate of weapons? I think the Smith trade exponentially increased the likelihood that we trade down in the early rounds for more picks.
 
If they pass on D talent, it's always: "Well, the philosophy is BPA and you can't draft for need."

So now, if they go heavy on Offense, so Bruce can give his hand picked QB weapons and justify his trade, what draft philosophy is that?
 
If they pass on D talent, it's always: "Well, the philosophy is BPA and you can't draft for need."

So now, if they go heavy on Offense, so Bruce can give his hand picked QB weapons and justify his trade, what draft philosophy is that?

Cousins is gone. Accept it.

They haven't drafted anyone yet, so useless to get all spun up over maybes.
 
The Redskins having signed Smith to a 5 year deal and with McCoy on board as well for 2018 would be stupid to draft a quarterback.

The money I think is going to work out in the end so that the Redskins can move on from Smith after 3 years.

If you are looking to justify the trade, what Bruce Allen does is go out and get Smith a RB, WR and two-way TE to help bolster the offense.

Meanwhile on defense I think you are looking at inside linebacker, more at DL and another safety.

On offense the Redskins have been in a do-loop for the past 2/3 years at TE with a stable of pass receivers and no one of note that is capable of blocking at the point of attack AND showing at least a semblance of ability/threat as a receiver.

Teams like New England, Carolina and Philly that feature the TE in their offense tend to have 2-3 guys that can both block and catch.

We need to improve our running game and going out and getting a back would be greatly enhanced by a parallel move to sign a TE that can open holes for him.

If Sprinkle is the guy then we need to move on from Niles Paul and give all the camp and preseason reps to Sprinkle and put this guy on a fast track to getting on the field.

We have let this situation linger for too long.

We did the same thing at DL until we finally took Allen in 2017 in Round 1.

You can sign guys that can work hard and compete in the later rounds and sign as mid-tier vets, but we really needed an UBER talent on the DL, a guy that could stop the run AND rush the passer and stay on the field for 50 snaps a game.
 
Cousins is gone. Accept it.

They haven't drafted anyone yet, so useless to get all spun up over maybes.

Oh I understand he's gone.

He's dead....at least to me.

Doesn't mean that it restores any kind of faith/ trust in the Front Office.

The top priority has to be fixing the defense: specifically the front seven.

As a fan, I get tired of watching them try and build a team back to front when most competent teams build up front first.

IMO, you have to come out of this draft with a legit LG and a difference maker along the front seven.
 
I am trying to steer clear of the Kirk vs. Alex kinds of comparisons, but does everyone realize that Kirk has better stats over a longer period than Alex? (That was just a side-note, because again, I don't want the team to keep Kirk, I haven't for a long time, but I just want to make sure we understand that we are not making as obvious a talent upgrade as some seem to think). Obviously Alex has been in the league longer, but in terms of tiers, he had a high-tier year last year. I think he had more of a second-tier look (stats-wise) in years past. These days, the bar for that top-tier passer seems to be 4000 yards, if you are thinking of guys who probably deserve the top-tier pay, and the idea that they can carry the team. That is part of my take, and maybe you disagree which is fine. Alex did it last year with a great supporting cast. In years past, he generally wasn't even close. This past year is the first year his Y/G breaks 250, most years it's close to 200 than 250.

I don't think the Skins made this move because Smith was 'hot' in 2017 (although he certainly was). Why steer clear of comparisons? Here are some more numbers for you:

Average Pass Attempts Per Start: Smith 30 Cousins 37
Interception %: Smith 2.1 Cousins 2.6
Touchdown %: Smith 4.0 Cousins 4.7
Average Yds Per Completion: Smith 6.9 Cousins 7.7
Average Pass Yards Per Game: Smith 204 Cousins 261

So if you give Smith another 7 passes per game, you're probably looking at a pretty close passing yard average. Smith throws significantly fewer interceptions, but hasn't thrown as many TDs. I think the above stats essentially show one thing. Smith has played on teams with solid rushing attacks that were far more balanced than Cousins has. I think we're going to see Smith match Cousins production #'s if Gruden continues with a more pass happy approach. The argument that Smith HAS TO HAVE all of these weapons and a great rushing attack to be productive, not sure I am buying it.

I just don't see us getting a Super Bowl with Alex Smith, and I'm not keen on making the playoffs every year and losing (keep in mind, I'm not at all even saying that will happen, but I think that is probably our best outcome here). I actually like Alex Smith, but at this time, at this price... for me... it would have been a pass.

Said this earlier - it's the teams that perenially are in the playoffs that have a CHANCE to get to the big game and maybe win one. A team like ours can't look at a player and make 'will he win us multiple Super Bowls?' part of the assessment. I couldn't disagree more with what you are saying here. It's ALL about making the playoffs year after year. You do that, and you give yourself a chance. Teams have shown that if you get to the playoffs, you can get to the Super Bowl and even win one with an above average QB. I think a QB like Alex Smith is absolutely good enough to get us to the playoffs consistently. And if we do that, good things can happen.
 
The one thing I don't want to see is the Redskins give Breeland an outsized contract in free agency.

Let him move on. He's too much of a 50/50 player for my liking. He can be great or he can be below average, all depending upon whether mentally he is up for the game that week.

I also agree on the defensive line.

We have Allen who should be an anchor. We have Ioannidis who has improved greatly since being waived (remember that?) as a rookie despite being a #5 pick. McGee showed up for the last 7-8 games to show he can be part of a rotation and be a top backup off the bench.

But we still need one legit starter on the DL and another depth player who is young, cheap and NASTY inside that we can develop.

To me you can write off Terrell McClain.

If you are going to be in the geezer business I would rather see what Arthur Jones and Phil Taylor have left after being injured in 2017.

When Jones was with Baltimore he was more productive than McClain ever has been in 7 years in the league.
 
I get the feeling Vernon Davis is going to have a big year. I agree with Bulldog's Twin, we need to add proper depth at the position, but Davis has shown he is still more than just reliable and he is being teamed up with a QB with whom he has a long, successful history. Which will also make the transition easier for Smith as he has a familiar target.
 

I'm going to pull what remaining hair I have left out if the team brings Niles Paul back. I like Vernon Davis - and in the short-term he's a great mentor, but Skins need to move *forward* at TE. That means Sprinkle and adding a big bad ugly TE who can catch AND be a dominating blocker in the next couple of drafts. Davis is going to age out very soon, and Jordan Reed - I have zero faith in him getting past his injury issues. I'd actually favor trading Reed now while he still has value. Sprinkle needs to see the field and get some significant opportunities so we can decide if he's part of our long-term plans.
 

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