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Grade the Redskins 2017 Draft Effort

I don't care enough about any picks past the 4th round since I know little to nothing about them. I like Peerine's size and he is not slow by any means.

The third round pick of Dr. Moreau has me concerned. You can brush off a chest tear all you want, but the first time he goes out to tackle someone and extends that arm, we'll see how much of a diamond in the rough this kid is. The UVa guys are convinced Fuller is something we can count on, but we don't know. Just like Moreau now...there is doubt.

I am not opposed to Anderson in the 2nd, it was a need filled. Or was it? Will he replace Compton, is he competing against Gallette? Murphy? Smith? On the other hand, our DL can still use talent infusion and Demarcus Walker is a game changer. I watched him completely take over games late in the 4th Q when FSU needed the defense to make a stop. You could count on seeing him in the backfield breaking up the run, or sacking the QB. We could have made the defensive line that much stronger putting him on the opposite side of Allen. That DL could handle not having a true NT with those 2. I see this as a lost opportunity more than a gain.

And Allen in the first...it looks like no one else is concerned about his "shoulders". Some suggested I look at tape from last season and many suggest he was the 2nd best player in college football last year. I won't argue with that...they know better than I do. But most are saying this is the steal of the draft, if he stays healthy...if?

I am not putting a letter grade on this draft...I'm not qualified, but it looks like we've added some youth to our defense, with talent add a new DC in the mix and I cannot see how our defense has not improved greatly.

Offensively? We'll see if a 4th round RB can start for us...maybe Keith Marshall can shine after the elbow injury...who knows? I would like to have seen a RB taken in the 3rd, but I don't know enough to know who was out there. I still hope to see us add a veteran WR to this young group, like Anquan Boldin or even Vincent Jackson for a one year deal to help some of this youth...this crew is young and the most experienced is Brian Quick.
 
Funny, Zach Pascal is listed as a running back but at ODU was a 6'2 220 pound down field receiver that only ran for 200 yards during his career from scrimmage.

Position change?

Kyle Kalis at 6'4 and 308 could be a backup guard candidate.

Catalina is 6'6 and 330. He's not a LT in the NFL.

Is there any chance we can switch him to DL? :welcome:
 
I generally agree on the DL focus Elephant. Numerous players in the draft have injury histories. I think there are always calculated risks but other than Brian Orakpo I've never heard of a pectoral injury being an ongoing issue. He'll be fine. I'm puzzled that so many are concerned about running back. We were relatively stocked at RB going into this draft - Fat Rob, Thompson, Marshall, Mack Brown, and yeah, even Matt Jones. So we are just adding power to a position that's already solid. And 4th round starter? Fat Rob was an undrafted free agent and is pretty damn good.

Haven't heard more but wondering if we do a deal with the Jets on Richardson and that's why we didn't go harder after DL?
 
On an aside, I'm guessing most of us have totally forgotten that McClovin drafted a LB in the 7th round last year who we haven't seen play one down yet - Steven Daniel. Daniel tore his labrum in August last year and was out for the year. Here's some fluff from Redskins.com on him:

1. He's a good bet to make an impact on special teams this year:

Special teams is the route most linebackers go to begin their NFL careers, and Daniels seems like an ideal fit and performed well there in OTAs. Daniels has no problem with playing special teams and is just excited to get a chance to play and contribute.

“That’s my thing. I’ll play special teams every single day of the week. It’s part of loving the game," Daniels said. "It’s three phases: offense, defense and special teams. You got to be a part of one of them so I’m going to try and get my feet wet with special teams first.”

2. Scot McCloughan is impressed with his physicality:

“Whoever he hits goes backwards," McCloughan said when describing him. "That’s just a physical strength that you can’t develop it. You either have it or you don’t have it. He’ll knock his own players out if he has to trying to get to the ball. He brings in competitiveness and a toughness that he isn’t going to back down from anybody. You’re going to have to beat him out to get him out of here, and that’s what I want.”

3. He was the leader on the number one defense in college football last year:

Daniels was the ringleader for the Boston College defense last year. As captain, all he did was total 82 tackles (16 for a loss) and lead the Eagles to having the No. 1 defense in the FBS in 2015.

4. He is excited to be a Redskin:

The seventh round was continuing to progress and Daniels was beginning to worry if his name was ever going to get called on that third and final day. He was incredibly relieved and eager when he got the call from Redskins head coach Jay Gruden saying that they were going to draft him with 232nd pick overall.

“It’s a wonderful feeling for them to give me that call right about now," he said. "Talking to Coach Gruden on the phone, and I know GM Scot McCloughan was right there, definitely they made the decision together to take me and it’s just a wonderful opportunity and I can’t wait to get to work for them.”

5. He can make an impact in the running game:

Daniels is a hard-nosed player and has made a name for himself in the running game for being a sure tackler and plugging up holes and not allowing the running back to have any daylight.

“I’m definitely going to contribute to the defense, definitely be dominant in the downhill run game," Daniels said.

Jay Gruden also talked about his ability to give offenses problems on the ground.

“He’s tough. He can stop the run. He knows where to go, he’s great with his eyes, and when he thumps you, he thumps you," Gruden said.

6. He practiced his pass coverage skills this offseason and it showed in practice:

One area of focus Daniels wanted to address was his quickness in the passing game. If there was one weakness in his game at college it was his coverage ability, but he worked hard and did many different drills to -- pun intended -- tackle this weakness.

“At my training facility, just drilling pass drops and really loosening my hips. I had tight hips before. It’s just something in college I needed to work on and knew I needed to work on it," Daniels said. "Just drilling that, working on my pass coverages, changing direction, and just really had to get those things together. Once I know that I have weaknesses, I know I have to change that, you know what I mean? So that was going to bring this opportunity for me.”

7. He is not worried about mistakes, but excited and ready to learn and get better from them:

Too many players nowadays are afraid to make mistakes and get down on themselves too much for making errors, but Daniels knows that making mistakes is part of the game and learning from them will separate him from the rest of guys.

“Might miss some stuff, but like I said, progressively getting better every day, watching myself on film, watching my mistakes and then just understanding the playbook is what I try to focus on," he said. "Once I get my responsibilities down I can lead any group. I just want to put myself in the right positions so that I know my thing and I can lead those guys in the right way.”
 
Summary of media draft grades for the Skins:

SB Nation
Grade A-minus

"Washington got some of the highest scores this year after landing Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen in the first round. That’s not the only reason why Washington’s report card is peppered with A’s. Running back Samaje Perine, a fourth-round pick, was well-liked."

USA Today
Grade: A-minus

"DL Jonathan Allen (17th pick) had shoulder problems at Alabama, and CB Fabian Moreau (81st) is coming off a pro day pectoral tear, but both are tremendous value picks at positions of need for this defense. Second rounder Ryan Anderson may just take suspended OLB Trent Murphy's job. And don't be the least bit surprised if fourth-round RB Samaje Perine emerges from training camp as the starter."

The Score
Grade: B-Plus

"The Redskins finished 28th in total defense last season and the Alabama duo of Allen and Anderson will be tasked with improving that immediately. Some reported concern of shoulder issues saw Allen fall to No. 17, but he certainly looked like a top-10 player for the Crimson Tide last fall. There's a good chance Perine will be the starter after a mediocre Washington rushing attack disappointed a year ago. If he's able to have early success, it should take some of the pressure off Kirk Cousins."

FanSided
Grade: A

"Overall, Washington used its collective brain to put together one of the better drafts of the weekend. Allen was a complete steal in the first round. Anderson, Moreau, Perine and Sprinkle can all make an impact as rookies. Nicholson and Holsey make the secondary deeper and more competitive. Roullier and Davis do the same on offense. Washington may not have won in free agency, but the Redskins organization had one of its better drafts in a very long time."

Bleacher/Report
Grade: N/A

"Now, there's no guarantee that any of these players, from Allen right on down the line, will live up to expectations. And the 2017 draft didn't solve all of Washington's problems. There's still the matter of Cousins' long-term contract status, and even with the addition of Terrelle Pryor in free agency, it remains to be seen what impact losing Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson will have on the receiving corps.

"But the Redskins look to have made big strides in the front seven (their most glaring need) and secondary while shoring up an iffy backfield—all while getting a couple of significant values along the way."
 
FWIW- Tandler said that even if we had 50m in available cap space the team would have no interest in Richardson.
 
That sounds right except there's a lot of word out there that talks have actually already occurred. Could be another case of outright false reporting which seems more and more to be par for the course.


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Yeah, could be. He is due a guaranteed 8.1m this season. Big risk on a guy who has reportedly dropped off each of the last two seasons.

Maybe if he relents on refusing to drop his salary we can get him for Matt Jones. ;)
 
I don't agree about the running back position.

The Redskins did not have a 'tough' inside runner with size that could be a touchdown and short yardage converter in the red zone as well as being a guy that could work with Chris Thompson as part of a real solid 1-2 punch behind Cousins.

Perine is 5'11 but 234. His game says 'tough and solid' and that's what we need.

Kelly to me is a solid backup, a guy who could start a couple of games and give you some production with 100% effort.

But over the course of the season he had some clear limitations as well.

What I like most about this draft is the Redskins went back to an old but very wise saying in the NFL:

talented players with size > talented smaller players.

When the Redskins were winning under Gibbs we had the biggest running back in the league in Riggins, one of the biggest wide receivers in Art Monk, as well as extreme size on the lines compared to contemporaries with Joe Jacoby, Russ Grimm and Dave Butz outweighing the guys they were playing by 20-30 pounds.

The Cowboys rebuilt their team largely in the Redskins image. Aikman was 6'4, Michael Irvin was 6'4, Erik Williams and Larry Allen were among the biggest OL in the NFL, etc.

Again, I like the focus.

It goes to getting Ryan Anderson, a legit 3-4 linebacker at 6'4 and 255.

Robert Davis is 6'2 and 219 at WR.

Roullier at center is a solid 6'3 and 312.

Remember Austin Reiter coming in at 279 and trying to bulk up to 290-ish to play in the NFL? No more of that!

Our other acquisitions this offseason Pryor, Quick, even guys like Phil Taylor that are somewhat long-shots are NFL size plus.

And that is NOT what we have done in the recent past.

Undersized centers in Lichtensteiger and Reiter. Undersized safeties. Undersized inside linebackers. Undersized wide receivers (except for Garcon).

Even undersized tight ends in Reed (235) and Paul (230).

Sprinkle is 6'4 and 260 and can block and catch.

That's going to make a huge difference on third down and short yardage just as Perine will.

The one NITPICK I have from the draft is we chose FOUR secondary players. I might have taken another DL to play NT or even a pure guard on offense.

Nicholson in particular looked like a reach in the fourth round.

I might think a 'healthy' player might have been available when they picked Holsey in Round 7.

But those are small nits if the profile players from this draft develop to the range of their upside.
 
Can't be more happy about the draft. I feel like we won the best draft like when we used to win the free agency war, then tank. If you feel like we couldn't possibly have done better than what we did, then that spells A.

Dallas Morning News says B- whatever that is, they give themselves the best grade in the NFCE. duh.

The key this draft is that we get players with attitude and high motors no quit in them types and a little bit off the wall. Those are perfect for Manuski. Tailor made for his style, we are gonna see something special on D. Like Anderson said when posing with Allen....."its about to get real".
 
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Nicholson wouldn't have been available much longer they have been able to drop down a little but not much as he was the 16 safety taken according to ESPN he was the 14th rated safety so they had a similar rating on him to take him there at that spot.
 
I dug around some of the more notabe sports news sites to get a feel for what their grades on the Redskins draft might be.

From what I've seen so far the consensus is the Skins did pretty well

Sporting News A-

Sports Illustrated A-

Walter Football B

Fox Sports B+

Bleacher Report A

Mel Kiper B+

NFL.com A-

SBation A-

Draftwire A

USAToday A

CBS Sports B


My grade, by the way is B+/A- cusp.
 

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