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

The thing about grading a draft after it happens is that it will change - for the better or for worse. Only father time will have the answers.

For now, we can say this was a very good draft and because it is being perceived that I am guilty of picking nits, I have changed the overall grade.

Lol... You're exactly right. We won't really know for a couple of years. But in terms of who was there and who we took, hard not to be happy. At worst a B draft - and it could prove to be far, far better...

This was a fun thread BB, appreciate the time that went into it.

Thanks a bunch. We have a lot more to cover in this thread. The regular season is still more than four months away.

Last year I predicted Kalis would be our next starting LG.
And that hasn't changed, barring a trade for a veteran.
I believe he is the reason we didn't draft that position.

Fear The Spear said:

Last year I predicted Kalis would be our next starting LG.
And that hasn't changed, barring a trade for a veteran.
I believe he is the reason we didn't draft that position.

Click to expand...

I think the rumor is that Ty Nsekhe will move to left guard with Geron Christian becoming Trent's backup.

I think it's more than a rumor but in fact the tentative plan.


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Yeah, many reports seem to point that way.

Still thinking they could look at a LG in free agency. Nothing seems settled yet.

They may not be done, true. But Gruden pretty much acknowledged that this is their current thinking. I listened to about a gazillion hours of DC sports talk while driving this weekend and he was specifically asked about this. He did give the caveat of, depending on tackle health, since all 4 of the primary tackles they carried last season either had surgery or injury issues. Bears watching...

Boone said:

I think the rumor is that Ty Nsekhe will move to left guard with Geron Christian becoming Trent's backup.

I think it's more than a rumor but in fact the tentative plan.

Click to expand...

Burgundy Burner said:

Yeah, many reports seem to point that way.

Still thinking they could look at a LG in free agency. Nothing seems settled yet.

Click to expand...

Difficult to imagine a 6'8 guy playing Guard. Theoretically his height may actually be a disadvantage at that position, where it could hinder him from getting the proper leverage necessary at the position. He's welcome to prove me wrong, though.

Still think it's Kalis, personally.
If Nsekhe was the plan and answer, he's both a risk and a short-term answer at best, due to his injury history, and his age, respectively.
If the plan was to go with Ty this year, then I would have expected them to draft a future replacement this year, to groom.

Anything's possible - I'm just sharing what has been stated as a strong possibility, and that was confirmed as their current thinking by the head coach. Doug Williams also addressed the question as to why they didn't draft left guard (his presser is on the home page if you want to view it). Basically said that none were there at their picks that were sufficiently talented to warrant the pick.

Ray Brown was 6'7 and 315 and played guard for the Redskins in the late 1980's and early 1990's for Gibbs. He moved on to San Francisco in free agency and made the pro bowl several times.

And Alex Smith is 6'4". He will have no problem seeing the field in any offensive set.

That's one of the reasons IMO Smith throws fewer interceptions than Cousins.

He sees the field better due to experience and his height advantage and mobility.

Cousins was credited with being a guy that threw more deep balls than Smith, but the irony is that a lot of Cousins' interceptions were not on bombs down the field but on middle zone passes where Kirk failed to locate the extra defender.

Bulldog's Twin said:

Ray Brown was 6'7 and 315 and played guard for the Redskins in the late 1980's and early 1990's for Gibbs. He moved on to San Francisco in free agency and made the pro bowl several times.

Click to expand...

True, but that seems to be the rare exception, wouldn't you say ?

Burgundy Burner said:

And Alex Smith is 6'4". He will have no problem seeing the field in any offensive set.

Click to expand...

Valid point.
By the way, BB, I'm curious where you see Tim Settle fitting in ?
Do you see him rotating with Payne to keep him fresh, or mainly as depth, or as a DT when we line up in a 4-3 package ?

I see Settle being used each of these ways. He already has a good rapport with Tomsula and while it was not the main reason two DL were released today, it certainly played a role it seems.

And I just noticed something. The new tag under my name. Humbled. Nice honor - thanks. Changed it today?

About 3 weeks ago - but you've been busy Just an acknowledgment of all your hard work Ken!

Three weeks? Dang. Need to pay attention a little more.

No updates today. First of the month chores, bills, and activity has me busy today. Updates will resume tomorrow.

Burner's Burning Questions: Free Agency, Mock Drafts, Camps, Roster Predictions, 2018​

Greetings from BBQ to everyone in BGO land and guests from social media – we hope you become a member here.

The ride to the 2018 NFL draft is over and it has been quite the experience. Eight new draftees will now begin their NFL careers as they put on the burgundy and gold at practices. All of them will not only try to make the final roster of fifty-three, but will seek to carve out their roles with the team.

Today is the day when BBQ does a self-evaluation of the mocking process. We stumbled to a late start this year and catching up was a chore. The mocking process for BBQ generally begins in mid-October and increases exponentially in early winter. Due to many circumstances, we could not begin the evaluations until late December. It started to feel like cramming for finals or hurriedly meeting a critical deadline for that business proposal. But we made it work and the results – well, take a look in the next paragraph and the grades below.

BBQ had what is undoubtedly the best mocking process ever. The first two players were mocked exactly where they were selected. We listed third round prospects in recent weeks in anticipation of acquiring a third round selection and that happened. Three players selected on day three of the draft were mocked at various times by BBQ. Two players selected on day three were positions that we highlighted in the final rounds often – inside linebacker and cornerback. We rarely mocked an offensive tackle (we emphasized guards) and one was taken in the third round – our only pure miss.

That kind of success really helps the members of BGO to focus on the players who were truly prospects and what the Redskins were looking for during the 2018 off-season. It feels good to provide everyone here with the kind of service you expect from BBQ.

So here comes the self-grading process. We will also have a final overall grade.

Without any further delays, let's take a look.

Round One: Da'Ron Payne, DT/DE, Alabama
We mocked Payne the most of any player by far, including the final two mocks. We never really believed it would be another player.
BBQ Grade: A+

Round Two: Trade
We emphasized trading in either round one or two quite often. During the last month of the draft, we listed third round targets with the second round possibilities and had a strong inclination that the team wanted to regain a third round selection. It happened.
BBQ Grade: A-

Round Two: Derrius Guice, RB, Louisiana St.
Running back was the heavy emphasis for the entire mocking process. Guice was a focus over the last three weeks and we had him in the last two mocks.
BBQ Grade: A+

Round Three: Geron Christian, OT, Louisville
Forecasting the third round addition was good, but the forecast of selecting an offensive tackle was a total miss. In the third, BBQ mentioned defensive end, offensive guard, and tight end mostly. Predicting a trade is the only thing that prevents a failing grade here.
BBQ Grade: C-

Round Four: Troy Apke, FS, Penn St.
We had Apke mocked to the Redskins over the last two months – in the seventh round. Yes, this is a hit. However, we thought it would be a strong possibility late in the draft.
BBQ Grade: B+.

Round Five: Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech
We had Settle mocked at times, mostly in the fourth round and then we dropped him to the fifth round in a few mocks and as one to watch in the same round. A near exact hit.
BBQ Grade: A

Round Six: Trade
We did predict trades at times in the latter rounds, but it is difficult to predict when it will actually happen. However, it was trading down, not up and that is what happened. Not too shabby.
BBQ Grade: B

Round Six: Shaun Dion Hamilton, ILB, Alabama
We had an ILB mocked in the process often in the fifth and sixth rounds, but it was mostly Micah Kiser and Oren Burks. Close, but no cigar.
BBQ Grade: B

Round Seven: Greg Stroman, CB, Virginia Tech
We did have Stroman mocked a time or two and as one to watch through the entire process. Cornerback was often a focus in the seventh round. Pretty decent.
BBQ Grade: B+

Round Seven: Trey Quinn, WR, Southern Methodist
BBQ had receivers listed in the seventh round most of the time. We never listed Quinn because he was thought to be a fourth rounder and a slot – not a focus of our attention. A hit and a miss (more of a miss) at the same time.
BBQ Grade: C+

Overall Grade: This was our best mocking season thus far in the years we have been doing these mocks (We started doing mocks in 2011 – 2010 if you count the BGO contest that year). It wasn't perfect, but it was fairly good. BBQ will try to do better next year.
B+

We will have more reports and analyses as the week continues. See you as we go along.

Hail To The Redskins!

Good job on all the mocks, BB.
I fully agree with your high ratings of yourself. My only concern is that you're so good, that you're BGO's version of McVay, and your talents will get your promoted out of here and away from us, into something like ESPN, NFL.com, NFL Network, etc.
And back on the subject of FA's I'm curious on something.
The cutting of McClain didn't surprise me at all - but the timing did. I think I read that he will still count against this year's cap for somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 Million, because we didn't wait until June 1st. So I'm curious why didn't wait, in order to save on the cap dollars.