Draft Day Primer: Be Safe in Unprecedented Times
By Jay Evans
April 23, 2020
Unprecedented is the word of the day. The 2020 NFL draft will be like no other, certainly a welcome respite and full of intrigue. For many of us, confined to our homes, the subtle distractions that have led up to the draft has been the needed exultation break to the monotony. Specifically speaking for the Redskins, I hope to be bored.
In the draft sphere, there are endless rumors spread and this year it seems to have ramped up. The bored confinement has stirred the imagination. This year there have been a glut of “insiders” with their unprompted inputs, serving up the juiciest of dishes for you.
So much news has been fake, that the Patriots trade of retired tight end Rob Gronkowski to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round selection had to have been forged from the mind of fake-Adam Schefter.
Check your twitter feed and you are quick to see a “source” hearing news from someone they’ve never spoken with and breaking news they’ve been informed on. The image of Elaine’s finger bouncing back and forth, “Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake” echo loudly.
With the second overall pick the Washington Redskins select…Derrick Brown, defensive tackle, from Auburn. The Redskins stun the draft world, but quadrupling down on defensive tackles!
In a post-draft Zoom call, defensive coordinator Jack del Rio states, “the Redskins are committed to stop the run. We have to shut down NFC East running backs Zeke, Saquan and…whoever the Eagles have?”
Not funny? Fair, so let’s get boring. The Redskins, who own the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, unsurprisingly select Chase Young. We should all pray the rest of the draft is just as mundane.
Ignore the chatter that the Redskins will be listening to offers all the way up until the clock is going to run out. At some time around 8:30pm the newest member of the Redskins will be another local product, joining the likes of Jonathan Allen (Stone Bridge), Sean Davis (Maret), Kendall Fuller (Good Counsel), and Dwayne Haskins (Bullis). Chase Young (Dematha) is the new cornerstone of the franchise and it’s time to get behind the player and the potential.
The best move the Redskins can and will make is the obvious one. Draft Chase Young and let the rest of the league slap box amongst each other during the “COVID” draft.
This is the draft where conservatism is consciously aggressive. The COVID-19 outbreak has changed everything. Communication with prospects has been limited. Interviews have been conducted remotely and follow-up medical checks were postponed, if not outright cancelled.
The new Ron Rivera-led coaching staff is inheriting a 3-13 team and a sophomore quarterback who may get no offseason time with his new offense. All options should be on the table in a conventional offseason, but we are living in unconventional times.
Tua Tagovailoa, the oft-injured, but possible superstar quarterback from the University of Alabama will likely be available when the Redskins are available to pick. So, might Isaiah Simmons, the ultra-versatile defenseman, and a host of offensive tackles and defensive backs, but all bring more uncertainty than Young.
In 2019, Washington forfeited their second round selection last season in a draft day trade with the Indianapolis Colts to move back into the first-round to select Montez Sweat. For the 2020 draft, after the second overall selection they hold one pick in the third (66), two in the fourth (108,142), a lone in the fifth (154) and two in the seventh (216,229).
I will be most excited when the Redskins opt to not select a tight end with the 66th overall selection and finance some extra selections later in the draft.
Currently the Redskins have needs throughout the roster and with one selection on day two the plan of action may be to recoup extra selections for day three where Ron Rivera and Kyle Smith can target specific overlooked targets rather than grasping for a sliding prospect.
As it stands, the Redskins’ most glaring needs are at tight end, offensive tackle, defensive backfield depth, and starting-caliber wide receiver. That doesn’t include the other half dozen positions at which the team could use depth to improve the overall competition.
Look for the Redskins to move back into the latter half of the third-round or bypass the entire second day all together and add multiple picks for the final day of the draft.
Wide receiver and tackle are regarded as two of the deeper positions in the draft. This could play into the hands of the Redskins where they can move back in the draft and still get a prospect they targeted.
The possibility of the Redskins finding immediate help in the third round at any position is slim. Tight end is one of the weakest positions and finding a starting caliber prospect is unlikely. Yes, the Redskins struck oil in the third round one year ago when they drafted Terry McLaurin, but he is the aberration, not the rule.
At a time where this new coaching staff is in year one, more darts at the dart board are likely to bare more fruit than one target plugging a hole. This dingy has been taking on water for years and even FlexSeal couldn’t dry up all the holes from the past three decades in a matter of three days.
The most exciting news would be a trade of Williams. As of the writing of this column, the speculation is rampant regarding Trent Williams. The departure of the former pro bowl tackle is long overdue and at this point the entire organization has to be exhausted with the situation.
From the holdout to the return, the saga is finally close to being over, but there is a chance the Redskins won’t receive any compensation for Williams until 2022.
Trent Williams status as a veteran in the league is not applicable to the same compensatory pick rules that younger free agents receive. The best the Redskins can receive is a fifth round compensation pick in 2022 according to the labor stipulations, also known as the Alan Faneca rule.
No matter what you think the Redskins should be able to get for Williams, plead for the end. If the Redskins can receive multiple day three picks, let bygones be bygones and boo Roger Goodell like the rest of us.
The moment an incision was made in Trent’s scalp, there was no equitable value for the former fourth overall pick. He was a perennial great. There is no telling what he is now, so accept what the market is offering.
With extra selections in the draft the team can search for a replacement and alleviate the pressure in the locker room and Trent’s cranium. The starting 2021 left tackle is not on the current roster and it is time to move on.
Look at the state of the left tackle position throughout the NFL. There are few elite talents and teams are willing to continue to roster advanced aged veterans. Get what you can for the incredible talent Williams was and move on with the unknown because it is the best solution in an ugly situation.
Turn Williams into two or three Saturday selections. Don’t take on another team’s disreputable reclamation project. The underdog starving to achieve their dreams of stardom in professional sport is the fuel the Redskins need.
These are the stories we all crave. They are the hometown heroes. Those are the Redskins you emulate in the backyard with your friends (whenever you are allowed to be around them again).
When the draft concludes Saturday, this draft may not be the best reviewed draft in recent years. If the Redskins are conscientious with their maneuvers, they are likely to have reached on lower graded prospects, but ones who become known as Rivera’s-guys.
Recent Redskin draft classes have been universally praised. Consequentially, the fruits of those instant “A grades” have ironically yielded zero winning seasons for the past three seasons.
Mel Kiper can praise Chase Young, the fearmongering defensive end, but lambaste the Redskins for not getting a franchise quarterback. That works for ratings, which will be record setting for the draft’s broadcast, but the teams that miss on prospects from this draft will come in greater quantities than in years past.
Chase Young is an embarrassment of riches. For a team that can’t afford to miss on the selection it seems a waste using the selection at a gluttonous position, but this year isn’t like any other and the prudent move is the conservative move.
There will be plenty to watch in the coming years. Did the Redskins err in passing on one of the many quarterbacks? Could they have benefited from another one of the elite defensive talents?
It is fair to ask and something Redskins fans will keep an eye on for years to come. There will always be the scenarios and every draft can be revisited and redrafted with hindsight.
What if the Packers had passed on Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 draft and the Redskins had drafted the future Canton inductee instead of Jason Campbell one selection later? Would Rodgers have led the Redskins to the promise land or would Jim Zorn have stilted the growth of the notoriously petulant quarterback?
Given the right circumstances, would Campbell be in the driver seat of the historic Packers franchise instead of frustrated with the ancient Gibbs or Zorn-pee-wee offense? Could Rodgers have survived the same environment?
Time and place are factors regularly overwrought with speculation. The Redskins had a strong run game when they took Laron Landry one selection ahead of Adrian Peterson. The Redskins envisioned a safety tandem for the ages. Sean Taylor and Landry would roam the backfield for a decade. The future is always uncertain.
The flash is perpetually enticing, but the practical move would have been to take the Oklahoma running back who was a menacing presence and a rare specimen capable of making the pros earlier than the rules prohibited.
Chase Young is boring. Chase Young is nontoxic. Let the rest of the draft be stimulating. Trade Trent and bounce around for extra picks. Let the speculation begin about the potential of the fifth round tight end or seventh round safety. Look forward to the two or three unrestricted free agents that will make the team.
Play it safe with hard workers and gutsy players. Root for Rivera and pass on Su’a Cravens. In this draft, show me the next Reed Doughty. Pray this is a boring weekend.