The Redskins' Future: Now AND Later - Part Seven

Throw hard and see if it sticks

As the draft draws to an end, teams are working hard in real time to see who is left on what boards. At this point teams are just looking for a guy that can make the team, no one expects stars out of the last round, but that does not mean they aren't looking. The Curly R concludes its seven part series on the changing draft philosophies of the Washington Redskins.

Part One: Draft Picks Are Free But Not Without Cost
Part Two: The Y Axis
Part Three: Round Two
Part Four: Round Three
Part Five: Round Four
Part Six: Round Six
Part Seven: Round Seven and Wrap Up

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Round Seven
Rob Jackson, DE

The Future May Be Bright Let's face it a seventh round pick in the NFL, no one expects you to come in and bump out a starter. But the Redskins are in a position where the team can afford to take a chance at the the defensive end position. Aside from free agent signee DE Andre Carter there are no dominant or marquee name players on the line yet the line played well last season with heavy contributions to the 2007 number six overall defense from young players drafted in low rounds or undrafted by the Redskins.

At tackle the Redskins signaled their confidence in Anthony Montgomery (2006 fifth round) and Kedric Golston (2006 sixth round) along with veteran Cornelius Griffin when they released Joe Salave'a before the 2007 season. And at end behind veteran starters Andre Carter and Phillip Daniels are Chris Wilson (undrafted) and Alex Buzbee (undrafted), both undersized but with good burst off the line.

Bottom line: the addition of Erasmus James and the perennial nature of Demetric Evans are potential problems for Rob Jackson. That said, the Redskins have done a good job of keeping serviceable to talented players in the defensive line depth chart and Rob may be worth keeping.


Chris Horton, S

The Future May Be Bright Here is your hitter at safety, from a good program (UCLA), played against solid competition. At this position the Redskins are unquestionably LaRon Landry's team but as indicated with Kareem Moore, questions remain about the squad's depth. A low priced rookie with high motivation in the mold of LaRon might not look a lot different from the veteran backups, pending expectations of playing time by the starters.

Bottom line: get on the field and let's see what you got, work hard and try to make the team, a late seventh round pick does not get much benefit of the doubt. Shadow every move LaRon Landry makes.

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This year the Redskins selected ten players in the draft, the most since 2002. That year's draft produced four players that made significant contributions to the Redskins and six that did not. In the enusing drafts from 2003 to 2007, the team had three picks, four picks, six picks, six picks and five picks.

So if this year's draft is any indication, the Redskins have improved in one area already, retaining and even increasing the number of draft picks available to the team. No expensive trades involving a veteran to be signed to a large deal in exchange for picks going away, the types of deals that have been the stock in trade for the Redskins over Dan Snyder's rule. As such almost of a necessity this policy of keeping and increasing the number of draft picks seems to imply the team is sticking with its roster, signing its own free agents and spending conservatively in the market to fill real needs. If the currency of draft picks is not needed to facilitate deals then it can be retained and parlayed into additional picks, as the Redskins demonstrated in April.

But there is another crucial dimension that goes well beyond keeping and using the picks and that is making smart picks, nothing is more important than having the picks to make and once those picks have been made then those players have to make the team. There is no practical difference between not making a pick or giving it away when a player you have selected cannot make the roster.

And this is the really hard part, evaluating talent, going outside of your comfort level to get objective opinions on players and then successfully fighting the urge to get that guy you saw that one time or one more player at that position or just saying fuck it just pick someone, and actually making the best pick for the team at that time.

Curly R has not been kind to Vinny Cerrato these past two years and there still remain many questions about the quality of his and Dan Snyder's stewardship of the team. However, based on what I see so far from this year's draft, I am prepared to review this policy. Hail to the Redskins.



Refuel Cafe & Bar sign from here.