Previous Five Picks
16) NFL-Arizona_Cardinals-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Arizona_Cardinals-010308">Arizona Cardinals: Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida
17) NFL-Minnesota_<a%20href=">Vikings-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Minnesota_Vikings-030308">Minnesota Vikings: Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson
18) Texans-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Houston_Texans-050308">Houston Texans: Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon
19) Eagles-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Philadelphia_Eagles-060308">Philadelphia Eagles: Limas Sweed, WR, Texas
20) Buccaneers-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Tampa_Bay_Buccaneers-090308">Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma
Click here to see the entire Mock Draft.
The Longest Mock Draft in NFL History Continues...
It has been brought to my attention that I said I would finish this thing before April, and it's now March 12th.
Doing the math, that's like...a column every other day for the rest of the month (or maybe it isn't, I'm not great at math).
Not finishing this by April as promised would be almost as bad as spending an entire month searching for the best possible head coaching candidate, getting my fans' hopes up by interviewing every big name available, then settling on a guy named Jim Zorn.
Who the hell is Jim Zorn?!?!?
Pick No. 21: Washington Redskins
I mentioned that the Eagles had a tough season with all of their off-field issues—but their season was a walk in the park compared to that of the Washington Redskins.
Sean Taylor was one of the most exciting players in the NFL. He was an athletic freak, a physical specimen unlike anyone I can remember at the safety position.
After some rocky moments earlier in his career, by all accounts Taylor had cleaned himself up. He had a daughter he loved, a girlfriend he was happy with, and he was the undisputed leader of the Washington Redskins’ defense.
He was taken down in the prime of his life by a bunch of thugs intent on taking what he worked so hard to earn.
Senseless, tragic, horrible…there is no word that describes the tragedy that befell Sean Taylor.
From a football perspective, which is an understandably hard way to look at what happened, the loss of Sean Taylor seemed to sap the playmaking life out of the Washington defense.
They couldn’t get to the opposing quarterback and they weren’t doing a good enough job turning the ball over.
In a word, they were mediocre.
The Skins, then, need to add playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. That said, I can see them looking at a wide receiver here, because realistically, they can’t win with the offense they threw out there every week in 2007.
Santana Moss is a great No. 2 wide receiver, but he’s not equipped to be The Guy. If the Skins want their young quarterback to succeed, they need to get him a legit No. 1 target.
But I think they can get themselves a wide receiver later in the draft—and I’m not sure they can get themselves a playmaking defensive end.
The Pick: Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida
The Redskins need someone who can play opposite Andre Carter.
They need someone who can get to the quarterback.
They need someone who can make plays.
They need someone who can force opposing offenses into mistakes.
Derrick Harvey can do all of those things.
While he wasn’t necessarily considered a first round pick when the college season ended, he’s quickly risen up everyone’s draft boards.
In college, he was a playmaker.
In his last two years at Florida, he registered 30 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and 19.5 sacks.
At almost 6'5" and 270 pounds, he has the size that makes defensive coordinators drool. He also has a mean streak, plays with passion, and has deceptive speed on the field (regardless of what his 40 times tell you, he looks like a linebacker when he’s running in pads).
Most importantly, he was extremely productive against a tough schedule while in college. I’m a big fan of guys who produce at the highest levels on Saturdays.
He’d be a fantastic edition to the Washington Redskins’ defense.
I’m SeanMC.
SeanMC is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Report. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.
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