Washington Redskins Must Build Offensive Line Through 2015 NFL Draft
If the Washington Redskins are going to build the type of offensive line a playoff team needs, new general manager Scot McCloughan must focus on the draft.
He's much more likely to find the building blocks for an elite line in a 2015 NFL draft class loaded with talented prospects. More importantly, McCloughan will find better value if he opts for the draft route and looks past the free-agent market, where veteran blockers often command a small fortune.
As a franchise, the Redskins should know the value of this approach better than most. All the team's decision-makers need to do is cast an envious glance toward a hated NFC East rival for a painful reminder.
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The Dallas Cowboys claimed the division this season after leaping from 8-8 to 12-4 in one year. The catalyst for the upswing in wins was perhaps the best young offensive line in the game.
Significantly, it's a line comprised of three first-round picks. Left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick and guard Zack Martin were the first picks off the board for the Cowboys in three out of the last four drafts.
That trio, in particular, became the basis for the second-best ground attack in football. As a whole, the line allowed just 28 sacks all season, or 30 less than Washington surrendered.
The success Dallas found building through the trenches should be all the inspiration the Redskins need to make drafting O-linemen a priority. But if that's not enough, McCloughan's own experience should certainly help.
During his time with the San Francisco 49ers, it was McCloughan who used a first-round pick to select left tackle Joe Staley in 2007. He soon became one of the league's premier players at his position, as well as the linchpin of a front five that keyed San Francisco's dominant, power-based running game.
The obvious pattern here is that quality offensive lines are built on a bedrock of high-round draft choices. Admit it, what's the last premier O-line you remember that was cobbled together via free agency?
Even this year's Super Bowl teams, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, plucked their best blockers from the collegiate ranks. The Pats found bookend tackles Sebastian Vollmer (second round) and Nate Solder (first round) in the 2009 and 2011 drafts, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks enter the big game with first-rounders on the left side, in the form of tackle Russell Okung and guard James Carpenter.
The message is clear: If you want a quality O-line, draft one.
Any team that instead treads the path of free agency literally pays the price. Any remotely competent blocker is treated like gold dust on the veteran market, especially during the NFL's pass-first era.
The current Washington line offers depressing proof of that fact. How else could Chris Chester, a backup guard when he joined the Redskins in 2011, receive a five-year, $20 million contract?
Anybody who's seen Chester pushed around the trenches during the last four years would call that overpaying. Even an unheralded free agent such as left guard Shawn Lauvao earned $17 million over four years when he left the Cleveland Browns for Washington last offseason.
Those deals are bloated, but they are just the low end of the market. Go after a well-regarded veteran, and you better have an eye-watering offer ready.
Last offseason, Branden Albert got $25 million in guaranteed money to play left tackle for the Miami Dolphins, per Miami Herald reporter Adam H. Beasley. The Baltimore Ravens handed $37.5 million over five years to Eugene Monroe.
If you do your best work inside, you can still earn a handsome living. The Tennessee Titans awarded Andy Levitre $46.8 million over six years to leave the Buffalo Bills in 2013.
Those numbers should make McCloughan and the Redskins think twice about delving too deeply into this year's market for help in the trenches. That's despite there being several prominent names potentially available.
Guards the quality of Carpenter, Mike Iupati and Orlando Franklin are set to enter free agency. They'll be joined by accomplished tackle King Dunlap, per NFLTradeRumors.co.
Expect each member of that quartet to earn top dollar if they decide to look for new homes. But even solid options such as Clint Boling and Dan Connolly would absorb a chunk of Washington's predicted $13,328,139 worth of cap space, per OverTheCap.com.
The safer option is to find help in the draft. That's where McCloughan can find a host of quality tackles to choose from.
Iowa's Brandon Scherff, Pittsburgh ace T.J. Clemmings, LSU's La'el Collins and Stanford's Andrus Peat all have to be on his radar. Any one of the quartet could solve long-standing problems at right tackle or even slide inside to add more size at guard.
For more of a natural at the latter position, McCloughan can run the rule of Florida State's house-sized road grader Tre' Jackson. He's projected to still be on the board in Round 2, as is Duke's Laken Tomlinson, according to CBS Sports.
Even in the later rounds, the Redskins could strike it rich by selecting late-riser Ali Marpet. The Hobart behemoth was identified by NFL.com College Football 24/7 writers Bryan Fischer and Mike Huguenin as one of the star performers at the Senior Bowl. The former stated Marpet, "was able to handle big-time pass rushers as well as -- if not better than -- some of the more highly touted guys on the interior of the line."
But back to the fifth-overall pick McCloughan will use to make his first impression as Washington's team builder. CBS Sports analyst Rob Rang believes the pick should go on Scherff: "Not everyone sees Scherff (or any offensive lineman this year) as a top 10 talent, but he plays with the grit and physicality Washington is lacking and would be an immediate upgrade at right tackle."
Whichever first-year blockers McCloughan tabs to help improve this team's weakest position, they'll be greeted by one of the league's better line coaches. Washington has already snared Bill Callahan from the Cowboys. That's the same Callahan who made instant stars out of Smith, Martin and Frederick in Dallas.
McCloughan has already said the Redskins won't "draft for need," per Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler. But the offensive line isn't a need, it's an epidemic that's plagued this franchise for five seasons.
Now Washington has the people in place to commit to improving play up front. The franchise has a general manager who believes the draft is the "lifeline of your organization." He can provide plenty of first-year talents with long-term potential for a position coach expert at coaching up prospects.
For years the Redskins have needed to bolster their offensive line. Making the most of a deep draft class could mean this is the offseason it actually happens.
All statistics and rankings via NFL.com.
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