In the weeks after the NFL Draft, a lot of draft gurus, members of the media, and most importantly, members of the Redskin Nation were left scratching their heads after Washington selected THREE...read that again...THREE pass catchers with their first three picks.
While it was widely concurred that in order for Jim Zorn to excel in his west-coast offense, a large, fast, and physical wide receiver would have to be one of the top priorities, nearly everyone felt as though drafting the same prototypical player thrice in one round was a bit superfluous.
Despite the questionable decisions made by the Redskins' front office concerning these three players, one thing that can be agreed upon is that the team made the correct decision to trade down and add more value. It was generally felt as though the players the Redskins were targeting would be available later on.
The most pronounced need outside of the wide-receiver position was on the defensive line. A pass rusher was needed to complement Andre Carter, who had a quiet 10.5 sacks last season.
Some players discussed included Phillip Merling and Calais Campbell. As it turned out, Merling was the first pick taken in the second round, two ahead of the Redskins. At that point, the obvious choice was Devin Thomas, the best all-around receiver in this year's draft.
The real head-scratcher was taking Fred Davis with the second pick. With not only a proven, pro-bowl player in Chris Cooley at the position, but Campbell still on the board, it was a major surprise when the Redskins picked a tight end in this draft.
As it turned out, Campbell was selected two picks later, just ahead of Malcolm Kelly, and the Redskins' second round came to an end.
Each of these picks came with question marks. Devin Thomas could turn out to be a one-hit wonder with only one sensational season at Michigan State (he transferred from a smaller school), Malcolm Kelly ran a slower-than-expected 40 and then blamed it on the surface at Oklahoma, and Fred Davis has forever been followed by questions about his desire and work ethic.
All in all however, while the progression of picks was a little surprising, there can be no denying that the Redskins picked up plenty of value and talent in this draft by snagging three of the twenty best prospects available.
The logic is that Zorn will run a lot of two tight-end sets in his new offense, with Davis ready to get major playing time from day one. Kelly and Thomas are currently the No. 3 and No. 4 receiver for the Redskins, in no particular order, with Moss and Randle-El solidly set as the No. 1 and No. 2 receivers, in that order.
However, something to keep in mind is that with the addition of these receivers, Randle-El will be able to play the slot, his more natural position.
As a final point, it should be noted that the Redskins' offensive line was devastated by injuries early in the season, with the losses of veteran stalwarts Jon Jansen and Randy Thomas.
Similarly, with Jason Campbell having a full year of starter duty, minus some injury time, under his belt, the offense should be more productive than last year.
While the team is implementing a new type of offense, Campbell is not only used to learning a new offense, but has played in the west-coast system before, albeit for one year.
It is safe to say that while the Redskins might not be a 10-11 win team, there is a chance that they might sneak into the playoffs in the weak NFC and surprise some people late in the season.
5 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Josh Prope about 1 year ago
i say that the redskins need to look a quarterbacks way next time so that those pass catchers can excel
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m was about 1 year ago
It's a shame that Joe Gibbs last season went down as one of the most injury plagued seasons in NFL history. If not for those injuries/deaths, last year's team would have been dominant and had just as much (and probably more) of a chance to win the superbowl as the Giants did. This year they have a team that is a little older, somewhat recovered physically, and a brand new coach and sytem. All that said- I agree that they could be a suprise team this year.
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Rich Tandler about 1 year ago
Nice read, Rohit. My mantra about the Skins is that their problem this decade has been scoring points. They've been in the top half of the league in scoring just once since 1999, and that was 13th in 2005.
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Bryan Williams about 1 year ago
I like what we did in the draft this year. Boosting the passing game which was the weakest part of our team last year is a big plus. It also added quality depth if Moss or Randall-el gets hurt again. I did hope that they would have picked up a DE...but with everyone helthy this year the progress should be amazing!
And to comment on Josh's post... Jason Cambell is and excellent QB for the Skins! It's not his fault the systems switched almost every year. He is well able to take the Skins to the promise land over and over and over! IMO he is head and shoulders about the QB that won the SB last year. Now stop and think about that one.
Hail To The Redskins!
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Rohit Banerjee about 1 year ago
Something that everyone should be aware of is the fact that in his first season as the starter, 2 of the five starters were out with injuries including randy thomas and the very solid jon jansen. Also, is it just me or was gibbs ridiculously conervative and putting enormous pressure on jason to perform in high stress situations??
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