Defense Must Be Prime Focus of Scot McCloughan's 1st Washington Redskins Draft
Scot McCloughan has spent most of his inaugural season running the show for the Washington Redskins targeting defense, defense and more defense. That's a pattern which must continue during hist first draft in charge.
The Redskins have to go defensive even though McCloughan added five free agents on that side of the ball, because despite those additions, the makeover is far from complete.
McCloughan fortified the line and boosted the numbers in the secondary. But there are still clear holes as the 2015 NFL draft approaches.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
The obvious ones are pass-rusher and free safety. The former was created by the departure of Brian Orakpo, but at least the Redskins will choose from a class offering rich pickings.
In a year when Dante Fowler Jr., Shane Ray, Vic Beasley and Randy Gregory are all available, McCloughan can marry his "best player available" philosophy with an obvious team need.
He may not have the same luxury at safety, but despite a lack of "wow" prospects at the position, Washington can't enter the season without adding to their current options, even if that means moving a corner further back.
Standing pat at safety would render the moves up front largely meaningless.
Even if he solves the more pressing issues on defense, McCloughan should also add to the positions that have slipped under the radar so far this offseason. Inside linebacker particularly stands out.
Perry Riley Jr. has never built on his initial promise. In fact, he took a major step or two backwards in 2014. Next to him, Keenan Robinson is a rare commodity on the defensive side of the ball for Washington: a potential star.
Of course, that's assuming the player who's missed 24 games since being drafted three years ago can finally stay healthy. Considering the depth behind Robinson and Riley consists of Will Compton and Steve Beauharnais, inside linebacker is a position currently built on quicksand.
With as many as four starter-ready middle linebackers to choose from, McCloughan should be able to add a playmaker to the ranks within the opening four rounds. He'd be smart to begin kicking the tyres on Eric Kendricks, Benardrick McKinney, Stephone Anthony and Denzel Perryman now.
Returning to the secondary, another cornerback would certainly be welcome, especially if one of David Amerson, Bashaud Breeland or DeAngelo Hall makes the switch to safety. That's a legitimate possibility, according to Mike Jones of The Washington Post.
Not only would the rotation on the outside look a lot thinner, but there would still be a gaping hole at slot corner. Maybe veteran Tracy Porter could perform that role this season after barely seeing the field in 2014. But given his recent injury woes, along with the plethora of corners in this draft's middle rounds, adding some new blood would make sense.
McCloughan loaded up on the defensive line when he gave contracts to Ricky Jean Francois, Stephen Paea and Terrance Knighton. But should he really pass up a talented prospect from another deep position group?
It's hard to believe he should when Jason Hatcher will be 33 before the new season begins, Kedric Golston will be 32 and Knighton is only on a one-year deal.
Would anyone forgive even a new GM with McCloughan's fanfare for passing on USC's roving trench warrior Leonard Williams if he slipped to the end of the top five?
Walter Football's Charlie Campbell and others believe it could happen. Campbell also thinks Williams' scheme versatility makes him perfect for a more expansive defense under new coordinator Joe Barry.
The Redskins need extra defensive talent more than they need a new quarterback. That's why the idea of drafting Marcus Mariota should be shelved, even though Robert Griffin III probably isn't the answer under center.
But after retaining three veterans at the position, the Redskins have bought themselves another year to find definitive answers at football's most important position. Drafting Mariota would only serve to add to the confusion.
Zac Boyer of The Washington Times makes one of the more compelling cases against taking Mariota, even if the ex-Oregon dual-threat quarterback is still on the board at No. 5. He notes how the decision to anoint Griffin as starter earlier this offseason would be rendered moot, which could wreck an already fragile coach-quarterback relationship between Griffin and Jay Gruden:
"Plus, at the very least, the move serves as a public show of confidence from the coach—something that can only lift Griffin after he endured a constant barrage of well-intentioned, and accurate, nitpicking last season.
Adding a highly regarded rookie quarterback, then, would disrupt the peace that Gruden has worked so hard to craft in recent months. And, it’s not such an implausible scenario.
"
As important as bloating the numbers is, it would make little sense for the Redskins to replace one read-option quarterback with another, especially when Gruden preaches a pocket-based game. Boyer noted how Mariota "took only five snaps under center this past season."
Unless Gruden is about to change his spots, the growing pains from wedging Mariota into the pocket would be as severe as those Griffin experienced in 2014.
Washington's best move is to have a true and open competition between their trio of incumbents, and it's better to have one now than to wait until the games are being played, as they did last season, with inevitably disastrous consequences.
Speaking of dire results, if you want this offseason and the subsequent season to be dominated by quarterback talk, draft Mariota. Then the situation under center will loom like the spectre of every other attempt at progress McCloughan and the Redskins are making.
Of course, there's a good chance that will happen without Mariota on board. But perhaps a suddenly dominant defense would shift the focus off the quarterback situation and help this team win some games despite its offensive struggles.
McCloughan has helped build two programs that trusted a version of this formula.
The backbone of the San Francisco 49ers' success, which came just after McCloughan's exit in 2010, was defense. Specifically, it was a defense he helped build by drafting Patrick Willis and Dashon Goldson, as well as signing Justin Smith in free agency.
The pattern was repeated when McCloughan joined the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco's NFC West rival used draft picks on future stars such as Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner and Richard Sherman. The front office McCloughan briefly called home also rolled the free-agency dice on Chris Clemons, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril.
With strong defenses underpinning these rosters, both teams tasted playoff success with inexperienced quarterbacks. The 49ers competed for titles with Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. Meanwhile, the Seahawks won a championship with Russell Wilson.
McCloughan wants to draft the best player available, but for this team now, that should mean the best defensive talent available. It's not a fixed rule, but it should come at the expense of loading up at the skill positions.
For instance, McCloughan may like to use the example of the Green Bay Packers adding quarterbacks even when they had Brett Favre, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post:
"But, just because it’s a quarterback sitting there at 5, and say it is, and that’s the best available player, then we’re going with it. You can never have enough. I was in Green Bay where we had Brett Favre, who won three MVPs in a row, and every year, we drafted a Matt Hasselbeck, an Aaron Brooks, and not that early, but still took quarterbacks.
"
Yet there are a few crucial differences between the Packers situations and the one the Redskins are in. Matt Hasselbeck and Aaron Brooks were not drafted as potential starters. Mariota certainly would be.
Also, the Packers had the luxury of adding quarterbacks to rosters already loaded with talent in other key areas, certainly more talent than there is in Washington.
Going for the best player over the greatest need should simply mean not taking any safety over, say, an offensive lineman or linebacker rated higher on McCloughan's board just because safety is the bigger need.
Need shouldn't be the sole motivation for making a pick, but neither should taking the best available player. That's why any talk about the Redskins drafting Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper should come with a health warning.
Fox Sports' Peter Schrager started the ball rolling back at the combine:
CSN Washington's Rich Tandler recently took a closer look at the issue, citing a poll from Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson indicating Washington will draft on the D-line or at wideout:
But really, why in the name of sanity would the Redskins go receiver this year? DeSean Jackson's on the roster, so is Andre Roberts. Gruden is also rightly determined to increase Pierre Garcon's production in 2015, per CSN Washington's Tarik El-Bashir.
Washington also boasts two pass-catching, "move-style" tight ends in Jordan Reed and Niles Paul. Another receiver is about the last thing this team needs.
The only understandable deviations from the defensive overhaul would be a third-down back or an offensive lineman. The latter is certainly a pressing concern.
Worryingly though, few people at Redskins Park are acting as though they know it. In a statement that should chill the bones of every quarterback on the roster, Gruden recently indicated he is happy with the situation at right guard, per ESPN's John Keim: “Right now I see them both on our roster and I see two good right guards, I really do. I feel good about that spot.”
At tackle, Gruden may feel the same way about recently re-signed Tom Compton and last year's third-rounder, Morgan Moses. Hopefully, his thinking changes come draft day, or at least isn't shared wholeheartedly by McCloughan.
But defense should remain this team's priority, at least in McCloughan's first draft. This year's class is loaded with talent at key positions, it's where those best players McCloughan wants will be available.
It will also mean avoiding more controversy at quarterback, as well as crafting a unit stout enough to ease some of the pressure on the men under center.
The quarterback situation can wait, at least for one more year. There's an ample enough supporting cast already in place offensively, even if the trenches still need work.
Building the defense is the necessary first step toward finally returning this franchise to consistent success.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
