2011 NFL Draft: Grading Washington Redskins' First Round Picks in Dan Snyder Era
Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins have long been the butt of many jokes around the league in regards to the NFL Draft.
Snyder and his group of yes-men are infamous for trading away picks for aging veterans, drafting the "best player available," even though they're stacked at a certain position and ignoring vital areas of the roster like the offensive line.
One bright spot, however, that rarely gets talked about because of the glaring overall deficiency when it comes to Snyder's drafting habits, is his surprising, generally high success rate in the first round.
To his credit, Snyder doesn't have an Alex Smith, Joey Harrington, Charles Rogers or a Jamarcus Russell on his resume.
Overall, Snyder's first round selections have proven to be pretty good players. There are a couple of marginal guys who might not have reached their full potential or completely justified their draft location. But for the most part, looking back, they were good picks.
Let's take a look, shall we?
1999: Champ Bailey, Seventh Overall
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Daniel Snyder started off his ownership of the Washington Redskins in the right direction by drafting a future hall of famer, though no one really knew it at the time.
When Champ Bailey was drafted out of the University of Georgia in 1999, everyone knew he was pretty darn good. It would have been hard to predict, however, that twelve seasons and ten Pro Bowls later, he'd still be considered one of the best corner backs in the NFL.
His 48 career interceptions are only good enough for 40th all time, but that's because opposing offenses preferred to just not throw to his side of the field.
Unfortunately for the Redskins, Snyder and Vinny Cerrato decided to trade Champ Bailey and a second round pick to the Denver Broncos for an up and coming Clinton Portis.
Portis has been a very good player and had a nice career (second all time in rushing for the 'Skins), but most people would agree that the Broncos got the better end of that deal.
Grade: A+
2000: LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels, Second and Third Overall
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The Redskins had an abundance of picks in the 2000 draft, thanks to Mike Ditka's relentless pursuit of Ricky Williams the year prior.
The Cleveland Browns picked Courtney Brown first overall (a pick they probably still regret today), and Snyder was able to pounce on the best linebacker in LaVar Arrington and the best left tackle in Chris Samuels.
At that moment, and for the first few years to follow, the Redskins appeared to have had one of the best first rounds in NFL Draft history.
Samuels went on to play for ten seasons, earning six Pro Bowl trips. He was considered to be one of the best left tackles in the league throughout his career.
Arrington burst on to the scene his rookie season and began making the same kind of plays he did during his time at Penn State. His best year came in 2002, when he compiled 11 sacks and four forced fumbles.
Unfortunately for Arrington, his career was cut short due to chronic knee injuries.
Samuels was also forced out of the league in 2009, due to a neck injury.
Grades: A+ for Samuels
B for Arrington
2001: Rod Gardner, 15th Overall
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Ah, our first truly debatable pick.
The Redskins selected Rod Gardner, a wide receiver out of Clemson, after it became apparent that Michael Westbrook wasn't in their long-term plans.
While his career definitely shouldn't be considered first-round-pick worthy, it wasn't a terrible one.
He lasted seven seasons, compiling 242 receptions, 3,165 yards, and 23 touchdowns.
After the 2005 season, the Redskins traded him to Carolina Panthers for a sixth round pick. He had stints with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs before calling it quits in 2007.
Grade: C-
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2002: Patrick Ramsey, 32nd Overall
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The Redskins, moving back in 2002 draft, traded their 21st overall pick to the New England Patriots for their 32nd overall pick and additional later-round picks.
Patrick Ramsey had a productive career at Tulane and was believed to have a very strong arm and good accuracy.
Unfortunately for Ramsey, not only was he forced to try to fit into Steve Spurrier's "fun and gun" offense, he also never had a good offensive line in front of him so he spent the majority of his time on his back.
He was eventually replaced by Mark Brunell and has since played for eight different NFL teams.
To his credit, he's still in the league and signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings in December 2010.
Grade: C
2003: None
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The Redskins traded their 2003 first round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for wide receiver Lavernanues Coles.
Coles had a couple of good seasons for the Redskins, but eventually went back to the Jets after Joe Gibbs came back to D.C.
He spent some time in Cincinnati before going back to New York for a third stint, but was released last year and is now contemplating retirement (aka—if no one wants me, I'm retiring).
Grade: N/A
2004: Sean Taylor, Fifth Overall
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There's not a whole lot to say about Sean Taylor that hasn't already been said a million times.
I'll keep it short and sweet:
Taylor only played in the NFL for a little over three seasons, but he was on his way to being one of the best safeties in the history of professional football.
Grade: A+
2005: Carlos Rogers and Jason Campbell, Ninth and 25th Overall
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Say what you want about Carlos Rogers' inability to catch interceptions, but he's still a very good corner.
Sure, his hands are made out of stone, but he's a sure tackler and defenses a lot of passes.
He'll be an unrestricted free agent whenever the new CBA is ironed out, and will likely end up on another team, but I'm not willing to call him a bust.
Jason Campbell, on the other hand, is a different story.
After a perfect, undefeated senior season at Auburn, Jason Campbell swooned Joe Gibbs into trading back up into the first round to select him 25th overall.
He wasn't terrible, but he definitely wasn't great either. I was glad to see him go, although the current quarterback situation for the Redskins isn't that much better.
Grade: B for Rogers
C for Campbell
2006: None
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The Redskins didn't have a 2006 first round pick, because they used it to trade into the first round in 2005 to grab Jason Campbell.
They did, however, trade up to the top of the second round to select linebacker Rocky McIntosh, who most would agree has been a disappointment.
Grade: N/A
2007: LaRon Landry, Sixth Overall
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Can you imagine what the Redskins secondary would look like with Sean Taylor and Laron Landry lurking back there in 2011?
Unfortunately for Redskins fans, we only got to see one such season before Taylor was tragically murdered.
Landry's development has been a bit slow. He was drafted as a strong safety but was forced to move over to free safety after Taylor's death. Naturally, he struggled.
In 2010, however, he really started to come into his own. He found himself back in his natural position, in an aggressive 3-4 defense, and was an early contender for Defensive Player of the Year before injury cut his season short.
He still led all NFL safeties in Pro Bowl votes.
Aside from getting trucked over by Brandon Jacobs a couple of seasons ago, I'd say he was a very solid pick.
Grade: A-
2008: None
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The Redskins traded out of the first round in 2008 and found themselves with three second round picks.
Most teams would love to be in that situation.
Somehow, the Redskins screwed it up.
They (mainly Vinny Cerrato) decided it would be smart to draft three pass catchers in Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly.
Devin Thomas was later released and has bounced around the league.
Fred Davis is stuck behind Chris Cooley.
Malcolm Kelly can't stay healthy.
But, since this is an article about grading first round picks, I'll just leave it at that!
Grade: N/A
2009: Brian Orakpo, 13th Overall
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By all accounts, the Redskins hit a home run in 2009.
Brian Orakpo has compiled 19.5 sacks in two seasons and is already a leader on defense.
He's still adjusting to the switch from a college defensive end to an NFL 3-4 outside linebacker, but most football fans would agree that he's well ahead of the curve.
This one was easy.
Grade: A+
2010: Trent Williams, Fourth Overall
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The Redskins did the right thing in 2010 by drafting an offensive tackle.
It basically came down to Oklahoma's Trent Williams or Oklahoma State's Russell Okung.
Even though Williams' first year wasn't spectacular, most would agree he looked more talented and natural than Okung (who didn't finish the season).
Having to go against guys like Demarcus Ware, Trent Cole and Justin Tuck is a heck of an initiation into the NFL.
Again, he didn't play perfectly, but I think he showed enough to validate picking him fourth overall.
It's probably too early to give a grade, but at worst, I'd give him a B.
Recap and 2011 Prediction
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So, in twelve years of drafting in the first round, how has Dan Snyder fared?
A's: five
B's: three
C's: two
D's: None
F's: None
N/A's: three
2011 Prediction: Robert Quinn, 10th Overall
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