How I would approach the draft

[That Guy]

good post, the problem is saying "take a LB in the 3rd" isn't really super accurate, since whether we should take an LB there totally depends on the value and talent of the player pool when we get to use that pick. I really do believe the individual players are much more important than the position.

ie we needed a TE, but we didn't want just any tight end, we specifically targeted cooley. and you'd be hard pressed to convince me he wasn't the best guy we could have taken at that spot. meanwhile we bypassed a much safer talent pick at #5 overall, because it wasn't a good value, and a much better option (hint hint) presented itself.

the big idea is just to have your list of value/talent players that can impact your team, and then to be flexible to maximize the talent.

for specifics, zuttah at T in the 5th, mcduffie at G in the 6th, harvey/merling at DE in the first (if DRC is gone, which he will be), tracy porter or trevor laws in the 2nd... charles godfrey in the 3rd, etc.

this year's LB class stinks and there's only two decent FBs with very little behind them, so this may not be the draft to go looking for those kind of guys. there are some decent late round DE/OL/WR prospects though.

[J. Spanky]

my 2 cents:

1st pick - pass rushing d-lineman

2nd - pass rushing d-lineman (if we got an end with the 1st pick, then take a tackle here or vice versa. best pass rusher available. however, if safety, kenny phillips is still available, we MUST select him)

3rd - interior o-lineman (swingman, if possible)

4th - o-lineman (we have no 4th pick but assuming we have a supplemental 3rd round pick, we're call that equal to a 4th. here, i'd take the best available lineman. ideally a centre, assuming we got a swingman or a guard in the 3rd round)

5th - in my opinion, the 5th round is where you start taking the best player on the board, regardless of your needs. however, for the sake of discussion, i think we should target marcus washington's successor here, if possible.

6th - again, best player available. offensive tackle may be a good position to address here.

[GridIron26]

Originally Posted by J. Spanky

my 2 cents:

1st pick - pass rushing d-lineman

2nd - pass rushing d-lineman (if we got an end with the 1st pick, then take a tackle here or vice versa. best pass rusher available. however, if safety, kenny phillips is still available, we MUST select him)

3rd - interior o-lineman (swingman, if possible)

4th - o-lineman (we have no 4th pick but assuming we have a supplemental 3rd round pick, we're call that equal to a 4th. here, i'd take the best available lineman. ideally a centre, assuming we got a swingman or a guard in the 3rd round)

5th - in my opinion, the 5th round is where you start taking the best player on the board, regardless of your needs. however, for the sake of discussion, i think we should target marcus washington's successor here, if possible.

6th - again, best player available. offensive tackle may be a good position to address here.

You don't think we need to worry about CB? I mean I'm pretty sure you are not thinking about relying on Torrence? Even though he's still improving but he's best as #4 CB not #3..

[Drift Reality]

Originally Posted by GridIron26

You don't think we need to worry about CB? I mean I'm pretty sure you are not thinking about relying on Torrence? Even though he's still improving but he's best as #4 CB not #3..

I would really say we need to think about finding a top-flight cornerback. Lets say Springs retires or is cut after this season. We are left with Rogers (hopefully healthy and intact by then) and Smoot at the corners. It isn't bad mind you, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable with one other guy here.

I think it was on Doc Walker's radio show that Cerrato made a good point about their cornerbacks being pivotal in so many ways - that there has been a correlation between having healthy, high-caliber cornerbacks and winning.

Unless you have a defensive line that can rush like the Giants, you need stars at the cornerback positions.

[Drift Reality]

Based on some other threads and resources online I decided to have some fun and offer a projection.

I realize how ridiculous these are but as I said, just wanted to have some fun.

Round 1 - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (CB)
Round 2 - Chris Ellis (DE)
Round 3 - Roy Sheuning (G)
Round 3 - Dre Moore (DT)
Round 5 - Beau Bell (LB)
Round 6 - Cody Wallace (C/G)
Round 7 - Owen Schmitt (FB)

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by Drift Reality

Based on some other threads and resources online I decided to have some fun and offer a projection.

I realize how ridiculous these are but as I said, just wanted to have some fun.

Round 1 - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (CB)
Round 2 - Chris Ellis (DE)
Round 3 - Roy Sheuning (G)
Round 3 - Dre Moore (DT)
Round 5 - Beau Bell (LB)
Round 6 - Cody Wallace (C/G)
Round 7 - Owen Schmitt (FB)

i'd be down with that. schmitt won't make it to the 7th though (and we'll probably pick 3 times in the 7th, #21, #33ish and another even later).

[J. Spanky]

Originally Posted by GridIron26

You don't think we need to worry about CB? I mean I'm pretty sure you are not thinking about relying on Torrence? Even though he's still improving but he's best as #4 CB not #3..

i'd like to address almost every position. at least for depth. but we don't have that many picks!

basically, i think there are far more pressing needs to address this draft. i think that at corner, we have springs and smoot to begin the season as starters. carlos, hopefully, won't be any later than week 4. and we have 2 good, young prospects in torrence and byron westbrook.

i think if we can improve our pass rush, we'll be just fine at corner until rogers returns. and when he does, we'll be in good shape. maybe we should bring in a vet (ty law, for example) as an upgrade over david macklin. other than that, leave it til next year!

[Drift Reality]

Originally Posted by J. Spanky

i'd like to address almost every position. at least for depth. but we don't have that many picks!

basically, i think there are far more pressing needs to address this draft. i think that at corner, we have springs and smoot to begin the season as starters. carlos, hopefully, won't be any later than week 4. and we have 2 good, young prospects in torrence and byron westbrook.

i think if we can improve our pass rush, we'll be just fine at corner until rogers returns. and when he does, we'll be in good shape. maybe we should bring in a vet (ty law, for example) as an upgrade over david macklin. other than that, leave it til next year!

Improving the pass rush will definitely mitigate concerns at cornerback. I think the Skins should take the best player with that 1st pick but if that guy happens to be a cornerback I think they need to pull the trigger.

The issue with corners is that most take a year or two to develop (I guess you could say the same thing about most positions). I disagree that Torrence or Westbrook are legitimate candidates to start at any point in their careers and my perspective is that once Springs retires, we are really left without a top-flight corner.

[skinsfanthru&thru]

I agree with a lot of your points especially focusing on the d-line and our secondary while also going for young depth on the o-line and in our lb corps, but I know I'd like to see them try and find that 3rd WR somewhere in the middle to later rounds like Adarius Bowman, Josh Morgan, Adrian Arrington, Marcus Monk, or someone else that would fit that role.

[Drift Reality]

Thanks guys for the positive feedback. This sounds a bit psychotic but I had a long car ride the other day (about an hour) and the antenna had broken off my car so I couldn't listen to the radio. I spent the entire time thinking about what I would do if I were managing the Redskins draft.

That Guy made a point that a draft rule of thumb is to look at the "value and talent of the player pool when we get to that pick" and I agree with that point whole-heartedly.

I can't remember where but I remember seeing some basic grid showing that starting NFL cornerbacks, tackles and defensive ends are normally taken in high rounds; starting linebackers and guards can be found in middle rounds, etc.

So basically what I wanted to do was to match the Redskins needs based on my analysis of their different units with what is viable given draft trends during different rounds...