Is trading down worth giving up the chance to take a future Pro-Bowler

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by angryssg

In your opinion do you think that we can afford to go with Landry and bypass getting another defensive lineman, which everyone claims that we need?

yes i do according to john clayton's pod cast we are going to draft LL if we stay at 6

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Okoye is still very much a project. I could see him sitting for much of the year, much like Rocky did this previous season and Campbell the season before.

Can Redskins fans accept that?

I personally could live with that. He's like any other rookie after all.

I don't neccessarily agree with this assessment. He's young, but he's got the college experience. If he is the prospect I think he is, why would he be any slower to develop than any other prospect?

The key to Okoye is that hes 19, but that he also is well versed in the college game. I think he's ready to go when called on. Just keep in mind, that like every other college draftable player, he starts as a rookie.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Okoye is still very much a project. I could see him sitting for much of the year, much like Rocky did this previous season and Campbell the season before.

Can Redskins fans accept that?

I couldn't. We need a horse up front that can play right away. Our D-line was as soft as butter last year. All this Landry talk makes no sense to me. Can't Peirson P. play? I know he is coming off a major injury but it seems to me that safety is an easier position to fill than D-line. No pass rush = no pass defense.

I am getting the feeling that our FO/GW thinks that our D-line was not a problem last year.

[dmek25]

if you can get 2 starters, as opposed to one pro bowler, then yes(its worth it) and gtripp, we usually agree, but brown really scares me as a player. way too inconsistant

[Daseal]

In my opinion, you go with the stud. I feel that the Redskins needs are being way over blown. How many years did we have a great defense with a line that was simply awful. Guys like Wynn who play great against the run.

I feel we have to go Landry or Okoye at the number six pick. Moving down two spots could cause us to lose both Okoye and Landry even if they're both still there when we pick.

[FRPLG]

The other thing is that out of say 8 "elite" prospects maybe 2 will be real pro bowlers, another 2-3 will be good players and the other 3-4 will be average to bust. Maybe trading down gives you a better shot at getting a few good players rather than risking it all on one "elite" player who may end up being no better than players taken a round later. I guess there is no real scientific way to do this. You just have to trust your scouting and evaluating to avoid busts.

[FRPLG]

By the way I luike Okoye and he would be the only pick at 6 that wouldn't piss me off. Other than him I think we need to mvoe our pick. I think I'd still rather move the pick but only if we can drop just a few spots and still pick up someone we really like.

BTW...is this the most intersting draft in a while? No one has any idea what direction anyone is really going other than the first pick and there are only 4 more days until the draft. A guy like Russell could not go 1 and drop big time. Thomas..who the hell knows? Who is going to make the biggest push for Johnson? How will Detroit figure out how to screw up this year? What guys will be available at 6 so we can trade our pick? How precipitous a fall does Branch make? I got no answers.

[Daseal]

By the way I luike Okoye and he would be the only pick at 6 that wouldn't piss me off. Other than him I think we need to mvoe our pick. I think I'd still rather move the pick but only if we can drop just a few spots and still pick up someone we really like.

If we stay pat. I want Landry or Okoye. Those guys I feel will both be great players in this league.

[Schneed10]

The whole assumption here is that the player we're getting at 6 (whether it be Okoye or Landry) is a pro-bowler in the making. While that certainly seems to be the case based on what we know of them now, it's definitely not an assumption we can just make. Corey Simon was selected at 6 overall, he had a few good years, but in general I'd say he didn't live up to the potential. Throughout history the top of the draft is rife with players who didn't make the pro bowl. There's no telling that Landry or Okoye won't be one of them.

Also, why should we assume that a player we'd get at 12, 15, 18, or 31 wouldn't become a pro bowler? Lots of teams have success with those players. And who's to say we can't get a great player out of a 2nd or 3rd rounder? Portis, Cooley, and Derrick Dockery all came out of rounds 2 and 3.

The whole point I'm trying to make is you might study the players relentlessly, and research them to the point where you think you're absolutely sure who's going to be good and who's not. But the whole point is YOU NEVER KNOW. NEVER EVER EVER.

You can't assume Okoye or Landry will be pro-bowlers. You have to assess your team's overall needs. If you've got more than one hole, as we do, then it makes the most sense to trade down.

[Daseal]

Dlinemen in general scare me. I'd argue they bust more often than WRs in the first round. Lets look at someone many people here was high on, Kenechi Udeze. he has a good line around him, and he played between 85-89% of defensive snaps (dont remember exact #) and he had a total of 0 sacks. Very few defensive linemen taken in the first round seem to do poorly over the last 6 years.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I want to echo some of SS' and Schneed's sentiments. First, we don't know that ANYONE, even the almighty CJ, is going to be a Pro Bowler. If the deal is right, it could make a lot of sense to trade down and particularly if the other team is willing to give considerably more than the sacrosanct draft pick value chart says we should get (e.g., trade down with ATL for their 1st and a 2nd). Second, I'm not sure that we'd be drafting Okoye to make an immediate impact as much as we'd be drafting him with the expectation that he would become an absolute monster within a year or two. I don't necessarily think he'll sit for a whole year (especially considering his would-be competition), but I don't think anyone is going to put up numbers like Jevon Kearse did in his rookie year.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

I want to echo some of SS' and Schneed's sentiments. First, we don't know that ANYONE, even the almighty CJ, is going to be a Pro Bowler. If the deal is right, it could make a lot of sense to trade down and particularly if the other team is willing to give considerably more than the sacrosanct draft pick value chart says we should get (e.g., trade down with ATL for their 1st and a 2nd). Second, I'm not sure that we'd be drafting Okoye to make an immediate impact as much as we'd be drafting him with the expectation that he would become an absolute monster within a year or two. I don't necessarily think he'll sit for a whole year (especially considering his would-be competition), but I don't think anyone is going to put up numbers like Jevon Kearse did in his rookie year.

what about merriman

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by EARTHQUAKE2689

what about merriman

Merriman goes right to my point, he was drafted at pick #11.

There's no reason you can't get an impact player at a spot like 11. It's not like pick 6 is the only place we'll be able to find an impact player in this draft. There will be some impact players available at all stages of round 1. It's just a matter of identifying who they are, and being willing to have the patience to let them fall down the board to us. That's certainly the hard part of this whole thing; but trading down would be worth the payoff if it means we have a chance to add 2 or 3 players at positions of need rather than just 1.

[Bill B]

One important issue to consider that has not been talked about is the cap savings a team can get by trading down. Right now at #6 it would be practical to say the Redskins wil pay something similar to what the 49ers gave Vernon Davis (he was the 6th pick of the draft last year). Vernon Davis got a contract totaling $23-$25 million with $15 million in gurantees - see link below
ESPN.com - NFL - Niners make No. 6 pick Davis highest-paid tight end

So to me trading down offers an enticing benefit of not only acquiring more picks in lower rounds (which helps with depth and also gives you more chances at selecting a diamond in the rough), but it also helps minimize the future cap hit if the first rounder you do select is a bust since the lower in the first round you go the lower the required signing bonus becomes.

[Rajmahal33]

Generally speaking, u would rather have a "playmaker" at the safety position and a solid player at the DT spot then vice versa...besides franchise players or elite player or whatever u wanna call them are more important on the offensive side. The best defenses are those with good players that buy into a system and play team defense. Even though a team has a stellar D-lineman doesn't mean they are going to help that defense function. More likely, depth will help the unit better itself...so i guess 2 or 3 starters are better than 1 Okoye.