With the 5th pick in the draft the Washington Redskins select...

[JoeRedskin]

... and to be clear (which I think I already have been), Cooper is not "my boy." I am not pulling for them to draft him. From everything I have read, and for all the reasons I have said in my various posts, however, he seems to me to be the likely, logical BPA choice at 5 under a "no trade down" scenario.

I have only "beaten his drum" b/c so many seem to think that, even if he is the clear BPA at the position we should not pick him simply b/c he doesn't satisfy an immediate need. I think that is a dumb-ass, short-sighted reason for a team passing on a player that they believe to be the most talented guy on the board. [Again, not saying that Scot McC believes that b/c I have no idea who he has rated as what. I am only arguing the underlying principle.]

If you think Fowler or someone else, based on "production and skill set" - or whatever else you want to use to evaluate talent, is the talent level equivalent of Cooper, fine. To me, that's a perfectly good reason for going with someone other than Cooper. I just have yet to hear anyone make a strong case for Fowler over Cooper based on talent only. Schneed's analysis at least made some rational sense but, despite his measurables, Fowler's actual on-field production doesn't seem to match up.

Like I said, the actual tape I saw of Fowler seemed to show him getting pushed around a lot - despite his size and strength. To me, that's a problem. If in actual game situations, he can't consistently dominate against college players given his advantage in measurables, that does not bode well when he has to take his game to the pro level.