What does the Redskins 2016 draft class tell us?
After months of speculation and mock drafts, the curtain has been lifted and we finally know what the Redskins are working with heading into the 2016 season. The consensus around the league and with the media is that the team had a solid draft and most gave them an “A” to “B” grade. Scot McCloughan has once again shown that he has a sixth sense about finding draft talent, but also that he doesn’t care about mock drafts or what the experts say. This is McCloughan’s world and we are all just witnesses.
Let’s take a look at what this draft class has taught us…
The Redskins went with best player available, not need
75% of mock drafts leading up to the draft had the Redskins going DL. A lot of people assumed that with the loss of Terrance Knighton that the team would look to upgrade at NT, and get stronger against the run. How many of you out there had the Redskins taking a WR with their 1st round pick? If you were one of them pat yourself on the back.
Taking Josh Doctson at 22 overall, simply said the team was staying true to their board and taking the best player available. Many draft experts actually had Doctson as the best overall WR in the draft (Mel Kiper being one of them). Doctson is a nice toy for Kirk Cousins and will give him another target to look for in the red zone. Doctson is a guy that can win the 50/50 balls and also leap over any CB to make the big catch.
McCloughan said today that both Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon are not going anywhere, and will still very much be a major part of the offense. It should be noted that he didn’t say anything about their long term futures, but looking strictly at this season both are here to stay. The trio of Jackson, Garcon and now Doctson gives the Redskins the best receiving corps in the NFC East. There’s no question the secondary in the East is going to have their hands full.
Going BPA shows that McCloughan is looking out for the long term best interests of the team and setting them up for long term success. It’s a smart move, and you can already see the major difference in the culture of the Redskins organization since McCloughan has taken over.
McCloughan loves versatility
A major draft trend for McCloughan has been guys that can multiple positions and are multi-dimensional. The perfect example of this is 2nd round pick: Su’a Cravens. He is a guy that is reminds you a lot of Troy Polamalu and Kam Chancellor when you watch his highlights. He is a hybrid who can go up and snatch balls through the air, cover in zone, but also come up and blitz when you need him to. Cravens had 10.5 sacks and 9 INT’s while at USC. I full expect for Cravens to float around the field and get looks at both LB and Safety, but will be listed officially as a Safety. One thing is for sure, he is well on his way to being a fan favorite. In honor of the late Sean Taylor , Cravens will wear #36. The number that Taylor wore his rookie season.
Matthew Ioannidis is another example of a guy who is versatile. Nobody expected the Redskins would wait until the 5th round to grab a defensive lineman, but they got a guy who has the ability to move around on the line. It is expected that Ioannidis is going to play NT but will also move around on the line based on the scheme. Having a guy like this is good because it allows Chris Baker to remain at DE where he saw his most productive year as a pro last season.
What about the Center position?
This is a question that I was asked many times once the draft was over, and the answer is simply that McCloughan feels better about what he currently has than most fans do. Right now Kory Lichtensteiger will remain the starter at Center, with Josh LeRibeus backing him up. A very underrated aspect of the line is the familiarity that the C position and the QB have with each other. Plus the bottom line is that McCloughan did not view any of the available prospects as a potential upgrade at the position. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t have taken Ryan Kelly from Alabama if he was available, but he wasn’t, and that’s just speculation at this point.
Another possibility is that we will see someone change their position much like we saw with Morgan Moses last season. I wouldn’t rule out Spencer Long getting a shot at it if need be.
The Redskins are all-in on Matt Jones
Most of us expected the Redskins to look for a RB at some point in the draft to come in and compete for the starting job with Matt Jones. Little did we know that wouldn’t happen until the 7th round. McCloughan is showing that he believes in his guy and saw enough last year to make him believe that Jones can become the guy that he envisioned him to be. Let’s not forget that at one point McCloughan compared Jones to Marshawn Lynch, a guy that he knew very well.
Last season Jones showed us at times that he was a future star in this league, such as the 40 yard TD run against the Rams. Or how about the big he plays he made on the screen passes with him getting major gains. But at the same time, we all remember the dumb plays that he made as well, such as the fumbles. However, let’s not forget that Jones was only a rookie last year. With time he could prove to be the guy that McCloughan thinks he can be.
If Jones is able to clean up some aspects of his game, he could end up being a guy that really surprises some folks and gets a tight grip on the future of the RB position for the Redskins.
With that said, do not sleep on Keith Marshall. This is a guy that once started at Georgia over Todd Gurley and ran the fastest 40 yard time at the combine (4.3 seconds). If Marshall can return back to his glory days, he could turn out to be one of the biggest steals the NFL Draft has ever seen.
The Redskins are happy with their current QB lineup
There are some who believed the Redskins would take a developmental QB as early as the 2nd or 3rd round in the draft. Especially with the uncertainty of Kirk Cousins and his contract situation. However, McCloughan has mentioned many times over the past few weeks that Cousins is the guy this team wants as the long term starter of the Redskins, and a guy they want to make their franchise QB. I am in the camp that believes we will see Cousins get a long term deal prior to the July 15th deadline, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Colt McCoy is very much a competent backup, and also fits in nicely with Jay Gruden‘s scheme. There’s no question that McCoy is one of the better QB2’s in the league, and could very much start for a team or two right now. Nate Sudfeld is a very raw talent, but will have the opportunity as the QB3 to sit and learn and develop into a quality backup. He also fits into the offensive scheme nicely, and I see a bit of Cousins’ game in him. With that said, the pick makes sense and also shows that McCloughan is looking for guys that fit into what Gruden is doing.
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McCloughan is thinking long term
The biggest takeaway from this draft for me was that McCloughan is looking to build a team that will have sustained success. He wants to build a young team that will continue the momentum they gained last year, and keep it going for many years. Taking a guy like Doctson in the first shows that McCloughan is already thinking beyond this year. Both Garcon and Jackson are Free Agent’s after this year, and it’s still unknown what kind of money the team will be working with, or if they’ll pursue any type of extension with them. Simply drafting the best guy available is a smart move because nothing is ever guaranteed in sports, things change so fast and you never know what can happen with injuries or performance. The talent that McCloughan brought in shows that while the focus is winning now, he’s also has his eyes on long term success. As a fan of this franchise, it’s a great feeling to know that this team is in good hands, and great things are on the horizon.
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As always, follow me on Twitter @anthonyraposa for all of the latest news, rumors, and analysis.
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