Washington Redskins
The Redskins drafted a team around their new starting quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Round 1 – Pick 4: Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma - The first draft pick of the Mike Shanahan era in Washington was a big mistake. Yes, Trent Williams is a freakish athlete with a great frame, giving him very high upside as an offensive tackle. However, he struggled as a left tackle in his senior year, and I do not believe that he will be able to play that position in the National Football League.
Williams has the potential to be a great right tackle, but an offensive tackle does not get drafted in the top ten unless he is expected to be the franchise left tackle for many years to come. Williams is certainly a project as a left tackle, yet he is going to be thrown into the fire immediately as the team’s starting left tackle. Given Williams’s inconsistency on the field and his questionable attitude, this pick seems to have draft bust written all over it.
Instead, Shanahan should have used this selection to draft Tennessee safety Eric Berry, whom was the last remaining of the four elite talents in the 2010 NFL Draft, and while safety was not necessarily a need, he was too good to pass up at this point, and certainly pairing him with LaRon Landry would have been one of the NFL’s best safety combinations. Not a smart choice by Shanahan as his first pick with the Redskins.
The 37th overall selection was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 2011 third-round selection in exchange for quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Donovan McNabb is one of the NFL’s most drastically overrated players. While many consider McNabb to be an elite quarterback, he is far from one. McNabb is very inconsistent, and seemingly has a perennial midseason choke.
McNabb certainly has talent, but he is not the right guy to lead the Redskins back down the road to success; they would have been better off keeping this selection, where in hindsight they would have been able to select Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen or Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, both of whom are very talented young quarterbacks with the poise and leadership ability to have developed into a true franchise quarterback for the Redskins.
The trade for McNabb may look like a good one to most people right now, but it is a trade they are likely to regret making. Look at it this way: if the Philadelphia Eagles were concerned about McNabb coming back to hurt them, they would not have traded him to a division rival whom they have to play twice each season.
The Washington Redskins selected Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon in the third round of the 2009 NFL Supplemental Draft, hence forfeiting their third-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Jeremy Jarmon likely would have been a second or third round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, but he was forced to enter the Supplemental Draft after testing positive for a banned substance, for which the NCAA stripped him of his eligibility to play in the 2009 collegiate season.
The Redskins needed to improve their pass rush, and did not want to pass up on the talented Jarmon. Jarmon did not play often as a rookie, but he should make an impact on their line this season. The Redskins may have been better off keeping this selection, which they could have used to draft Arkansas State defensive end Alex Carrington, whom is a better fit for the Redskins’ 3-4 defense, but the Redskins certainly did not expect to be picking so high in the third round, and Jarmon would have been worthy of being a high third-round selection anyways, so this was not a bad decision made by the Redskins.
Round 4 – Pick 103: Perry Riley, LB, LSU -
While Perry Riley was a very productive linebacker for the LSU Tigers, he was a major reach early in round four. Riley is a solid run stopper, but lacks the size and athleticism to be much more than a reserve linebacker and a special teams player. Riley should excel on special teams, but really was not worth anything more than a sixth round selection. The second pick of the day for Mike Shanahan was yet another reach.
Round 6 – Pick 174: Dennis Morris, TE, Louisiana Tech -
Ironically, the Washington Redskins originally owned this selection, and got it back through a series of trades. Originally, they traded this selection along with a 2009 second-round pick for Jason Taylor (Taylor was a disappointment in his lone season in Washington, so this trade was a waste of a second-round pick last year).
Then, the Washington Redskins moved down in the fifth round with the St. Louis Rams to acquire defensive lineman Adam Carriker, the 13th overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft whom has been a bust to this point but could make an impact on the Redskins’ defensive line. Then, the Redskins traded that acquired fifth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins to re-acquire this selection along with a seventh-round selection.
So essentially, the Redskins traded their 5th round pick for a 6th round pick, 7th round pick, and Adam Carriker; that was most certainly a great acquisition on their part. They then used the 174th overall selection on Louisiana Tech tight end Dennis Morris, a strong blocker whom may have been a slight reach in the sixth round, but given that the Redskins got Adam Carriker out of the trading sequence in getting this pick back, it should not be criticized.
Round 7 – Pick 219: Terrence Austin, WR, UCLA -
The Washington Redskins used the other selection acquired from the Miami Dolphins to select UCLA wide receiver Terrence Austin. Austin was a solid receiver for the Bruins, but he does not have the overall skill set to play the position in the National Football League. However, Austin does have the skills to be a good kick returner and special teams standout, so he was a good pick-up for the Redskins in the seventh round. Given their needs for players whom can really contribute at the wide receiver position, Tulane’s Jeremy Williams would have been a better choice here, but Austin should become a key special teams contributor for the Redskins, which will make him well worth the seventh-round selection.
Round 7 – Pick 229: Erik Cook, C, New Mexico -
The Washington Redskins traded their pick at the top of the seventh round to the New England Patriots in exchange for two picks in the middle of the round, and used the first on New Mexico center Erik Cook. While there were many better centers still available on the board, including USC’s Jeff Byers, Texas’s Chris Hall, and Texas A&M’s Kevin Matthews, Erik Cook was still a good choice.
Cook is the biggest center in the 2010 NFL Draft, and has the ability to play both guard positions in addition to the middle. Cook’s size and versatility made him worthy of being a seventh-round selection, and was a good choice for the Redskins to add another man to the mix in their fairly weak interior line.
Round 7 – Pick 231: Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia -
Heading into the Draft, many draft prognosticators greatly overrated Selvish Capers, and had him rated as a fourth or fifth round selection. Instead, Capers went where he deserved to be selected, in the seventh round. Capers is explosive for his size, but he is much too inconsistent to play the left tackle position, and projects as a right tackle only, which makes him not too valuable.
However, Capers does have more upside than any of the other offensive tackles whom were available (aside from possibly Ciron Black), and was worth being a seventh-round choice.
Overall Outlook: The Washington Redskins did not do a very good job at getting appropriate value according to where they were picking, making the first draft by the Mike Shanahan regime in Washington very much a disappointment. Trent Williams was a major reach at the fourth overall selection, and the Redskins would have been much better off keeping their second-round pick and drafting Jimmy Clausen or Colt McCoy.
Jeremy Jarmon should be a productive player worth giving up the third-round selection for, but they made another reach on Perry Riley in the fourth round. The best move of the 2010 NFL Draft for the Redskins was getting Adam Carriker for virtually nothing, but given that he has battled injuries and been very much a bust so far in his career, that certainly does not make up for the many mistakes the Redskins made in this Draft. The Redskins get a D for this draft effort.
The Redskins drafted a team around their new starting quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Round 1 – Pick 4: Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma - The first draft pick of the Mike Shanahan era in Washington was a big mistake. Yes, Trent Williams is a freakish athlete with a great frame, giving him very high upside as an offensive tackle. However, he struggled as a left tackle in his senior year, and I do not believe that he will be able to play that position in the National Football League.
Williams has the potential to be a great right tackle, but an offensive tackle does not get drafted in the top ten unless he is expected to be the franchise left tackle for many years to come. Williams is certainly a project as a left tackle, yet he is going to be thrown into the fire immediately as the team’s starting left tackle. Given Williams’s inconsistency on the field and his questionable attitude, this pick seems to have draft bust written all over it.
Instead, Shanahan should have used this selection to draft Tennessee safety Eric Berry, whom was the last remaining of the four elite talents in the 2010 NFL Draft, and while safety was not necessarily a need, he was too good to pass up at this point, and certainly pairing him with LaRon Landry would have been one of the NFL’s best safety combinations. Not a smart choice by Shanahan as his first pick with the Redskins.
The 37th overall selection was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 2011 third-round selection in exchange for quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Donovan McNabb is one of the NFL’s most drastically overrated players. While many consider McNabb to be an elite quarterback, he is far from one. McNabb is very inconsistent, and seemingly has a perennial midseason choke.
McNabb certainly has talent, but he is not the right guy to lead the Redskins back down the road to success; they would have been better off keeping this selection, where in hindsight they would have been able to select Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen or Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, both of whom are very talented young quarterbacks with the poise and leadership ability to have developed into a true franchise quarterback for the Redskins.
The trade for McNabb may look like a good one to most people right now, but it is a trade they are likely to regret making. Look at it this way: if the Philadelphia Eagles were concerned about McNabb coming back to hurt them, they would not have traded him to a division rival whom they have to play twice each season.
The Washington Redskins selected Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon in the third round of the 2009 NFL Supplemental Draft, hence forfeiting their third-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Jeremy Jarmon likely would have been a second or third round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, but he was forced to enter the Supplemental Draft after testing positive for a banned substance, for which the NCAA stripped him of his eligibility to play in the 2009 collegiate season.
The Redskins needed to improve their pass rush, and did not want to pass up on the talented Jarmon. Jarmon did not play often as a rookie, but he should make an impact on their line this season. The Redskins may have been better off keeping this selection, which they could have used to draft Arkansas State defensive end Alex Carrington, whom is a better fit for the Redskins’ 3-4 defense, but the Redskins certainly did not expect to be picking so high in the third round, and Jarmon would have been worthy of being a high third-round selection anyways, so this was not a bad decision made by the Redskins.
Round 4 – Pick 103: Perry Riley, LB, LSU -
While Perry Riley was a very productive linebacker for the LSU Tigers, he was a major reach early in round four. Riley is a solid run stopper, but lacks the size and athleticism to be much more than a reserve linebacker and a special teams player. Riley should excel on special teams, but really was not worth anything more than a sixth round selection. The second pick of the day for Mike Shanahan was yet another reach.
Round 6 – Pick 174: Dennis Morris, TE, Louisiana Tech -
Ironically, the Washington Redskins originally owned this selection, and got it back through a series of trades. Originally, they traded this selection along with a 2009 second-round pick for Jason Taylor (Taylor was a disappointment in his lone season in Washington, so this trade was a waste of a second-round pick last year).
Then, the Washington Redskins moved down in the fifth round with the St. Louis Rams to acquire defensive lineman Adam Carriker, the 13th overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft whom has been a bust to this point but could make an impact on the Redskins’ defensive line. Then, the Redskins traded that acquired fifth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins to re-acquire this selection along with a seventh-round selection.
So essentially, the Redskins traded their 5th round pick for a 6th round pick, 7th round pick, and Adam Carriker; that was most certainly a great acquisition on their part. They then used the 174th overall selection on Louisiana Tech tight end Dennis Morris, a strong blocker whom may have been a slight reach in the sixth round, but given that the Redskins got Adam Carriker out of the trading sequence in getting this pick back, it should not be criticized.
Round 7 – Pick 219: Terrence Austin, WR, UCLA -
The Washington Redskins used the other selection acquired from the Miami Dolphins to select UCLA wide receiver Terrence Austin. Austin was a solid receiver for the Bruins, but he does not have the overall skill set to play the position in the National Football League. However, Austin does have the skills to be a good kick returner and special teams standout, so he was a good pick-up for the Redskins in the seventh round. Given their needs for players whom can really contribute at the wide receiver position, Tulane’s Jeremy Williams would have been a better choice here, but Austin should become a key special teams contributor for the Redskins, which will make him well worth the seventh-round selection.
Round 7 – Pick 229: Erik Cook, C, New Mexico -
The Washington Redskins traded their pick at the top of the seventh round to the New England Patriots in exchange for two picks in the middle of the round, and used the first on New Mexico center Erik Cook. While there were many better centers still available on the board, including USC’s Jeff Byers, Texas’s Chris Hall, and Texas A&M’s Kevin Matthews, Erik Cook was still a good choice.
Cook is the biggest center in the 2010 NFL Draft, and has the ability to play both guard positions in addition to the middle. Cook’s size and versatility made him worthy of being a seventh-round selection, and was a good choice for the Redskins to add another man to the mix in their fairly weak interior line.
Round 7 – Pick 231: Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia -
Heading into the Draft, many draft prognosticators greatly overrated Selvish Capers, and had him rated as a fourth or fifth round selection. Instead, Capers went where he deserved to be selected, in the seventh round. Capers is explosive for his size, but he is much too inconsistent to play the left tackle position, and projects as a right tackle only, which makes him not too valuable.
However, Capers does have more upside than any of the other offensive tackles whom were available (aside from possibly Ciron Black), and was worth being a seventh-round choice.
Overall Outlook: The Washington Redskins did not do a very good job at getting appropriate value according to where they were picking, making the first draft by the Mike Shanahan regime in Washington very much a disappointment. Trent Williams was a major reach at the fourth overall selection, and the Redskins would have been much better off keeping their second-round pick and drafting Jimmy Clausen or Colt McCoy.
Jeremy Jarmon should be a productive player worth giving up the third-round selection for, but they made another reach on Perry Riley in the fourth round. The best move of the 2010 NFL Draft for the Redskins was getting Adam Carriker for virtually nothing, but given that he has battled injuries and been very much a bust so far in his career, that certainly does not make up for the many mistakes the Redskins made in this Draft. The Redskins get a D for this draft effort.
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