Wrapping up the Draft, for now

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May 3, 2018

by Steve Thomas

Now that the 2018 NFL Draft has come and gone, we can sit back and evaluate how our favorite team did in the draft, right?  After all, basically every major media outlet has put out the inevitable “draft grades” column, so it must be worthy of evaluation so soon.  Not really.  It’s far too early to know how any of these draft picks are going to pan out.  History and logic dictates that not all of the 8 players drafted by the Redskins will work out.  A couple will become starters and receive second contracts from the team, a couple more will be good players who move on, and a couple will probably wash out of the NFL.  That’s just how the draft works.  So while it’s all sunshine and happiness for the Redskins fanbase right now – and I’m right there with you, because (spoiler alert) I thought this was a great draft – we’ll just have to see how it goes over the next couple of years.  But that doesn’t stop us from trying to make some sense of what went down last week and what it means to our boys in the maroon and black[1].

I don’t particularly want to get into a discussion of the benefits of different draft strategies, but it’s pretty apparent that the Redskins made a conscious effort to draft players that were among positions that they had identified as deficient.  Redskins Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams said exactly that in his post-draft press conference this past Sunday, stating, “If we think he’s the best available player at that need.”  Taking a look at the Redskins selections in the first two days – Da’Ron Payne over Derwin James at 13 in round 1, risking some negative reports to take Derrius Guice in round 2, a relatively unknown tackle from Louisville in Geron Christian in round 3 because of the lack of depth at tackle last year – it’s clear that this draft, perhaps more than others, will aid the Redskins immeasurably as long as these selected players perform as we think they should.

Williams addressed the team’s thought process in selecting Payne during his Sunday remarks: “The same thing about Jonathan [Allen] last year that made him that guy at [No.] 17. Pretty good football player. I think his career speaks for [itself]. If you watch the tape like we did, we probably looked at every football game that Payne played this year. And you’re talking about on a pretty good football team, but you’re talking about a very consistent football player, and one game that stands out, he completely dominated the National Championship Game. And that’s what you’re looking for in a football player up front.”  The focus?  Good, proven football player with good film at a position the Redskins for could use some help.  Will Derwin James be a good pro?  Probably so, but the team made a decision based on who could help the team more.  Welcome, Mr. Payne.

Williams also spoke at some length about how he viewed the controversy regarding the negative reports about running back Derrius Guice, making it clear that he personally believed in Guice: “We do have some inside information and some influences that helped us along the way. And, plus, we had met with the kid, we went to dinner with the kid, we brought the kid up here. Where Guice is from, I’m from the same area basically. I knew Guice. I know who he is. I know where he comes from and when you talk about a kid who has produced on the field the way he has, other than what was out there, and you look at this kid, man, he’s just a happy-go [lucky] kid who likes to play football and I think we were fortunate enough to get a guy like that.”  What I take out of that quote is that the team is aware that bad things were said about this player, but that they trust their evaluation – specifically, Doug Williams’ personal evaluation – of Guice as a person, and they aren’t worried about him.  Williams expanded on those thoughts, providing that “what other teams thought doesn’t necessarily mean what we thought. There were some players that went in this draft that we probably didn’t have on the board. At the same time, it all depends on the team. We’re talking about a guy that we had in the first round on the draft board….We didn’t let what other people say influence us. What influenced us is the information that we had gotten from him and the people around him. We had a lot of sources that we talked to.”  That’s good enough for me, and it should be for you, too.

The selection of Geron Christian initially confused me a bit in that the clear and obvious hole in the offensive line is at guard, not tackle.  Williams answered that question as well, saying that tackle was a need for the team and that their preferred guard prospect was gone at the time Christian was selected: “Well, the question came up about the guard situation. In the second half, he [Nsekhe] played a little guard. If we get to that point that we feel like we’re comfortable with moving him and drafting Geron, it’s certainly a plus for us, but at the same time, we’ve got a young tackle. If you look around this league, one of the most valuable players on the football team is offensive tackles and the rushers on the end and quarterbacks and defensive backs. So we [were] fortunate enough to get Christian, who I think is going to develop into a pretty good football player.”  Williams continued, saying, “I still feel good about our offensive line, but going back to what I said, JP, the guard that we targeted wasn’t there. So, you don’t do a reach. You don’t go down to get a guy because you need that guy. You know, so you’ve got to go on and pass on.”  After hearing the explanation, I understand the logic and trust the plan here, too.  The offensive line clearly needed depth; enter Christian.  Is it a bit early for a depth selection?  Perhaps, but if he ends up becoming a solid pro, it won’t matter.

As to the fourth round pick, Troy Apke, some few him as a reach, but once again, there was a method to the madness.  The Redskins see Apke as an elite athlete, a bit raw and unready to step in at safety now, but also as someone who can be invaluable in special teams quickly.  Williams: “With [Troy] Apke at safety that can be that third guy, that special team guy.”

Defensive tackle Tim Settle could end up being a huge steal if he can pan out and become the team’s long-term nose tackle.  Don’t forget, Settle was identified by some as a first or second round pick and only dropped to the 5th round due to his Combine performance.  If Settle can become up being the player he was at Virginia Tech, a slow 40 time is going to be pretty irrelevant.  The plan the team has constructed is pretty obvious: Payne – Settle – Allen as the defensive front 3 of the long-term future.  If that comes to pass, don’t look now, but defensive line might actually be a strength instead of a massive weakness.

I view the 6th round pick, linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton as a potential starter if he can only stay healthy.  He has a right knee that has been declared an official federal disaster zone, but absent that (admittedly huge) issue, this is a player who would’ve been a top draft pick in the vein of Reggie Ragland and Reuben Foster.  If Hamilton proves that he can stay on the field, this draft pick will someday be viewed as grand theft larceny.

The last two picks, Greg Stroman and Trey Quinn (Mr. Irrelevant), are both players with a ton of potential and the ability to contribute to special teams immediately.  Expect one of them to end up taking the punt return job from Jamison Crowder, who’s generally been awful at punt returning aside from the first half of the 2016 season.  Jay Gruden is rumored to be very high on Quinn, who basically set the football football world on fire for his one year at SMU.

In the end, all of these picks have a role to fill.  This wasn’t a random, best player no matter what effort.  Look for all of these draft picks to produce for the Washington Redskins, quickly.

 

 

 

[1] If you don’t understand the reference, that means that you’re either very young or new to Redskins fandome.  Either way, look it up.  Google is your friend.

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