Draft Thoughts
By Jay Evans
May 1, 2020
On the storyboard of the 2020 Washington Redskins, the main plot line was all about Ron Rivera remaking the roster in his vision. Chase Young was the MacGuffin, Trent Williams was an artless reoccurring horror camera prank, but Rivera is Laurie Strode.
A MacGuffin is a tool that the character believes is important while the real story is set in motion. Like the brief case in Pulp Fiction or “the ring” in Tolkien’s expansive world, the Redskins were in custody of an invaluable piece, but whatever else they do with this possession was going to tell the narrative.
The Williams saga, in Hitchcockian fashion, dragged Redskins fans in a full circle of emotions. For the past two years the situation was a nightmare, continuously evolving from good, bad, martyr, devil, and back again. Ultimately, he was a hand reaching out from a sewer at an opportune moment. It’s a cliched storyline.
Along with Rivera, Kyle Smith, the V.P. of player personnel, set out to rewrite the Redskins’ script that plagued the past. “Lack of vision” was the frequent description of team leadership, and “slow” and “outdated” were words frequently used to describe the Redskins and its roster.
Since the calendar year has turned over to 2020 the Redskins are virtually unrecognizable from the Bruce Allen era. The social media team is engaging, the changes in-house were on multiple levels, and the Redskins took position flexible athletes to strengthen the overall roster (without existing injuries).
If this is 2019 and the draft was remote, Dan Snyder is surely broadcasting live from his mega yacht with the Haskins family probably on board. There was a rigidity to recent picks; they fit here, hit with value there, but they were disjointed and born out of a strategy that was the complete lack of forethought and reason.
This draft felt different. The new coaching staff eliminated the 3-4 defense. Experiments from the former regime were never fully embraced. Prior leadership converted defensive ends into linebackers, and the team kept trying to pigeonhole players into an undersized nose tackle role.
This wasn’t specifically due to the private access viewers had into the homes of the NFL executive brass due the draft, but the hiring of Rivera has a warm cozy feeling that has been lacking for quite some time.
The new Redskins organization didn’t go into to this draft to win the mock draft board award. Rivera and company went into the offseason to close the gap and get back to being a competitive team that is no longer a laughingstock.
The flow of the draft led the Redskins to add depth at skill positions and defense. They drafted two defensive ends and two offensive linemen, but not until the fourth round and beyond.
You wanted a tight end? Nope. They stuck to their board. Not yours from your couch. They chose to add versatile pieces in the secondary.
If the Redskins had drafted a punter in the third round, that would’ve constituted as a “throw away” pick. The definition of a wasted, no sense of purpose selection.
The Redskins, under Rivera and Smith, went to the well to reinforce the depth of the roster. And yet, throughout the later rounds of the draft, public commentary was in an uproar.
This has to be a tight end…WHO DID WE TAKE???
I don’t see that fifth-round pick making the roster. Bad draft. #fail #httr
REALLY??!! The Redskins EARNED the second overall pick with a 3-13 record. Simmer down naw’.
You never know when a need becomes a need. The Redskins had two elite pass-catching athletes, Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis at tight end, until they had none. Not too long ago they had one of the best bookend tackle tandems in the league, or so we thought.
The second player selected by the Redskins was Antonio Gibson. If Isaiah Simmons’ position is “defense,” then Antonio Gibson’s position is “offense.” The running back/receiver is the hybrid playmaker the Redskins have lacked.
Gibson is a thicker version of recent-Redskin Chris Thompson, without the extensive injury history. At 6-feet tall and 230lbs with 4.39 speed, Gibson separates himself from his constituents, quite figuratively. Gibson is adept at catching the ball and enters the league with a coordinator familiar with his skillset.
Rivera and newly hired offensive coordinator Scott Turner have a history with another ultra-athletic RB/WR combo in Christian McCaffery. Gibson is a scheme-enigma Christian McCaffery at a third-round price.
They followed up the first two pieces with two offensive linemen (Saahdiq Charles and the San Diego St. Center, Ismael), then another wide receiver. The linebacker followed with the next pick epitomizes the word “versatile”.
Fifth round selection Khaleke Hudson may never play a down in the NFL. Or, he may play for ten years or somewhere in between, but no matter how his career turns out, the former Wolverine defender comes with position flexibility that brings hope for success to the defense.
While attending Michigan, Hudson occupied the “Viper” role on defense. The all-encompassing viper position is the Renaissance Man of defense. The “Viper” is capable of rushing the passer and defending the pass on any given alignment.
Hudson looks like Su’a Cravens. The one who visited the Wizard of Oz. He has the brains, heart, and courage that was absent in the last flex defender the Redskins drafted. Hudson is the participation trophy for those of you in the Isaiah Simmons little league.
The flexibility of this class will reverberate throughout Rivera’s time in Redskins office. Can Charles occupy the massive shoes of Trent Williams? Is Antonio Gibson the next coming? Is AGG a number 2?
“Wait…we still have Chase Young?” — Redskins fans everywhere
The 2020 draft will be known as the Chase Young draft. The layup. In three or four years, the scope of this draft will come into to full focus, but the true tale of success will be the team’s record. That’s the only measure of a draft’s success.