Well paint me blue and call me babe. The Redskins got the best possible player for one their biggest needs with the 17th overall pick.  Jonathan Allen, DT/DE Alabama, who I have blogged about before, was someone I assumed would be taken within the first four picks.  There were grumblings of his draft stock falling after some crackpot doctor said he has shoulder problems, claims that Allen venomously denied. However, no one really thought he would fall to #17 overall. The 16 teams before us could all have used a player like Allen. Four defensive lineman were taken before the skins selected Allen and I could make an argument that he is better than all of them.  Besides Allen, the Redskins made some solid picks to address some other needs.  So, without further ado, my draft grades:

1st Round #17 Overall: Jonathan Allen, DT/ DE, Alabama: Grade A+

Hold on to your butts. I said this before and I’ll say it again – the Redskins could not mess up this pick if they closed their eyes and picked the best defensive player available on board.  Furthermore, they could not mess up this pick if they went ANY of the top 10 defensive lineman. But my God, they get one of the best players in the whole draft fall right into their laps. Getting Allen at #17, where most early mock drafts had him going #2 overall, is a like someone knocking on your door and handing you the keys to a brand new Ford GT40. Now, the Redskins could have taken Reuben Foster here who also happened to fall to #17. However, this was the better pick based on need.

Allen stands 6’3″ and weighs 286.  He has long arms (33 5/8s”) and was uber productive at Alabama.  The High School Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia started sophomore year through senior year on an Alabama team that went to the National Championship all three years (winning once).  He finished his career with 152 tackles, 28 sacks and 44 (!!) tackles for loss. Good. Freaking. Heavens. Allen is as polished as a defensive lineman as I’ve ever seen coming out of college. He eats up double teams, sets the edge well, and uses his long reach to create separation and make tackles in the hole.  Redskins needed run stoppers and Allen is does that in his sleep. Allen played all over the line at Alabama – inside, outside, nose, and made plays at all of them.  Allen may not be your prototypical pass rusher, but he was able to use his athleticism, technique, and relentlessness to get pressure from everywhere.  And when he gets his mitts on you, it’s over.  Saban praised Allen for his work ethic, saying he was a student of the game, very coachable, and a film junkie. All I hear is “leader by example”, something the skins could use a lot more of.

If I had to find negatives on Allen I’d say he grew up in Leesburg and went to high school at my arch rival Stone Bridge High School that won State Championship after State Championship.  He’s known nothing but success his whole life.  Allen was reported to have “shoulder arthritis” which may limit his career. He had a poor combine (5.0 40 and 21 reps) so the athleticism on tape could have been the product of mismatches created by the plethora of talent on the Tide defense. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the game planning on NFL offensive coordinators.

Time will tell if the shoulder becomes a problem. However, for the time being, let us relish in the fact that the 2016 Chuck Bednarik and Bronco Nagurski Award (the nation’s top defender on the nation’s top defense) fell right into our laps. Let’s hope he plays with a chip on his shoulder for being selected 15 picks after a smaller, less productive, and west coast DE in Soloman Thomas and 3 picks after an SEC foe who is smaller and one-dimensional in Derek Barnett.  Allen should start right away on the redskins depleted d-line and make an impact. Hopefully he will make the kind of impact he made his four years at Alabama.

2nd Round #49 Overall: Ryan Anderson, Edge Alabama: Grade B+

The skins front office must’ve heard me during the SEC and National Champion games where I shouted over and over again “please God just draft every player on that Alabama defense”.  Ryan Anderson, OLB/ Edge, Alabama stands 6’2″, 253lbs,  Anderson is a 3-4 outside linebacker that rushed the passer 90% of the time. He finished 2016 season with 9 sacks,  16 tackles, and 19 tackles for loss. He is a perfect fit into our 3-4 defensive scheme. Anderson was a 5 star recruit out of high school who didn’t see the field much as a freshman or sophomore.  However, he was the first man off the bench in the 2015 National Championship season and was a starter last year where they were 1 second away from repeating. Anderson is a relentless pass rusher who appears to have perfected the strip sack already.  Seems like every highlight of him hitting a QB, the ball comes flying out immediately after. He plays low to the ground and utilizes his lower center of gravity to unleash some nasty power moves.  I did a double take when I realized he is 6’2″ – looks more like he’s 5’10” on tape.  He is a smart player, who recognizes play actions and misdirections immediately.  He hardly gets blown off the ball and sets the edge well against the run which could be enough of a reason to take him here. So why not an A for Anderson? Anderson has short arms (31″) which could be a problem when he goes up against some of the bigger tackles in NFL. The redskins also had a chance to get one of my favorite inside linebackers in the draft with Zach Cunningham here and decided to select a somewhat more need based pick with Anderson. I will be happy to eat my words if Anderson gets a few strip sacks next year in the burgundy and gold.

3rd Round #89 Overall: Fabian Moreau, CB UCLA: Grade B-

Redskins went cornerback in the 3rd round for the second year in a row. Fabian Moreau stands 6’0″, weighs 206 lbs, and was a combine hero. He finished 2nd in the 40 yard dash posting a 4.35 and beat all CBs in the broad jump posting 136″.  He also finished top 10 in vertical (38″) and 60 yard shuttle (11.45 seconds). Needless to say, he’s a great athlete who has all the measurables to succeed. However, he has a checkered injury history.  Moreau tore his pectoral muscle during his pro day while benching but is expected to be ready for camp. He missed most of the 2015 season due to a Lisfranc injury in his left foot. Yet, I think the Redskins got good value with selecting him here. He was a top 50 talent before the pro day injury and with the proper coaching could be one of the better CBs in the draft. Scouts like to say that he is “inexperienced” just because he was recruited as an RB and made the transition to defense freshman year but I don’t buy it. He played well as CB in 2013 (All-Pac12 honorable mention) and 2014 (2nd team All-Pac12) before this injury.   His tape is shaky at best and with only 3 interceptions in 4 years is why I’m going to give him a B-. He will benefit from having NFL coaching and with his athleticism, the sky is the limit.

4th Round #114 overall: Samaje Perine, RB Oklahoma: Grade: A

Bill Callahan eat your heart out. Gruden says he wants the skins to be a “power run team” when they hired Callahan a year ago.  Since, Callahan has done his best to groom the o-line to be road graders. Two years later, no dice.  Matt Jones was over drafted to be that “power-run” guy and I think it’s fair to say that was a mistake. Jones has the size but he’s not a down hill runner.  You could see Gruden pulling his hair out watching this 6’2″ 240 back getting put completely on his ass by nickel backs.  Combine that with his poorly timed fumbles and his lingering soft tissue injuries, it’s fair to say it’s time to move on.  Robert Kelly was a fullback from Tulane and filled in nicely in his place but he’s not the answer. Enter Samaje Perine.

Perine holds the record for most rushing yards in one game in NCAA history (427) and averaged 6.0 yards per carry over his career even though he was sharing carries with Joe Mixon the last two years.  Perine was the thunder to Mixon’s lightning in the OU backfield. Perine runs north/south and looks for contact. He loves using the stiff arm which comes in handy when a smaller DB tackles low.  Needless to say, Perine made his living in the red zone, racking up 39 TDs over his career. From what I saw, Perine doesn’t necessarily force his way into the endzone.  He waits for the blocks to develop, keeps his feet pumping and find a seam for the easy score. However, he finishes with authority, sometimes driving a linebacker to the ground 5 yards into the endzone. Oddly enough, both Mixon and Perine were used in the passing game and Perine was no slouch.  He was impressive catching passes out the backfield which more often than not caught defenses completely off guard.  And again, once in the open field he utilizes his balance and stiff arm to create plays.

I am a sucker for late round running back picks so obviously I give this pick an A.  I’m salivating over the potential with Perine. Even if he comes in just on goal to go situations, he’s worth the pick. Let’s hope he can stay healthy .

More draft recap coming soon…