Please accept my sincerest apologies for not posting in a while.  My day job called and my frustrations with last season caused me to stay up later than anticipated. Combine that with the kick in the pants that was the Alex Smith trade and I knew I needed to take some time off.  But hell it’s the damn best time of year – DRAFT SEASON – and who doesn’t like predicting superstars and busts!

The Redskins come into the draft with the number 13, 44, 109, 142, 163, 188, 231, and 241 picks.  Obviously, the most crucial is the 13th and 44th given the redskins gave away their 3rd rounder.  So after some consideration, here are my top 5 players prospects at each position.  The asterisks are who I believe the redskins should target with their 13th pick.

QBs:

1. Lamar Jackson, Lousiville
2. Josh Rosen, UCLA
3. Baker Mayfield, OU
4. Mason Rudolph, Ok St
5. Josh Allen, Wyom

 

RBS:

1. Saquon Barkley, Penn ST
2. Rashaad Penny, SDSU
3. Sony Michel, Georgia
4. Nick Chubb, Georgia
5. Derrius Guice, LSU

(Edited 4/23/18)

 

WRs:

1. DJ Moore, MD
2. Calvin Ridley, Ala
3. Courtland Sutton, SMU
4. DJ Chark, LSU
5. Christian Kirk, TAM

 

 

TE:

1. Hayden Hurst, South Carolina
2. Dallas Goedert, SDST
3. Mike Geisickie, Penn ST
4. Mark Andrews, OU
5. Ian Thomas, IU

OL:

1. Quenton Nelson, ND*
2. James Daniels, Iowa
3. Mike Mcglinchley, ND
4. Orlando Brown, OU
5. Kolton Miller, UCLA

 

DT:

1. Da’ron Payne, Ala*
2. Vita Vea, Wash*
3. Tim Settle, VT
4. Maurice Hurst, Mich
5. Harrison Philips, Stanford

DE/ Edge:

1. Nick Chubb, NCST
2. Harold Landry, BC*
3. Marcus Davenport, UTSA
4. Lorenzo Carter, Georgia
5. Sam Hubbard, OSU

 

LB:

1. Roquon Smith, Georgia*
2. Tremaine Edmunds, VT*
3. Leighton Vander Esch, Boise St
4. Rashaan Evans, Ala
5. Uchenna Nwosu, USC

 

CB:

1. Ward, OSU*
2. Josh Jackson, Iowa*
3. Carlton Davis, Auburn
4. Isiah Oliver, Colorado
5. Jaire Alexander, Lousiville

S:

1. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ala*
2. Derwin James, FSU*
3. Justin Reid, Stanford
4. Ronnie Harrison, Alabama
5. Jessie Bates, Wake Forest

 

 

As you can see, most of my asterisks fall on defensive players.  Having the bottom-5 ranked defense in the league for the past 5 years is getting pretty old. We have some nice pieces to build around (Zack Brown, Jon Allen, Preston Smith, Josh Norman, DJ Swearinger, Monte Nicholson – maybe?) but we could us some star power across the board. Here are my takeaways from the film study:

1. This draft class is loaded at running back and tight end but extremely thin at wide out, linebacker, and safety. Lots of different pundits have penciled in the Redskins taking Guice (RB LSU) at #13 which would be a mistake. He certainly could become a great player but the class is so deep at RB that I guarantee you can find a similar player in the 2nd and still get a sure-fire starter on defense with the 1st round pick.
2. Watching the tight ends for the first time had me salivating at the possibility of landing the next Gronk (which any one of the top three could become). However, our needs are too great on defense and the class is just too thin at our most needed positions for a luxury pick. However, I have a feeling the top 3 TEs in the class will become instant stars.
3. The Quarterbacks are a crapshoot. I had to flip my ranking multiple times. Everyone has their flaws. There is not a consensus #1 because none of them stand out from the rest. Lamar Jackson has the best skill set to make an immediate impact in my opinion but that could all come crashing down if he can’t/ won’t throw from the pocket and/ or gets hurt from running around and trying to make plays.  One thing is for certain, every single one of them will need some time to develop which will cause chaos to any QB-hungry team drafting in the top 10.
4. Saw from a few sources that Derwin James is being drafted before Minkah Fitzpatrick and to that I say ‘are you insane?!’ Fitzpatrick is being dubbed much the same way Tyron Mathieu was before he came into the league as a monster man safety that played an unorthodox position that may not translate to the NFL. Right. I’m sure his 5 blocked kicks wont translate to the NFL. Fitzpatrick was the best player on the best defense on the National Champion/ runner-up for the last three years. I hope to God that 12 teams picking before the Redskins believe he will not translate to the NFL. Also, this in no way a knock on Derwin James; I think he would be a fine pick at #13 for us as well.  Just the stupidity of these over-thinking scouts baffles me.

 

Of the asterisked players, here is the order I would take them in: Fitzpatrick, Smith, Edmunds, Ward, James, Payne, Vea, Landry, H Jackson, Nelson. And frankly, I would be psyched for any of them. The more pundits keeps over-hyping these shaky QBs, the more likely one of these top college defenders land right in our laps.