Washington Redskins #MockThree Draft

Here are the results from the MockThree twitter draft for the Washington Redskins. For full MockThree results go here:

While I was the G.M. of the Redskins I had a good bit of help and would like to thank my four assistant G.M.’s for their input and work throughout the draft. My four assistant G.M.’s were the following: Mark Bullock, Scott Jennings, Joey Terrones, and Jonathan Turrell. Here are the Redskins picks from the draft and the thought process that led to the selections:

2nd Round Pick 51st overall: CB Darius Slay, Mississippi State-

-We considered a number of options with this pick, but in general felt that we could both address a need here and stay pretty true to our board. We most heavily considered corners, safeties and to a lesser extent offensive tackles with this pick. Most of the debate came down between corners and safeties, while also trying to trade back in the round due to the sheer number of viable options. Given the number of safeties we still liked that were on the board as opposed to a fewer number of corners that we felt offered the chance to be an immediate impact player for the Redskins, we ended up going with Darius Slay at corner. We considered a few additional corners, but felt that Slay’s size/speed combo were unique, and would allow Slay to be more of an outside corner with the Redskins.

3rd Round Pick 93rd overall: C/G Brian Schwenke, California-

-The Redskins originally held the 85th pick, but with most of the good value safeties off the board, and a number of players still available we felt like trading back may have been our best option. The Redskins got a chance to move back just 8 spots and picked up an extra 6th and 7th round picks in the process. With so many good players still on the board we knew that we could still get someone at 93, and felt that adding two late round picks would give us both depth and some extra ammunition to potentially trade up for a particular player we liked later in the draft.

When we got back on the clock we still had a number of interesting options, but decided to go with one of our top players and a guy who would help both Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris, and that is interior offensive lineman Brian Schwenke. Schwenke is a great fit for a zone blocking scheme, and at the time that we drafted him it appeared likely that Kory Lichtensteiger was going to move on. We felt that Schwenke would have a fair chance to win the starting LG spot, and also could replace him as the back-up to Will Montgomery. Though we may have selected a different player had we known that Lichtensteiger would return, we still feel from a value/talent standpoint this is a great pick.

4th Round Pick 116th overall: S Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma-

-The Redskins considered Jefferson quite a bit with their 3rd round pick and were ecstatic to see him still on the board in the 4th round. A few other players were considered, but addressing the safety position was considered crucial for the Redskins. Jefferson should be both a safety who can play early as well as one who could develop into a special player. There is some debate about what his more natural safety position is, but it was felt that he would have the versatility to help at either position, though strong safety may end up being his better spot. Jefferson is a guy who can both cover and play in the box, though he can get a little lazy at times with his angles and wrapping up. He’s still a tremendous value pick for this spot, and fills a major team need.

4th Round Pick 118th overall: S T.J. McDonald, USC-

-One reason we felt like trading back in the 3rd round, was to allow us to do something like this. Using one of our 5th round picks and one of our 6th round picks we traded back into the later part of the 4th round to draft a player who was falling that we really liked. Here we felt that safety T.J. McDonald represented a great value while once again helping a major need. McDonald gives the Redskins another quality young defensive back, and another one who could get playing time early for the Redskins. He’s another versatile safety and could develop into a very good starting caliber free safety.

5th Round Pick 155th overall: OT Oday Aboushi, UVA-

-Here the Redskins looked to address another need, while still trying to find value. Here we felt we did that once again by adding tackle Oday Aboushi. Aboushi has had an poor post season, with a bad showing at both the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine. While that has collapsed his draft stock some, this was a guy who was at one time considered a top 50 prospect and at worst a top 75 guy. He won’t be a left tackle at the next level, but could still be a very good pick. He had a strong career at UVA, and would be a good pick here for Washington.

6th Round Pick 181st overall: TE Nick Kasa, Colorado-

-With Fred Davis a free agent and the Redskins a run first team adding a tight end who can block makes some sense. Kasa is a raw prospect, but really showed well at the Senior Bowl, not just as a blocker but as a receiver as well. He’s still a developing tight end, but shows nice hands and route running ability. He should be able to offer early value to the Redskins at least as a blocker.

7th Round Pick 210th overall: RB Theo Riddick, Notre Dame-

-Given the depth concerns at running back adding a back was considered a fairly big need for the Redskins. Riddick is a nice late round value pick for the Redskins. He’s a quicker/speed back who would be a nice complement to Alfred Morris. He also has a wide receiver background, meaning he could split out wide some and be used in a variety of ways.

7th Round Pick 212th overall: WR Rodney Smith, Florida State-

-Here the Redskins felt they could take a late round flyer at a position. Smith helps the Redskins in a couple of ways. He has really intriguing size, and would be a nice big target for a team that currently lacks them. Receiver also represents a future need as Josh Morgan, Santana Moss and Dezmon Briscoe are all free agents after next season. Smith may not even make the team as a rookie, but he has some intriguing upside and could take on a larger role in 2014.