Washington Redskins #MockFour Results

March 28, 2013

Washington Commanders Washington Redskins Draft

Steve Shoup

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Here are the results from the #MockFour Twitter draft for the Washington Redskins. To follow along with the entire draft go here.

I also want to thank the Assistant G.M.’s in our Warroom:

Scott Jennings, Kelsie Carpenter, Ken Merigolo, Mark Bullock and Stuart McDaniel

2nd Round pick 51st: CB Jamar Taylor, Boise State

-We talked about going in a couple different directions, but we were focused on two main things. 1: make sure we are getting value with the pick 2: make sure we are filling a legitimate need. Our primary was focus was on fixing the secondary, and while we would have loved to have grabbed a free safety prospect, there just wasn’t value there in the 2nd round. We had hoped to trade back, but a couple deals fell through at the last minute. We ended up debating a couple corners, but felt that Taylor offered the best value. He’s got good size and speed and should be a day one starter on the outside.

3rd Round pick 85th: TE Jordan Reed, Florida

-Our hope here was that a safety that we loved would be here at this pick, but by the time our pick came up there wasn’t anyone we really loved (as a 3rd round pick) on the board. We were also considering some offensive line options, but most of them went before we selected as well. Since we didn’t love any one player we really tried trading back to take advantage of this class’s depth. We couldn’t work out a deal so we decided to make a selection that was a bit against our original plan. We drafted TE Jordan Reed to be a replace free agent Fred Davis. Reed like Davis is a movement tight end, and could make an early impact in the Redskins offense.

4th Round Pick 121st: S Duke Williams, Nevada

-We finally were able to move back in the draft, swapping 4th rounders with the Texans and picking up their 7th round pick in the process. Duke Williams is one of the better 2nd tier safeties out there and is a nice value pick at this spot. In reality he probably shouldn’t start, but given the Redskins lack of quality safeties, he could have a very real chance.

5th Round Pick: 147th OL David Quessenberry, San Jose State

-Currently the Redskins offensive tackle depth chart looks pretty bleak, especially projecting forward. Quessenberry is a great value pick here and a guy who thrived at the Senior Bowl. He projects well in a zone scheme and could move inside if needed. Quessenberry could even have a chance to start this year, given how poor the competition is.

5th Round Pick: 155th CB Will Davis, Utah State:

-The Redskins secondary is a mess, particularly from a long term perspective. While we already added one corner, getting another as talented as Davis makes sense here. He can play inside in the slot and add more speed and potential to the position. We were hoping a running back would fall here, but our target Kenjon Barner went a few picks prior.

6th Round Pick: 181st RB Jawan Jamison, Rutgers

–Alfred Morris was a true find for the Redskins last season, but behind him Washington only has question marks. Roy Helu is returning from injury, and it is unclear what he will bring to the table this season, and Evan Royster did not fare well as the back-up last season. Jamison offers some quickness and speed that should complement Morris and the Redskins offense really well. He’s a great fit and value at this pick.

7th Round Pick: 212th OLB Travis Johnson, San Jose State

-Depth among pass rushers is extremely limited for the Washington Redskins. Last year a combination headlined by Rob Jackson and Lorenzo Alexander struggled to make up for the impact of an injured Brian Orakpo. This year Alexander is now playing in Arizona and Jackson is facing a 4 game suspension to start the season. Johnson we feel may be limited overall, but is a guy who could be a nice situational pass rusher, and offer key depth in this area.

7th Round Pick: WR Jasper Collins, Mount Union

-The Redskins have three of their receivers hitting free agency after 2013, and could use some more youth there. Collins would also give the Redskins another receiver who projects into the slot, which is an area the Redskins lack behind Santana Moss. Collins is from Mount Union the same school that has produced Cecil Shorts and current Redskin Pierre Garcon. He has some nice upside and we feel he can follow in their footsteps.

Here are the Draft Thoughts from my assistant G.M. Scott Jennings:

MockFour was a little different than the previous one we were a part of. A lot of odd picks, reaches, and talent falling that hadn’t fallen previously. Most of the safeties we had with a 2^nd round grade were off the board when Pick #51 came up. Cornerback was the consensus biggest need and had the most talent on the board. The decision was between Darius Slay and Jamar Taylor, and I preferred Slay, but Taylor is a very good value here and we took him.

We were watching Kyle Long fall in the 3^rd, and hoped he would last until our pick, but he was stolen 3 picks before us, and a few more safeties were also off the board. We had a few options at WR, RB, and LB for this pick, but went with TE Jordan Reed. I didn’t want to go TE this early, but Reed is a versatile TE that will be another weapon for RGIII.

The 4^th round had a number of our safety targets picked before us, and we were able to secure our first and only trade of the draft with the Texans. We picked up their 7^th round pick to move down 5 spots. FS Duke Williams was the selection, and someone who I really wanted and is under rated in this draft. Will be able to fight for playing time, and contribute to the secondary early. Kenjon Barner was my 2^nd choice here, but we felt safety couldn’t wait, and Williams would be gone before Barner.

At our first 5^th round pick we agreed on two targets, OT David Quessenberry and RB Kenjon Barner. We considered trading up with our second 5^th to ensure that we got both, but decided to stay put. OT/G/C Quessenberry got picked first because he was rated higher, there was a big dropoff in talent at OT after him, and there were similar RB’s to Barner still on the board if he got picked. Barner was stolen by the Bengals who had actually picked another RB very early in this mock. My third choice was CB Will Davis, and we went with him to further strengthen the secondary.

The 6^th round pick was used on a pass catching, blocking RB in Jawan Jamison from Rutgers. He comes from a zone blocking scheme, catches passes well, blocks, and was the highest rated running back on our board. He’s probably a rotational/3^rd down back, and will be insurance/replacement for Roy Helu Jr.

We had two 7ths and these were used for depth. We selected OLB Travis Johnson with our original pick. We were going to select DT Joe Vellano with the Texans pick, but he was not listed on the player database. So we decided to add another weapon for Griff in slot WR Jasper Collins.

I think the draft board was not friendly to us early on and some of the positions that we wanted to address were hit hard, limiting our ability to pick without reaching. We were able to add players that will be able to contribute early, bolstered the secondary, and added some valuable weapons on offense. Taylor and Reed should contribute early or start, depending on who we sign/resign at their positions before the season starts. Quessenberry would be in the mix at RT, or competing for depth at other positions. Jamison would see work early and add an element to the offense that was missing last year.

Thoughts from Ass. G.M. Ken Meringolo:

When Steve asked me to join his war room for this mock draft, I knew that no matter what he said, I was here for one reason and one reason only: eye candy. That was not going to stop me from being the proponent for drafting offensive linemen throughout the entire process, however. I lobbied hard to add Kyle Long when he slipped down the board, and while I was disappointed that we didn’t take him, we did fill crucial needs in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. I am pretty sure I made an argument to draft an OL at every point until we landed David Quessenberry. I would still have burned a 7th rounder on an athletic tackle like Roger Gaines out of Tennessee State, even though he needs work. It was disappointing at the end when we really wanted Joe Vellano and he was not in the system. All in all, I liked the talent we brought in to bolster our secondary, and it was encouraging to see that we can actually make great strides in filling in some of our open roster spots in the middle of this draft.