Trading Places

Watching the Redskins maneuver in this years NFL draft I felt like Patriots fans must have felt for years. The Skins newfangled approach saw them draft the highest number of players, 12, since 1985. Trading down, while not as titillating as selecting higher big name prospects, can be a very smart move in the NFL draft, and this year the critics agree: the Redskins had a surprisingly successful draft.

After trading from 10 to 16, the Redskins drafted Ryan Kerrigan out of Perdue. Kerrigan, a nightmare of a defensive end in the Big 10 has a nonstop motor and nose for creating turnovers. Kerrigan will play outside linebacker where his speed, 4.6 40 yard dash time, effort and strength will help a team who did not have a player with more than 2.5 sacks other than Brian Orakpo.

With their second pick the Skins chose Jarvis Jenkins out of Clemson. While Bowers' stats were gawdy, Jenkins faced constant double teams as a tackle in the ACC, creating penetration for others, and has the versatility to play multiple positions along what is currently a weak and overwhealmed defenseive line.

My favorite pick of this years draft for D.C. was WR Leonard Hankerson out of Miami. If our quarterback play can be somewhere near average for the next few years, I foresee Hankerson being a 1000-yard, 10-touchdown receiver by his third year. "Hank" broke multiple receiving records at The U including yards and touchdowns in a season with 13, (take a backseat Michael Irving).

Described by Mike Shanahan as having the biggest hands in the draft, Hankerson, at 6'2", 205 lbs, and possessing a top 4 40 yard dash time for receivers in this years draft, has all the intangibles to become a star. He also has the altitude. Today on the Junkies on 1067 the fan Leonard said he was the best WR in the draft, and would prove it. I love this pick and love that the Redskins actually drafted someone after he was projected to be chosen.

Continuing to trade down, the Redskins drafted Roy Helo and Evan Royster, two running backs in the 4th and 6th rounds that had very impressive collegiate careers. With concerns of Ryan Torrain's durability, these two productive backs appear to be solid selections.

Niles Paul and Aldrick Robinson were two taken from the 5th and 6th rounds. Both have great speed, and the uncertainty of Santana Moss' future with the team has raised many questions at the position. At least one of these kids will make the team and contribute.

With their five remaining picks the Skins chose two defensive backs, a guard, an outside linebacker and a nose tackle. What stood out to me was that all their players came from big time schools in big time conferences. Getting Markus White out of Florida State at 224, and Chris Neild out of WVU at 253 tells me that the organization was looking for players who played well against excellent competition.

It's not all good, but its a start. The Redskins still do not have a quarterback, although I'd like to see what Beck can actually do given an opportunity. Another troubling issue is that they waited until 217 to address their woeful offensive line with the drafting of Maurice Hurt out of Florida. Hopefully they can address these needs before their first game, but starting the draft with 8 picks, and ending with 12 is a good sign of things to come.