Redskins Mock Draft

The Redskins are with out a first round pick this year due to the RGIII trade, but lucky for the Redskins there are a lot of good players in our need positions like Safety, Cornerback and Right Tackle.  So we can pick up quality players in later rounds.  Here is my mock draft:

Round 2, Pick No. 51 - Xavier Rhodes – Cornerback (CB) – Florida State (FSU)

I really like Rhodes; he is a bigger corner at 6'2" and 215 pounds so he can handle the big wide receivers in our division.  He played a lot of man coverage at FSU so he would be perfect for the Redskins scheme, because we blitz a lot and play a lot of man coverage.  He is also not afraid to help out in run defense and make tackles on bigger, stronger running backs.  He does need to work on his form tackling but that can be taught by coaches while fearlessness can not.  Another concern is his top end speed.  He seemed to keep up with wide receivers in college but I am very interested to see what his 40 time is at the combine.  If he runs anything under a 4.5 40 he will be fine.  If he falls to this spot in the second round the Redskins would be very smart to take him.

Round 3, Pick No. 85 - Bacari Rambo – Safety (S) – Georgia

Rambo is a very athletic, ball hawking safety and will fit perfectly in our defense.  Overthrowing receivers with Rambo in coverage is dangerous because he usually picks the ball off.  He is has a nose for the ball, whether it is getting interceptions or forcing fumbles which fits perfectly with the Redskins defensive schemes.  He does gamble too much and costs his team at times by being out of position, but I think that is coaching and he will be coached not to make those mistakes in the NFL.  He also has some off the field issues.  He was suspended the first four games last year for falling a drug test.  If this were not the case he could be a high second round pick.  But I think he is worth the gamble and if he is available at pick number 85 we should jump at the opportunity to draft him.

Round 4, Pick No. 116 - B.W. Webb – CB – William & Marry

Webb is a small school prospect but I believe he has the talent to be a great slot corner.  He is small and quick and shouldn't have a hard time chasing after slot receivers.  He also is a position of need and could contribute on special teams.  I think he would be a nice solid pick in the fourth round.   

Round 5, Pick No. 147 - Jordan Mills – Tackle (T) – Louisiana Tech

Mills is a big, 6'6" and 315 pounds, tackle for a smaller school.  He has only played right tackle in his career but that is where we would need him.  He is a husler and will run downfield and make blocks.  He has some technique issues but with good coaching I think he could be a good pick at this point in the fifth round.  

Round 5, Pick No. 157 - Marcus Lattimore– Running Back (RB) - South Carolina

Lattimore has the skill set to be drafted in the first round but with two major knee injuries he is going to see in draft stock fall.  Coach Shanahan seems to always take a running back late in the draft and I think Lattimore is worth taking a chance on.  If he is healthy than we hit a homerun with this pick.  If he ends up never getting back to where he was before the injuries than we just wasted a fifth round pick.  I think he is worth the risk.

Round 6, Pick No. 179 - Ray Ray Armstrong – S – Miami

Armstrong didn't even play football last year because he was kicked off the Miami football team for being involved in boosters.  But he is a freak of an athlete.  He is 6'4" and 227 pounds but runs a 4.5 40 yard dash.  He reminds a lot of people of the late Sean Taylor, and that is why he would make the perfect Redskin.  I think with a good mentor and coach (our defensive back coach is Raheem Morris who is very good) he could be one of the best safeties in this years draft.  This is another risky pick but the rewards, if it works out, would be astronomical.

Round 7, Pick No. 212 - Vince Williams – Inside Linebacker (ILB) – FSU

Williams is a serviceable middle line backer and would make a great special teamer so I think he is worth this last pick and we do need depth at ILB.

Free Agents the Redskins Should Persue

Once again I am going to preface this post by saying the Redskins are seriously handicapped this year because of a 18 million cap penalty.  So they can not go after big name free agents (and to tell you the truth I don't want them to, they don't have the best track record).  So here are some under the radar free agents I think the Redskins need to look at signing when free agency starts in March.

Will Beatty - Tackle - New York Giants
Beatty is only 27 years old so he is still young and has a lot of good football ahead of him.  Last year he was the starting left tackle for the New York Giants and played very well.  We need him at right tackle and he fits nice there.  He is very athletic, and perfect for our zone blocking scheme.  He is also under the radar because there are so many big name left tackles that are hitting free agency this year.  We need to make a strong push to sign him when free agency starts.

Aqib Talib - Cornerback - New England Patriots
Talib is extremely talented but has some off the field issues.  He played very well for the Patriots this season and really helped their defense.  He is a a big corner, which we need, at 6'1" and is only 27 years old.  He is good man coverage corner which fits well into the Redskins scheme.  I feel he is worth the risk even though he has off the field issues as well as work ethic issues because he could come cheap and I think our locker room is strong enough to change him.  This signing could dramatically improve our pass defense next year.

Gosder Cherilus - Tackle - Detroit Lions
Cherilus is another tackle that is under the radar because of all the other free agent tackles this year, but he is one of the best.  He played right tackle, exactly what we are looking for, and was the highest rated pass blocker at his position.  Last year RGIII got crushed so many times because of horrible blocking on the right side so this would fill a huge need.  He is also 28, so he relatively young.  Cherilus would be a nice consolation prize if we can not get Beatty.

Kenny Phillips - Safety - New York Giants
Phillips is a very athletic safety and is young at only 26 years old.  He is a "do it all safety" meaning he is good in run support, pass defense, blitzing, and tackling.  Our defense needs versatile players like this to succeed.  There are a couple of safeties that are generating more buzz than Phillips so hopefully we can get him for cheap.  The only concern is he has missed games every year of his career with injury so he can't be counted on for a 16 game season.  But I still think he is worth the risk and could really help our defense next season.

Who the Redskins Need to Cut or Restructure Contracts

The Redskins have been hit with a 18 million dollar cap penalty, meaning they have 18 million less to spend on players than any other team in the league.  Because of this they need to be extremely smart and careful with how and where they spend the little money they do have.  This is a list of players contract that the front office needs to look at and either let them walk or restructure them to make it easier to sign players that can contribute.

Jamal Brown counts as 4.6 million against the cap next year and didn't even play last year. There is also no guarantee that he will ever play again because of his hip injury.  The Redskins need to cut there losses and cut him now, it will only save 1.3 million in cap space but that is better than nothing.

London Fletcher counts for 5.5 million against the cap next year.  He is still an amazing player and a Hall of Famer in my mind but 5.5 million is a lot for a 39 year old middle linebacker who's skills are diminishing with old age.  But I do not think we should cut him.  He knows that if he comes back he may have a chance to win a Super Bowl.  So he should be willing to take a pay cut to make it easier to sign players that can help him achieve that goal.  I am thinking of a two year deal worth 5 million, 2 million for 2013 and 3 million in 2014.  I think it is safe to say he will retire before the 2014 season but at least he has the choice to come back if he wants to and it will save us 3.5 million in cap space.
 
DeAngelo Hall counts for 7.5 million against the cap next year.  I think he is an overrated player and is not worth half that much money.  At the same time he did step up and play pretty well at the end of last season and should be given the chance to stay with a restructured deal.  He has two years left on his deal so we should sign him to a 4 year deal worth 14 million, 2.5 million next year, 3.5 million the next two years, and 4.5 million the last year.  This will free up over 5 million in cap space.  While I think Hall is not the answer in the long run, he did prove the last half of the season that with good coaching he can be an above average defender and is worth keeping at a discounted rate.

Santana Moss counts for 4.15 million against the cap next year.  Moss was clutch for us last season with 8 touchdowns and the most third down catches on the team.  But he is going to be 34 years old.  I still think he is a valuable asset to this team and we should keep him but not with his current contract.  This is the last year on his contract so maybe if we sign him to a three year deal worth 9 million he would be willing to restructure.  We would pay him 2 million next year and 3.5 million the following 2 years.  This would save us an additional 2.15 million in cap space.  I think Moss wants to stay in Washington and play with RGIII for as long as he can and if he restructures his contract like this I believe he will be there for at least another three years.

Trent Williams counts for 6 million against the cap next year.  Williams is a young, very talented Left Tackle and in no way should be cut.  But he is counting for too much against the cap and we should restructure his deal to help us next year and then reward him in the following years when we don't have a cap penalty.  I suggest a 7 year deal worth 56 million.  The first year only 3 million and then 8 million the following 5 years and 11 million the last year.  This would make sure that we have Williams under contract for the long term and we would save 3 million in cap space next year.

Over all if we were to make these moves we would save 15 million in cap space.  We could then pursue one or two key free agents that we need to make our team stronger and make it easier to push for a Super Bowl Championship in 2014.