Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins don’t have the luxury of scouting elite, first-round talent at the NFL Scouting Combine. Doing so would be a waste of time and energy and distract from the mission at hand — making the most out of what they have.
They’re still paying the mortgage on Robert Griffin III and will be without a pick in the first-round this year and next.
Sure, the Redskins will have the same opportunity to talk to the likes of Luke Joeckel, Damontre Moore and Manti Te’o, but those players and 47 others will already be gone by the time Washington is on the clock for the first time. Barring a highly improbable move, their first time on the board will come with the 21st pick in the second round (51 overall).
Historically, the lack of a top selection hasn’t not hurt the Redskins. In fact, between 1969 and 1990, Washington traded away all but four of their first-round picks.
Recently, they’ve found success with Fred Davis (48 overall) and Rob Jackson (242 overall) in 2008. A couple years earlier, they did well with the selections of Reed Doughty (173 overall) and Kedric Golson (196 overall).
And then there’s Kirk Cousins who was taken in the fourth-round last year.
All the Michigan State product did was lead the Redskins into overtime and complete a come from behind win over the Baltimore Ravens after Griffin injured his knee. The following week, in the first start of his NFL career, Cousins completed 26 of 37 passing attempts with a pair of touchdowns en route to a 38-21 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns on the road.
Couple that previous success with the Redskins needs in this year’s draft and they’re not in that bad of a position. Most feel the team should first address needs in the secondary and at right tackle. The talent pool this year is deep enough at those positions that they should be able to fill some of their voids.
Redskins 2013 NFL Draft (tentative)
Round 1 – No. 22 – 22 overall (Traded to St. Louis)
Round 2 – No. 21 – 51 overall
Round 3 – No. 32 – 85 overall
Round 4 – No. 22
Round 5 – No. 21
Round 5 – No. 29 (from New England)
Round 6 – No. 23
Round 7 – No. 22
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