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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
December 10, 2007
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Robert Bruce
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Dec 10, 2007 4:58 PM
Subject: Redskins' Draft
Let me start off by saying you have a great site. I have been keeping up with your site for a few years now and you are one of the best ones out there. I have a question for you about the Washington Redskins' upcoming draft. I see from your mock that you have them taking Groves from Auburn. The 'Skins definitely need a young DE to bring some pressure off the edge but I'm not sure if Groves is an OLB or DE NFL prosepect. If he projects as more of an OLB, I can't see the 'Skins leaning that way as the have Rocky McIntosh and Marcus Washington entrenched as the starters. Do you see Cambell from Miami falling to Washington and if so would he be a better fit as a more natural DE. Also, with the unfortunte tragedy of losing Sean Taylor (my prayers go to his family and friends), do you see the Redskins addressing that hole by drafting a FS to work with Laron Landry or possibly moving Sean Springs to the FS spot and drafting a young CB to possibly move into Springs' CB spot? If drafting a CB is the option, what solid CBs may be around in the middle to later end of the 2nd round? Thanks for your time and keep up the good work.
Lou: Thanks for the kind words; I appreciate you taking the time to read the site and to write in here.
You raise an excellent point about how Quentin Groves may fit into the Redskins' defensive plans. My take on Groves is that he actually projects better as an OLB than a DE, in no small part because of his ability to find the running back on rushing plays out of the linebacker position and because of his great coverage skills. But is that really the best fit for Washington? That remains to be seen.
If he comes out, Miami DE Calais Campbell could be one to drop further than where I have him placed (at the moment at the #8 spot), possibly to where Washington ends up drafting. Campbell is so freakishly large that he could, in the right system, be moved to DT a la what the Rams did with Nebraska DE Adam Carriker, their top pick in the 2007 Draft. That probably wouldn't happen with Washington, and I'm thinking of the Raiders in particular on that one. But a massive, pass-rushing player like Campbell could be a great pickup by the Redskins to use at DE.
The Redskins have a very inexpensive OLB in Rocky McIntosh, who is making just $360K this year. Even with a roster bonus in 2008, he'd be making only $1 million next year, and only $530,000 in 2009. London Fletcher is making big money (and earning it), and Marcus Washington is well-compensated (slated for $4.425 million in 2008 and $4.5 million in 2009), though Fletcher and Washington are 32 and 30 years old, respectively.
So, to that end, Groves would make more sense going to a team with OLB need. But his flexibility might allow him to fill either DE or OLB (think Mathias Kiwanuka), and he is such a gifted player that he could be worth acquiring. Andre Carter is having a great year at DE, with 8.5 sacks through 13 games, but overall adding a player of Groves' caliber to the Redskins defense can only be a positive thing.
If anything in the front seven, the Redskins probably would be best served adding a defensive tackle, perhaps a rising star like North Carolina DT Kentwan Balmer.
As for the tragedy involving the senseless murder of Sean Taylor, it still may be too soon to evaluate what the team is going to do without him. My thought is that, with a top ten pick in SS LaRon Landry on hand (who in theory could play either strong or free safety), the Redskins would be most likely to bring in a moderate-priced free agent safety, depending on how the team fills the spot vacated by the death of Taylor.
In many ways I'm uncomfortable writing about this, since I don't want to belittle the loss of life that happened with in Taylor's killing, but the Broncos faced a similar tragedy with the murder of Darrent Williams and ended up trading to acquire Dre Bly to fill his corner spot in the off-season. You can't replace the person -- the human being -- and Sean Taylor had leadership intangibles and a personal relationship with his teammates that cannot be replaced. To pretend otherwise is to be off base. But, eventually the situation will have to be addressed, but how the Redskins do so depends on a number of factors.
As for corners in round two (should Shawn Springs be moved to safety), there are a number of talented cornerbacks who are pretty tight in the running at this moment, and it's possible that such a scenario would play out. But, by the same token, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Redskins look toward the free agent market to fill such a need.
From: Scott Anonymous
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Dec 10, 2007 10:43 PM
Subject: Dunta Robinson
You may want to see about the Texans taking a cornerback in the upcoming draft. There's not much information out there about Dunta Robinson's injury, except that he tore his hamstring completely off the bone and there's very likely an MCL injury as well. Some have speculated about an ACL injury as well. So the Texans can probably write him off completely for next year and maybe even forget about him ever playing again. It's really a bummer; I've thought for years now that he was completely underappreciated and was one of the top 6 or 7 cornerbacks in the league.
Lou: The Robinson injury was severe, and it could end up causing a major shift in Houston's off-season plans. His injury took place against Oakland the Sunday before last, and the team signed former Denver safety Curome Cox as a free agent as a temporary stop-gap. Robinson, who was quite underrated prior to getting hurt, suffered a torn right ACL and a torn right hamstring and could miss an entire year of action.
RB and CB are both needs for Houston, and after the Ahman Green debacle, I doubt that the Texans will go out and spend big cash on another free agent running back. Maybe they'll make a move to land Nnamdi Asomugha or Asante Samuel, though Samuel in particular will be very expensive. But there will be some tough decisions coming up for the Texans this off-season that will have a major impact on the quality of the team in 2008.
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