The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

DarthMonk wrote:

OldSchool wrote:I hope the Redskins don't draft guys with character and behavior issues especially involving women. One few things the Redskins have done well during the Snyder years is keep a clean roster and I hope SM avoids taking guys with checkered records. You can't expect to build an entire roster of choirboys like Cousins but every guy on the team should come with a record of be a solid citizen in college.

Scot McCloughan: Character mattered when picking players

John Keim
ESPN Staff Writer

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan placed an emphasis on where players came from -- as well as what they did off the field. It formed the foundation of his first draft class with Washington.

He wanted players who were not only good, but also clean off the field. Of the 10 players the Redskins drafted, off-field concerns were not part of their scouting reports.

"The character off the field plays into going from good to great to special," McCloughan said. "Talent’s very, very important. But also the whole package to me is important. That’s what’s going to get the guys to their second contract. That’s what’s going to make us win games in January and February."

They bypassed Nebraska linebacker Randy Gregory. He tested positive for marijuana at the combine and reportedly many teams had other off-field concerns about him. Even though Gregory’s skills would have made him a second-round steal, a source said the Redskins entered the day knowing they would not select him.

"We definitely had many, many discussions about him -- many discussions -- because he is a talented player," McCloughan said. "I don't want to get into the background on him. A lot of it's become public, but that's his stuff. ... Each time we picked, we had a player on the board that fit being a Redskin."

One reason the Redskins drafted Brandon Scherff No. 5 overall was because of that emphasis on character. It mattered, too, that they viewed him as one of the top players on their board, so it wasn’t a reach.

They had considered trading the selection, but McCloughan said the one player teams wanted to trade up for was linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. Once he was gone, the calls from other teams to move up ended.

So they chose Scherff.

"I wanted my first pick to be here, no matter what, somebody that’s not just an impressive player," McCloughan said, "but an impressive person and somebody you can build around. Not only does he come in as a good football player, guys around him will be better because of the way he approaches the game."

riggofan wrote:I've seen Robert Nkemdiche as a possible draft target for us. Does smoking synthetic marijuana and falling from a window preclude a guy from being drafted?

PulpExposure wrote:

riggofan wrote:I've seen Robert Nkemdiche as a possible draft target for us. Does smoking synthetic marijuana and falling from a window preclude a guy from being drafted?

I'd hope it does not, actually. I mean you have to weigh in the chance that they're a habitual user (thus affecting availability and eventually getting banned from the NFL). But if that's not a worry, it's a victimless crime in the end.

Beating a woman with a belt, or ramming a bicycle with your car and then threatening a kid with brass knuckles, is imho far worse. But as they say, opinions...

riggofan wrote:

PulpExposure wrote:

riggofan wrote: I don't know about you guys but I look back sometimes and am frankly amazed that I am still alive.

Countertrey wrote:Seriously? In the old days, challenging Charles Darwin was a rite of passage. I mean, does experimenting with home made explosives (repeatedly) count?

It's why I say surviving adolescence is more luck than skill...

DarthMonk wrote:I think the character Scot is most interested in has to do with being dedicated to the craft.

riggofan wrote:

Countertrey wrote:Seriously? In the old days, challenging Charles Darwin was a rite of passage. I mean, does experimenting with home made explosives (repeatedly) count?

It's why I say surviving adolescence is more luck than skill...

See what I'm saying? Yeah its dumb that you fell out of a window after you tried smoking a bit. But at least you didn't blow up the garage like Countertrey.

DEHog wrote:Can you imagine if social media was around when we were young

riggofan wrote:

DEHog wrote:Can you imagine if social media was around when we were young

One of those things I am so thankful for. Its all just legend and lore for us. Not Internet history!

riggofan wrote:Here's a hypothetical for you. I like to run the mock draft simulators on fanspeak. Once in a while I hit a scenario where QB Jared Goff slides all the way to 21.

Forget about whether or not this is likely. Cleveland takes Myles Jack, Dallas takes Jalen Ramsey, Eagles go for Ezekiel Elliot. Whatever. The first round goes unexpectedly and that QB is there.

If you're Scot McCloughan, and one of the top two QBs is there at #21, what do you do? I know most everyone will answer trade down, so I'll give you the condition that the Browns are offering their second round and third round picks this year + next year's first rounder.

What's your move and why?

DarthMonk wrote:I trade.

For all we know, Scot has 21 guys rated higher.

We haven't locked up Cousins long term yet. Does that change anything?

It's dumb because Cousins shouldn't be getting that kind of money given his production. But it's also the reality of the quarterback market today, which means at some point Kirk Cousins is going to receive millions and millions of dollars. If it's not from the Redskins, it will be from someone else.