Washington Redskins Team Needs

SKINS#1 · Post by **SKINS#1** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:21 pm

Another Opinion.
Washington Redskins Team Needs - Article written by
Frank Coyle, Special to Rivals.com

Key needs:
1. Linebacker
2. Cornerback
3. Tight end
4. Defensive tackle
5. Offensive lineman

1. Linebacker - The Redskins and Lavar Arrington parted ways this offseason. He was a disgruntled player last season and was limited to a role player in their base defense. They have little depth behind starters here and hope to draft into the deepest area of talent this April. In the second round they probably will get a chance at linebackers like Thomas Howard, Roger McIntosh and Jon Alston. They have attempted to sign free agents at this position and may yet, though most likely just stop-gap veterans while addressing this unit in the draft.

2. Cornerback - The loss of Walt Harris has created a major need on a unit with little depth. They are considering moving up in the second round in an attempt to get a chance at one of the top prospects who falls out of the first round - like Kelly Jennings or Johnathan Joseph. With little room to trade other than next yearï¿½s draft choices, look for them to possibly package several picks to move up to obtain one of the above mentioned cover men. At the 53rd overall pick, they have Richard Marshall and Cedric Griffin on their short list.

3. Tight End - The Redskins love Anthony Fasano and Marcedes Lewis and see them as early starters in their multiple set attack. Fasano may be the more developed and all around prospect, though Lewis is a terrific red zone receiver who head coach Joe Gibbs would utilize to the fullest.

4. Defensive Tackle - The Redskinsï¿½ front four did a fine job last fall and was instrumental in the success of the defense. They have little depth though, and would like to add a quality prospect to their line rotation. Their front four went through a rebuilding over recent years with fine results - especially the addition of defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin and defensive end Phillip Daniels who provided big plays. Their presence improved their overall pass pressure. They like DT John McCargo and Jonathan Lewis in the mid-to-late first day area.
5. Offensive Line - Washington has added several offensive linemen in the recent late rounds with little success. They may attempt to address this on the first day, though they have only two picks in the top 150 selections and have higher priorities at several other positions. This position will most likely be addressed on the second day of the draft.

Insidersï¿½ Insights
The Redskins made news right from the start of the free agency period with several big signings and a key trade. They brought in wideouts Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd - who are excellent fits for a Gibbs offense though the price in dollars and draft picks was high. They hold only two picks in the top 150 selections but eight draft choices overall. They have needs at selective spots on defense that could dictate most of their early decisions. They were aggressive in free agency this winter and have shown the ability to make big trades for the right players in the NFL Draft using future draft selections. They should address their back seven on defense with their early selections, and the availability of the highest rated prospect may dictate which direction they choose.
Second-round pick - LB - Thomas Howard - UTEP ï¿½ Speedy athlete would be a good fit for this defense.
Alternate pick - LB ï¿½ Jon Alston - Stanford ï¿½ Fast rising defender may be the highest rated player left at this need position.

Frank Coyle of draftinsiders.com writes about the NFL Draft for Rivals.com.

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:15 pm

Even if we had a shot at trading up to get Jennings or Joeseph, I'd rather not.

Sure they are good and all, but I think we can still get great value at LB at 53, and then in effect we will have draft picks next year.

TincoSkin · Post by **TincoSkin** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 3:39 pm

how can you put tight end even on the list let alone in front of the O line

i mean we have cooley and fauria!!!

sooo good!!

mkmotam · Post by **mkmotam** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:42 pm

At LB, losing Arrington was not critical. last year when he was sidelined for disciplinary reasons, marcus washington & lemar marshal dominated.
as far a D-line is concerned, our starters are iff the hook, but for because they were injured half the season we practically had no effective pass rush until they were healthy. we need some potent back-ups in that department.

gay4pacman · Post by **gay4pacman** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:01 pm

cb---as a usc boy i can say i wouldnt be too happy about picking josephhe is unproven as he only cam on and played well this past year. He is a speed guy who looks better on paper. Moving or staying to pick him is a mistake. He can be good but needs some work and wont be ready to play next season.

SkinzCanes · Post by **SkinzCanes** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:08 pm

At LB, losing Arrington was not critical. last year when he was sidelined for disciplinary reasons, marcus washington & lemar marshal dominated.
as far a D-line is concerned, our starters are iff the hook, but for because they were injured half the season we practically had no effective pass rush until they were healthy. we need some potent back-ups in that department.

Yea Washington and Marshall played well but what about Holdman?? How many long runs did we give up because Holdman was stuck inside, couldn't get off of a block, and couldn't keep containment? We don't need a high priced stud to play WLB but need someone that can be solid and not totally worthless, which is what Holdman was last season.

SkinsFanInHawai'i · Post by **SkinsFanInHawai'i** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:43 am

Homegrown Clemons Eyes Starting Role
By Gary Fitzgerald
Redskins.com
April 17, 2006

Every offseason, the Redskins enter free agency expecting to be aggressive in acquiring players--but that doesn't mean the team devalues homegrown talent. Consider linebacker Chris Clemons, a prime candidate to fill the Redskins' vacancy at the weak-side next season.

Rest of article

We should only need one more LB for depth and competion.
We definately need more depth for our secondary though.

DeathByLinebacker#56 · Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:01 am

I hope they stop trading away future picks and losing more ground.

redskinz4ever · Post by **redskinz4ever** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:17 am

DeathByLinebacker#56 wrote:I hope they stop trading away future picks and losing more ground.

i agree with you on that ...this free agency thing every year hasn't worked out yet .....maybe this year but this team needs more youth.

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:10 pm

TincoSkin wrote:how can you put tight end even on the list let alone in front of the O line

i mean we have cooley and fauria!!!

sooo good!!

... could it be because Cool

ey isn't a tight end... he's an H-Back. :?:

Now I don't profess to know how Al Saunders is going to use/not use an H-Back, but I personally agree that we could still use a conventional blocking tight end.

As for linemen, I certainly won't be crushed to see us draft one but it's doubtful they'd be too far ahead of what Jim Molinaro already is in terms of a learning curve... especially considering that it probably WOULDN'T be a first day pick, let alone first round. We did already add Tyson Walter and Mike Pucillo for o-line depth as well. I'd be more inclined to look for a decent journeyman guard after june 1 cuts myself.

... and Mike Sellers would likely fill the prototypical TE role better than Cool

ey would IMO, if that's the direction the offense is going to go.

PulpExposure · Post by **PulpExposure** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:26 pm

BossHog wrote:As for linemen, I certainly won't be crushed to see us draft one but it's doubtful they'd be too far ahead of what Jim Molinaro already is in terms of a learning curve... especially considering that it probably WOULDN'T be a first day pick, let alone first round. We did already add Tyson Walter and Mike Pucillo for o-line depth as well. I'd be more inclined to look for a decent journeyman guard after june 1 cuts myself.

Aren't Walter and Pucillo already journeymen guards? I think we need to snag a journeyman tackle, myself. Molinaro is our only depth there.

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:50 pm

PulpExposure wrote:
BossHog wrote:As for linemen, I certainly won't be crushed to see us draft one but it's doubtful they'd be too far ahead of what Jim Molinaro already is in terms of a learning curve... especially considering that it probably WOULDN'T be a first day pick, let alone first round. We did already add Tyson Walter and Mike Pucillo for o-line depth as well. I'd be more inclined to look for a decent journeyman guard after june 1 cuts myself.

Aren't Walter and Pucillo already journeymen guards? I think we need to snag a journeyman tackle, myself. Molinaro is our only depth there.

I was thinking a little higher profile... when I think of June 1st cuts, I still think of some 'better caliber' talent being released for cap purposes (these guys are usually cut AFTER June 1 to save cap because they originally had decent size contracts - thus perhaps a higher caliber player)

I love Molinaro. My opinion of him is well documented on THN since he came here... I'd actually like to see HIM get some looks at guard... because we don't really want Samuels or Jansen going down anyway. I'd like to see Molinaro inside pushing Dockery for playing time.

Tyson Walter is a tackle I believe, not a guard... so I figure we do already have a couple of tackles to look at - we still have Jon Alston who got an extended look last year in preseason and showed GREAT improvement in the last two preseason games and the Skins are also bringing in Jonta Woodward from the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL for a look, which will be interesting - the guy is massive - like Derrick Dockery-massive... he sticks out like a sore thumb in the CFL.

But a guard and a tackle would probably be fine too.

PulpExposure · Post by **PulpExposure** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:33 pm

BossHog wrote:Tyson Walter is a tackle I believe, not a guard...

Actually, from everything I read, he's a center who can also play guard.

Redskins.com link to the press release where it specifically says:

Walter spent three seasons with the Cowboys, playing both guard and center positions, before signing with the Texans in November 2005.

I also like Molinaro, but it's not close to reality to think that if Jansen or Samuels goes down, he can play near their level.

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:49 am

PulpExposure wrote:
BossHog wrote:Tyson Walter is a tackle I believe, not a guard...

Actually, from everything I read, he's a center who can also play guard.

Redskins.com link to the press release where it specifically says:

Walter spent three seasons with the Cowboys, playing both guard and center positions, before signing with the Texans in November 2005.

I also like Molinaro, but it's not close to reality to think that if Jansen or Samuels goes down, he can play near their level.

He did play at guard and center for the Cowboys in 2003, but he played tackle in college, and his profiles list him as a tackle:

NFLplayers.com

NFL.com

PulpExposure · Post by **PulpExposure** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:36 pm

BossHog wrote:He did play at guard and center for the Cowboys in 2003, but he played tackle in college, and his profiles list him as a tackle:

NFLplayers.com

NFL.com

Interesting. Not sure I'd want him out there playing tackle if the last time he played it was 5 years ago, but that's kinda wierd. You think he'd be listed as a guard or center?

DeathByLinebacker#56 · Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:22 am

They will probably continue to trade away future picks for the present season.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:04 am

Gibbs is not a big draft guy. He has, for the most part, preferred "NFL players" over picks - - he seems to want someone that has shown something rather than take the time to develop the skills that come with most draft picks.

If our first round pick is always after 27 he can do whatever he wants. :lol: