NFL Network’s lead draft analyst Mike Mayock held his annual pre-combine conference call Tuesday discussing all things NFL Draft. Mayock started off the call defining this year’s draft as defensive heavy. “It’s a defensive draft,” he said. “Best interior defensive line I’ve seen maybe since I’ve started doing this.”
For the Washington Redskins, that’s music to their ears. It’s been a while since Washington has successfully drafted and developed an interior lineman. Chris Baker is probably the team’s greatest success story in recent history. The Redskins have to bolster their interior defensive line this off-season and the opportunity to do so is right in their grasp.
Listen to the latest “Manny Benton Show” discussing defensive line prospects
Pro Player Insiders had an opportunity to ask Mayock a question related to the Washington Redskins’ first round draft pick. Mayock had an interesting response -
“Their draft last year revealed who they are. Brandon Scherff was the first pick, big, tough guy; Preston Smith was the second pick, another big, strong, tough outside linebacker type guy; Matt Jones, a big, thick tailback. Scotty McCloughan likes the bigger, tougher guys. That’s who he wants to be, a big, physical team. Now, at 21 I think one of the biggest needs is in that defensive line, and it’s a defensive line draft. We’ve already talked about that. He could get defensive linemen second, third, even fourth round, so would he look beyond that knowing there’s security in defensive linemen deep in the draft? Would he look at say a corner at 21? To me that is a possibility. He could sit there and say, huh, is this kid from Clemson worth it, Mackensie Alexander at 31, what about Eli Apple, what about Artie Burns. I think there’s some interesting corners that would come into that conversation, also.”
Mayock made a great point discussing the possibility of McCloughan going Cornerback in the first round. That’s definitely an area that needs to be addressed and McCloughan tends to draft at least two DBs each year.
Here’s our CB rankings:
- Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida - Great technique, small but plays big. A potential shutdown CB.
- Kendall Fuller, V Tech - Long athlete who is a potential shutdown corner. He just needs to learn how to turn his head down-the-field.
- Xavien Howard, Baylor - Put him in a press scheme and he will shut down receivers. If not, put him at safety and he’ll be great. Underrated player.
- William Jackson III, Houston - Has good size and length. He’s also scheme versatile.
- (5a.) Mackensie Alexander, Clemson - More of a zone corner. If you open his stance, you will beat him — heavy feet. But with work on his feet and safety help, he’ll be a solid corner.
- (5b.) Eli Apple, Ohio State – He’s a grabby player, but has good size and is physical. Needs to work on his feet.
- I think Kendall Fuller would be a great fit for the Washington Redskins. But I wonder if the team would be able to wait for a guy like him. Coming off an injury, some teams may wait on drafting him. This cornerback class isn’t too shabby either.
- “Cyrus Jones [Alabama] in the third or fourth round, great nickel from Alabama that might also have the ability to play outside.”
- On Duke S Jeremy Cash: “I like Cash a lot. He’s one of those guys where the ball finds him, and I see him more in the box, and whether you call him a safety, which he’s a strong safety that tackles well, he can line up with some tight ends. If he fits what today’s NFL is, he’s a — he’s almost the exact height and weight of Deone Bucannon, who’s done such a great job as a linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals, and more and more teams are looking for safeties with size and tackling ability that can play three downs. Sometimes they’re playing outside linebacker, sometimes they’re playing safety, but in the nickel and dime package, they’re playing linebacker. I think there’s value for Cash, and he’s one of those instinctive, tough kids that’s always around the ball.”
- “Who’s the next Kirk Cousins? Who’s that next middle-round that can get you to the playoffs, if he needed to start down the road? So there’s a group of those guys. Kevin Hogan would be one from Stanford. Brandon Allen, fourth- or fifth-round guy from Arkansas. Dak Prescott, developmental guy from Mississippi State, another perhaps fourth-round pick. Jacoby Brissett. That’s a whole group of guys, and then I have two wild cards, and the wild cards from me are Christian Hackenberg from Penn State and Cardale Jones from Ohio State, both of whom have a ton of talent, big, good-looking kids, but their tape is poor. So they’re going to be wild cards as to who — because they have the upside of being from — from a skills perspective, they have starter skills, but their tape is poor.”
- “If you look at Robert Nkemdiche [Ole Miss] in a vacuum and just watch his Alabama tape against the best team in college football, he was dominant. Off that one tape, if he didn’t have any off-the-field issues and if he’d played that hard every week, we’d be talking about him as the first pick in this draft. That’s how talented he is, and that’s how much upside he has. However, once you factor in the inconsistency from snap to snap and game to game and the off-the-field situation, then you get into, how do you measure this kid? At what point does the risk justify the reward.”
- “You could wait until the third or fourth round this year and get a defensive tackle that in past drafts was a first or second rounder. I mean, I’ve heard first-round grades on plus or minus 10 to 12 defensive tackles this year from various feeds. So a lot of teams are going to wait until the third or fourth round to get that defensive tackle they need.”
- On Arizona LB Scooby Wright: “Yeah, I loved watching his tape. I watched his bowl game when he got back from injury, and tackle to tackle, he’s awesome. The ball finds him. He’s got a natural feel for slipping under or over blockers to get to the ball carrier. He’s just an instinctive linebacker. He hustles every snap. He understands pass drops, and he’s got a little feel for rush, also. He’s one of those guys that’s going to be knocked on athletic ability, so this is a big week for him to see what he runs and how he looks, et cetera, but off tape, I really like the kid. I think he’s a third-round linebacker who’s going to — whose instincts and toughness will make him a starting linebacker eventually in the NFL.”
- “I think the two guys in the conversation for me today at 16 would be Treadwell and Corey Coleman, and they’re completely different conversations. Treadwell is 6’2″, 210 pounds, kind of a body-type receiver. I don’t think he’s a 4.4 guy at all. He’s got great hands, snatches the football, is aggressive in the air, will block. I don’t think he’s as explosive as some of the first-round picks at wideout we’ve seen in the last few years. I’d compare him more to the kid from South Carolina that’s a free agent with Chicago this year [Alshon Jeffery].
Bonus Question:
We also asked Mayock if he believes Redskins’ QB Kirk Cousins is legitimately the future of the team -
“I do believe Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of the Redskins for the future, and I think a lot of that is that philosophically he aligns perfectly with what Jay Gruden wants to do. Yeah, I do believe he’s the guy. Could they take a quarterback in the middle round? Absolutely they could take a quarterback in the middle rounds.”
Follow us: @Manny_PPI | @PlayerInsiders
More stories you might like
