The Washington Redskins will have to wait a little bit to see the benefits of their most recent draft class. And there's one three-year stretch that just didn't yield what everyone initially hoped. But there are positive signs with some recent draft classes, which the Redskins hope has produced a solid 53-man roster.
Some more nuggets on their roster:
There are 14 players who entered the NFL as undrafted free agents, including two of the three specialists (kicker Dustin Hopkins is a former sixth-round selection of the Bills). Two of them will start -- linebacker Will Compton and defensive end Chris Baker -- while a third, Dashaun Phillips, has worked with the No. 1 defense as the slot corner since camp opened. I love players coming up this way. They can provide an attitude that higher picks sometimes just can’t match.
The Redskins want to build through the draft, but after opening the 2015 season with 26 of their former picks they now have 23. There are two more on injured reserve (rookies Keith Marshall and Steven Daniels, both of whom were iffy to make the roster) and another on the practice squad (Matt Ioannidis). Eleven of the 23 are from the 2015-16 classes with five more from the 2014 class. From that class, selected the year before Scot McCloughan arrived, the Redskins might have three starters: tackle Morgan Moses, guard Spencer Long and corner Bashaud Breeland. That would be considered very good, but only if Moses and Long become solid players. Classes are measured by how they contribute to winning, not just if they produce starters.
Meanwhile, three picks from the 2015 class, McCloughan’s first, will start: guard Brandon Scherff, linebacker Preston Smith and running back Matt Jones with a fourth, Jamison Crowder, as the No. 1 slot receiver.
Only four draft picks made the roster this season (with two undrafted free agents). There’s a very good chance none of them will start in 2016, but in the future it’s not hard to see two or possibly three doing so (Josh Doctson, Su’a Cravens and Kendall Fuller). Some are confident Nate Sudfeld can develop into one as well. Thanks to Doctson’s Achilles injury, it could be that Cravens is the only one who has much of a role early, depending on how they use him in their nickel/dime packages. Fuller has been playing behind Phillips as the slot corner.
The Redskins made 28 picks from 2011-13 and have just five players remaining: linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and tight end Niles Paul (2011), quarterback Kirk Cousins (2012) and tight end Jordan Reed, and running back Chris Thompson (2013). It’s not surprising that so many are gone considering there has been one regime change. Still, too few of these picks even lasted several seasons here, though the ones who remain are very good.
Why is it important that recent draft picks make the roster and can help (besides the obvious)? They’re cheaper labor. The Redskins have approximately $45 million in available cap space next offseason and might need a big chunk of it to sign, or franchise, Cousins. They also might want to re-sign one, or both, of their starting receivers -- DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. The more young players they find to develop, the more they can afford high-end players without much worry (relatively speaking).
A week or so ago, it did not appear that safety Deshazor Everett would win a roster spot. His special-teams play was good, but until recently the Redskins were definitely leaning toward a seventh defensive lineman. But Everett continued to make plays from scrimmage in addition to his work on special teams where he provides a lot of energy.
Undrafted defensive end Anthony Lanier was one of the bigger surprises of the summer, even more so than running back Rob Kelley. In the spring, Kelley would flash on occasion, enough to make you pay attention to him in the summer. (With backs, it’s very hard to get a feel for them until there’s live hitting.) But Lanier was at a deeper spot with a number of veterans ahead of him. However, early in camp teammates took notice and privately mentioned to others how Lanier was playing. He made it for a simple reason: He has gifts difficult to coach, such as length (he’s 6-foot-6) and athleticism (he’s a former basketball player). It’s worth developing those skills, especially because Lanier showed progress -- he wasn’t quite as upright in the final preseason game as he had been in others and it helped him get in the backfield more often.
The Redskins have players from: a college that no longer exists (Greg Toler/ St. Pauls), Division II (Phillips/Tarleton State), historically black colleges (Chris Baker/Hampton and Lanier/Alabama A&M), Football Championship Subdivision schools (Ty Nsekhe/Texas State, now Division I and Josh Norman/Coastal Carolina) and Division III (Garcon/Mount Union).
