ESPN Insider: Kellen Winslow likely a Redskin
 

[url]http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=1760323[/url]


Chargers might take Manning, after all

By Scouts, Inc.
For ESPN Insider
Monday, March 15
Updated: March 15
5:04 PM ET

In our opinion, Miami-Ohio QB Ben Roethlisberger is the best all-around quarterback prospect in this year's draft class, but as it stands right now he is starting to look like the odd man out among the top 10 picks. If Roethlisberger does, indeed, fall out of the top 10, the Steelers (No. 11) and Bills (No. 13) are the next two teams with a strong interest.

The Tim Couch situation will be an interesting one to monitor between now and the draft, because from what we've been told the Cowboys -- even after trading for Drew Henson -- Steelers and Ravens (as a backup) are the three teams that have shown the most interest in trading with the Browns for Couch. If the Steelers do not trade for Couch, they could get lucky and have Roethlisberger fall to them.

# The Giants are the team right now we are hearing the most about in terms of trading into the top two picks. If they trade up to No. 1 with the Chargers, it will be to take Ole Miss QB Eli Manning. However, we're now hearing that Chargers' coach Marty Schottenheimer is warming to the idea of drafting Manning with the top pick and making him the starter from Day 1, which could buy Schottenheimer and his coaching staff more time.

If the Chargers do keep their No. 1 pick and draft Manning, the odds are good the Giants will give the Raiders a later round pick to flip-flop spots in order to secure Iowa OT Robert Gallery. If that scenario plays out, the Cardinals likely would draft Pittsburgh WR Larry Fitzgerald with the third pick, which would still allow the Raiders to draft either Mike Williams (USC) or Roy Williams (Texas) at No. 4 overall.

Depending on how Mike Williams runs, there's a strong possibility the Raiders could take Roy over Mike, because Roy is the fastest of the top three receivers, and we all know how much Al Davis emphasizes speed in personnel evaluation.

[COLOR=DarkOrange]While there have been several reports about the Redskins' strong interest in trading out of the No. 5 pick, we are now hearing they're leaning heavily towards keeping that pick and drafting Miami TE Kellen Winslow Jr. There are obvious concerns about Winslow's attitude, but with such a veteran-heavy team and with coach Joe Gibbs' relationship with Kellen Winslow Sr. dating back to their days with the Chargers, the Redskins feel they have the right supporting cast in place to make it work.

With the additions of RB Clinton Portis and QB Marc Brunell to go along with WRs Lavernues Coles and Rod Gardner and an offensive line anchored by bookend tackles Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen, the addition of an explosive receiving threat in the middle would make the Redskins' offense frightening.[/COLOR]

Pro Timing Day Updates
# Mike Williams' private workout is tentatively set for April 6, which was frustrating to several NFL teams expecting him to work out with USC at its scheduled pro timing day, March 24. We also were told by a team drafting in the top five that they were unimpressed recently when they phoned Williams and did not receive a response for three days.

# As expected, RB Maurice Clarett did not work out with Ohio State on March 12. He is scheduled to have his own individual workout for NFL teams April 5.

# March 10: Oklahoma had more than 100 NFL officials at its pro-timing day, and DT Tommie Harris (6-3, 292) did not disappoint, running a 4.78 as his best time in the 40-yard dash. Harris is clearly on the rise and should go no later than No. 8 to the Falcons. & DC Derrick Strait weighed in at 198 pounds and ran a decent 4.52, solidifying his spot late in the first or early in the second round. & OLB Teddy Lehman weighed in at 237 pounds and ran a 4.54 in the 40, which should secure him a spot in the second round. & DS Brandon Everage continues to struggle with a shoulder injury and was not able to participate in any of the workout.

Nebraska DE Trevor Johnson continues to improve his draft value. After working out at the combine, Johnson decided to do another full workout at Nebraska's pro timing day and it panned out when he ran a 4.69 in the 40. & NFL officials present wanted to see Jamal Lord work out as a defensive back, but since there were no DB coaches present, he worked out as a linebacker. Regardless, Lord's 4.44 in the 40 should help him get drafted on day two as defensive back, running back and/or return specialist prospect.

March 11: Oregon DT Junior Siavaii has had a roller coaster of a draft process. His recent workout could not have gone any better. At 6-4 3/8, 340 pounds, Siavaii ran a 5.12 in the 40 and looked impressive in his agility workouts. At one point, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil turned to the crowd of NFL coaches and personnel officials and said, "could you imagine that load bearing down on you?"

But it's what has occurred off-the-field that has hurt his draft value. Siavaii reportedly has a history of becoming overly aggressive when he drinks, and he allegedly shoved a woman after she bumped into him. Siavaii was charged with assaulting the woman, but the situation was relatively unpublicized until several NFL personnel officials happened to meet the woman herself. She was waiting their table and was more than willing to give them her side of the story.

# Oregon WR Sammie Parker may have run his way into the first day of the draft by running 4.34 and 4.37 on his two 40-yard dash attempts.

# Oregon State RB Steven Jackson (6-2, 231) struggled more than people thought he would when it came to catching the football at his individual workout, but he is more than proven in that area, and he did everything else well. He ran 4.55 and 4.56 in his two 40s, and he also ran the short shuttle in 4.09 and the three-cone drill in 7.03. Jackson's workout should have solidified him as the top overall back in this class.

# WR James Newson, on the other hand, continued to hurt his draft value with 4.84 and 4.88 in his two 40-yard sprints. Newson originally was considered a late-second or third-round prospect but likely will slip to the second day of the draft as a result of his ridiculously poor 40 times.

# Washington WR Reggie Williams ran the 40 five times, ranging from 4.48 to 4.64.

March 12: Michigan RB Chris Perry may have solidified his position late in the first round with an impressive workout that included a 4.56 40-yard dash. DC Jeremy LeSeuer tweaked a hamstring while running the 40 at the combine and did not work out. He does, however, have another workout scheduled for March 31.

# WR Michael Jenkins and DE Will Smith (6-2½, 267) stole the show at Ohio State's workout. Ohio State is notorious for having one of the fastest tracks in the country, but Jenkins' 4.38 in the 40 is impressive on any surface. Smith's 4.58 in the 40 should solidify him as a top-15 pick, and his 30 reps on the bench won't hurt either. & DT Tim Anderson (6-3 1/8, 307) had a solid workout with a 5.01 40 time, as did DS Will Allen (6-½, 202), who ran a 4.57 in the 40. Conversely, DC Chris Gamble's 40 times (4.50 and 4.55) were disappointing. He had a strong workout in terms of agility and position drills, but his below average 40 time on a fast surface could cost him on draft day.

So to recap, there have been rumours that a) we'll be trading out of the 5th pick, b) drafting Kellen Winslow or c) drafting Sean Taylor.

That clears it up a lot doesn't it?! :)

Let the rumor games begin. The Redskins in an attempt to gauge the worth of the #5 pick, probably are resorting to the rumor game. This in order to scare a team that is high on a certain player to inquire about trading up. There will be many more rumors right up to the moment the Redskins make their selection or trade the #5 pick.

:dallas:
Rumors, are what they are... rumors...

This is just part of the game.

I would love to have a frightening offense...

I doubt that the chargers are going to take a QB with there pick, I only belive this because they just traded there top reciever to the Fins. I look for them to pick a WR.

NO!! Taylor is the SURE guy!! Plus, more importantly, I question if Greg Wiliiams would've come to DC is he knew champ would be traded. Gibbs owes Williams at least one star guy this offseason since they lost out on Kearse.

I'd take either one, I'm having trouble picking favorites atm.

The staff is just trying to keep other teams wondering what the heck we're up to. We really can't go wrong with Winslow or Taylor. I still think we could trade down a few picks and still get Winslow and maybe another pick to add to it. All this is part of the fre draft head games!!!!

Nobody really know's what were doing which is good, do everything you can to force a team to trade with you, if you let them know or you have a really glaring weakness they can gauge thier pick, but right now we can go in to many different direction's, some team is going to panic and trade up with us but it may not be until we are on the clock.

[QUOTE=Daseal]I'd take either one, I'm having trouble picking favorites atm.[/QUOTE]

Couldn't agree more....I will be happy with either one and it is nice knowing that we can get one of them if we want.


:httr:

[QUOTE=NFLNetwork]NO!! Taylor is the SURE guy!! Plus, more importantly, I question if Greg Wiliiams would've come to DC is he knew champ would be traded. Gibbs owes Williams at least one star guy this offseason since they lost out on Kearse.[/QUOTE]


before Williams signed on, there was already a very good chance Champ wasn't gonna be on the team next year, and he didn't have big name cornerbacks when he started in Buffalo so why would he feel he needs them this time?

I keep on changing my mind on who I'd rather draft cuz a "frightening offense" sounds pretty awesome, but w/o champ and an in division foe picking up a highly talented WR makes me kinda want to draft Taylor. either way we r stronger on one side of the ball.

It's a pretty interesting scenerio with gibb's relationship with winslow senior, I had forgotten they were together in san diego, perhap's gibb's is envisioning the same kind of role for jr. that he used in san diego with sr., it will be interesting how that tie play's out.

They're so weak on the DL ... still ... I don't see how they can justify drafting a safety or TE unless they have a plan to sign some people after June 1.

If we build the secondary and LB's this year, with a half decent line, we should be OK. If we concentrate on the line and are weak in the secondary, then we'll get toasted.

I can see 1 or 2 pick up's post 1st June, so maybe we'll be fine, but we must draft either Winslow or Taylor IMHO (Taylor please), cuz I think we need a young impact player.

Of course Portis is young... DOH! :o

I like the idea of having an offense coming together and building chemistry . if the defense is not as strong this year then next year we build more on the defense. The offense will be complete Cole, Portis, Brunnell, Winslow, Jansen , and Samuels all in place then by the next year that offense will scare the bejeezus out of everyone the defense will be decent looking better with the blitzing schemes of williams then next year we put the finishing touches on the defense. WE DONT HAVE TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR. remember Joe Gibbs is an offensive coach. No defense can stop us with Winslow while adding a d-lineman will make our d better but it wont be as dominating as say our offense with Winslow at H-back.

plus these next 2-3 years will finally be the first team in I can't remember how long, that we'll have the same defensive cord. for more than one year so that in itself should back our defense stronger if not a lot this year, atleast quite a bit next year. I'd be as happy as anyone else on here if we won the superbowl but the past couple years have taught me to be, as the old ball coach said I believe, "cautiously optimistic."


as long as we :smashfrea dallas and phili(atleast once) to a pulp I'll be happy

I too, am having a hard time deciding who I want when dealing with Winslow and Taylor. Theres two perfectly good ways too look at this, were stronger on offense, so draft on defense. Or, we can make our offense even more awsome than it already looks to be, and that too will take pressure off our defense. GOing into the season, either way, I'm going to be more optomistic about our offense, and less about our defense. However, I think with smarter coaching we will have, and upgraded players ( say what you want about our pickups, they are still upgrades), our defense will/should be able to keep us into every game and our offense should be able to take over the majority of games for us. So either way, as long as I hear " From the University of Miami" I will be a happy man. ( not that I wouldnt be happy with a DL/trade down, but that dosent really look to be an option anymore)

I know I have said this before, but look at last years KC Chiefs and Indy Colts. They both have the most feared offenses in the NFL and average defenses. They were both soundly beaten in the playoffs. KC was embarrassed.
Carolina and Patriots had great defense's and their offense's did not "scare" anyone.
Hell, we beat the Patriots last regular season, when they had key injuries to their defense.
Neither the Patriots or the Panthers have a "scary, all pro" tight end. However both have good secondary's and safetys.
The best TE in football Tony Gonzalez, got beat bad in the first round of playoffs. The second best, TE Jeremy Shockey did not even make the playoffs. TE position is overrated. You can win with a rookie 5th round draft choice, like the Panthers didi last year.
Defense Wins Championships!

Right now I think the D needs more work than the O, specifically the D line. Perhaps the FO has their eyes on a potential June 1 cut? Or trading down on draft day could be in the works.

Either way I'd have a hard time arueging against Taylor or Winslow being selected at #5. Both are very worthy of that pick and would be impact players right away.

Before the offseason began, it was clear they needed to upgrade both at TE and at safety (as well as a number of other areas, of course: d-line, QB, RB, etc...). They've added Rasby. They've kept Chamberlin so far, and They've got Royal. They made no move at all in FA to get a safety, though they've gone after loads of CBs. Further, they seem to be stressing LBs and secondary over the d-line at the moment. All this points to Taylor for me.

The main wild card is that Gibbs has a personal relationship with Winslow Sr., and he certainly knows how to use a great TE (like when he was coordinator in SD under Coryell). If it was anyone but Gibbs, I'd say Taylor, but it's Gibbs, thank goodness, and if he wants another weapon, give it to him, and finish the D next year.

So, like everyone else, I have no friggin idea! :cheeky-sm

I agree with you totally. Gibbs getting winslow's son should be magical we'll finish the d we need another CB in my opinion bobby Taylor is better than Shawn Springs. i wuold rather have him on T.O. than Springs. what do yall think?

I'm having trouble deciding whether to take Taylor or Winslow too.

Winslow will probably be better than his dad and Taylor will be like Ronnie Lott. Winslow would make our offense so explosive while Taylor would put fear into opposing offenses. Winslow is a immature, idiot, but he's young. Taylor doesn't have any character flaws that I am aware of. Taylor would be an upgrade over Ohalete, but Winslow is a much bigger upgrade when you consider he'd replace Flemister. Safeties and tight ends don't cost much. Safties and tight ends are better bets to succeed than wideouts or quarterbacks. Safety and tight end are not really essential positions to have marquee players at, but in Gibbs' system I guess the TE is more important than the S.

I'm not sure we can go wrong at #5.

PS Gibbs' declaration that the 'Skins won't trade down barring an irresistible offer is simply to increase our pick's market value. Why in the world would he say, "we desperately want to trade down so someone offer us a crappy deal because we'll take anything"?

I wouldn't be upset with any of the three probable scenarios...

a. draft Taylor at #5
b. draft Winslow at #5
c. trade down 5-10 spots and draft a D-lineman

That said, I agree that defense should be the focus. We have plenty of weapons on offense already, so even as great as he may be, Winslow would be more of a luxury. We need help on the D-line, but Taylor would be an immediate impact player, so either b or c would be best for the Skins IMO.

Our D last year wasn't good, but it wasn't that bad either (yeah, it was ranked 25th, but I remember a lot of people saying that wasn't the true test of how good they are when they were in the top ten the year before). Just like Gibbs is a HUGE upgrade over Spurrier on the offensive side, Williams will make the D better just because of his experience and knowledge of how to succeed at the NFL level. If he thinks we can get by without a true pass rushing DE, but strong LB's and secondary, who are we to argue?
Just my :twocents: ...

Agreed RF. My question is, is there a TE or S likely to be free after June 1st that will sway us either way?

If we went after Lynch, I'd say we were going to draft Winslow, but with no discernible effort to get a FA safety, I am left wondering. Roll on draft day! :)

[QUOTE=SkinsRock]If he thinks we can get by without a true pass rushing DE, but strong LB's and secondary, who are we to argue?[/QUOTE]

Agree 100%. Excellent statement.

does anyone have any idea what the difference would be in contracts and signing bonuses that would be needed to sign either taylor or winslow? r they vastly different or somewhat similar and what type of #'s r we talking about?

As much as I like taylor, I would be very exited to see winslow as well, either one should make a very big impact for us. :headbange

p.s. I just had to use that smiley