Options at DE

[Oakland Red]

I don't think things will decline as fast as you are saying, but I agree with your basic point. The Redskins have been thinking short term with their decision making as far as I can see. We do need younger players rather than ones who will help us win immediately. No more trades for players like TJ Duckett. At some point, if we have a deficiency, we will just have to live with it rather than mortgaging the future. I think the team as constructed will be a playoff team. Leave our draft choices intact for next season, and the season after that.

Forget Schobel, in my view. We should rely only on free agents to improve the team, such as the already signed Justin Hickman:

JUSTIN HICKMAN MEASURABLES Height: 6-1 Weight: 255 40-yard dash: 4.75 10-yard dash: 1.65 20-yard shuttle: 4.44 60-yard shuttle: Broad jump: 9-7 225-lb. bench: 23 3-cone drill: 7.07 Vertical jump: 30 Wonderlic: 20-yard dash: 2.75


War Room analysis
Strengths: Is a good, smart athlete with good instincts. Works hard on every snap. Shows quick hands to defeat pass blockers one-on-one when aggressive. Can jolt offensive tackles backward with hard hand punch. Consistently carries out assignments, especially on backside against naked rollback passes. Has experience dropping into zone coverage. Is adept in backside pursuit; can hurdle cut blockers, stay afoot and reach full speed in a blink. Finds a way to make a play at the game's most important moments. Has blocked a few punts/kicks on special teams.

Originally Posted by 81forHOF

I'm starting to get very scared about this team. I am one of the first to argue our strong points to people who count us out but there is one very ugly fact looming that can not be denied.

In 2-3 years we will quite possibly be the worst team in the NFL! Our window of opportunity for a championship is going to close after this season.

Over the last 5 years we have had the least amount of draft picks in the NFL and most of them have not even made the team, due to our lack of ability to find talent in the late rounds. Therefore, everyone on our team is too close to the same age (meaning their skills will all diminish at the same time).

How do we replace the entire offensive and defensive lines and numerous skill positions within 2 years. It will be impossible. This is the result of trading draft picks for 30 yr old players and it needs to stop. I know we need a DE in the worst way and like I said, this season might be our last legitimate shot for quite a while but it has to stop sometime.

The slim chance we have to pull our asses out of this fire is to not only keep all of our draft picks but also acquire more anyway we can (by trading away veterans) and this will only work if we draft extremely well - in every round. Part of me thinks that the reason that our current management throws their draft picks away with so little thought is that they do not have confidence that they will be able to convert the picks into productive players.

Sorry my answer is so long but to sum it up - no, we should not trade a 2nd or 3rd rounder for a 30 yr old DE. It would be counterproductive.