Football Outsiders: Redskins dead last in under-25 talent

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

We are not acquiring veterans in order draft more young players later. We had so many important holes to fill and the path they choose seemed to be the most efficient at filling them with quality talent. They drafted a highly regarded LT, added a probowl a QB and a probowl tackle. McNabb and Brown can hopefully provide a higher level of play and more importantly leadership we have not seen in along time. I am by no means saying McNabb and Brown are a guarantee to be great and turn this team around, but they are very important pieces. Jamaal Brown will be a great mentor and take huge pressure off of rookie Trent Williams to be the man at LT. Another rookie would not provide that. This gives him some breathing room which 95% of all rookies need their first year.
I think what this list proves is there is no right (rookies or veterans) way to fill your roster. New Orleans paid a hefty price to get their veteran SB QB. Luckily it worked out for them.

I personally question the idea that you can take a 4-12 team (albeit one that played far above that level for most of the year, finding ways to lose at the end of games) make some splashy veteran acquisitions, make some less splashy veteran acquisitions, have an offseason standoff with your most talented player, and then consider the future to be now.

My problem is that it seems like kind of a crappy future. The focus of the offseason was in the wrong place. The draft should have been the centerpiece of the offseason, instead, it became an afterthought to the McNabb trade. We did what we needed to do in the 1st round (OL), but there was no depth to be had.

Anytime that an average team with one major weakness fills that weakness, you're bound to improve significantly to the point where you can consider yourself a playoff contender. I understand that #5 gives us the best chance to win, this year, out of any of the quarterbacks we were linked to in the offseason -- there seems to be little reason to dispute that -- but that's a very shortsighted reason to pull the trigger on the deal. There's still too many bad players on this team to consider a super bowl run realistic. We'll threaten, make it look like we just might be able to pull it off, but ultimately there's a next step needed that we just don't have the franchise cornerstones to take.

Shortsighted leaders are not what a franchise like the Redskins needs, and that's my big issue here. I don't so much care how good their veteran talent evaluation is, because there's always someone out there who is better at it. I do like what they've done with the offensive line this year, turning a weakness into a relative strength, and giving us a vertical component to our passing game, but it's essentially a one unit improvement on last years team. I think our record will reflect this.