10 thoughts on the draft

[MTK]

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1. Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks wrote that Redskins coach Mike Shanahan loves Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden, having had a chance to work with him at the Senior Bowl. It’ll be tough to keep up with every rumor; just know that last year the Redskins were connected to almost every quarterback in the first round except Cam Newton. Also know that they’ll bring in many players for visits. Sometimes they’ll have no interest in drafting the player, but they want a chance to talk to them in case they have interest in the future.

2. However, Weeden to the Redskins makes sense for some. Russ Lande could not have been higher on a guy when he returned from the Senior Bowl. The Sporting News’ draft analyst and former scout said Weeden is the sort of guy he could see with Shanahan and said, “I really think Brandon is one of the guys on the Redskins’ radar. I like him a lot. I know people close to Bruce Allen that like him a lot. He fits what the Redskins like, which is tall, athletic and a big arm.”

3. Another scout said Weeden’s age and having played pro baseball is a plus: “To me if you have a franchise quarterback, one of the big problems is you have a young kid who walks in with a bunch of grown men who have families and most of the time that young kid is making more money than anyone else. There’s a built-in resentment, especially if you don’t know how to handle yourself. He knows how to handle himself, and he has the skills. He’s not Michael Vick, but he’s good enough. I don’t see any negatives at all.”

4. I heard from an NFL source that some teams are not high at all on Iowa left tackle Riley Reiff. In fact, the source said he has spoken with some teams who have placed a third- and even fourth-round grade on Reiff. (When I spoke with Jon Jansen a couple weeks back, he said Reiff should have returned to school). Yet most mock drafts have him going in the top 10. He’s considered a good athlete, but the source said Reiff plays too upright and gets beaten inside too easily. Just know that the same source who gave Reiff low marks did the same to Vernon Gholston a few years ago before the Jets drafted him in the first round and watched him bust.

5. You don’t draft right tackles at No. 6. Period. If the Redskins want one — it’s a bad crop in free agency — then they can find one in the second round, or late in the first if they somehow acquire more picks. Ohio State’s Mike Adams could move to the right side, and he’s athletic enough — and has long enough arms — to probably make it work. But he’s probably best, one NFL source said, in a system where he doesn’t have to set the edge in a zone scheme. And he’ll be available late in the first round.

6. Don’t make a big deal out of a quarterback’s accuracy at the combine (that is, for those QBs who actually throwing). One thing John Beck remembered from his combine experience: coaches didn’t care about how many passes you completed. Beck worked with Rod Dowhower (yes, he struggled calling plays in 1993 with Washington, but he was an offensive coordinator with four teams so he at least knows what teams look for at the combine). Beck said, “He told me when you go to the combine I want you to let your first pass go, just let it go. You can put it on the guy, but if you miss then miss it far. I want to see the ball jump out of your hands. Most coaches at the combine do not pay attention to every pass. … What they want to see is the ball jump out of a guy’s hand. “

7. One scout on Peyton Manning possibly coming to the Redskins: “Someone has to do a whole lot of adjusting. It won’t just be Peyton. He won’t fit into the hole the Shanahans have. There has to be a give and take. You have to adjust to his skills. He is a statue. That puts a crimp into the bootleg and play-action stuff. It’s a critical foundation to their offense. You have to adopt a lot of what Buffalo or New England does: shotgun, spread. That wouldn’t be the place you picture him. I picture him with the Jets. They have Tom Moore [a former assistant with the Colts] and trouble at quarterback too.”

8. Two corners to watch after the first or second round: Coastal Carolina’s Josh Norman and Northwestern State’s Jeremy Lane. Norman impressed scouts at the East-West Shrine Game by showing he could play more than just off-man coverage, as he did in college. Lane is around 5-foot-10, but Norman is a couple inches taller. “He has raw potential,” one scout said of Norman. Doesn’t sound as if he’s best fit to cover inside.

9. It’s too early to worry about what it will cost to move up to the No. 2 slot in the draft. Right now there appear to be several teams in the market for a quarterback, but what if Seattle or Miami signs Peyton Manning and Cleveland acquires Matt Flynn? Then the price for Robert Griffin III drops to a more reasonable level. Of course, if Manning goes to the Jets and the Dolphins land Flynn, then Cleveland would be in the best spot to land Griffin. Still, there’s a long way to go before the market is truly set for the No. 2 pick. Either way it’ll be steep. But the Redskins also have been paying a steep price for years for not having strong play at quarterback. Take your pick.

10. Just in case anyone had interest in Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler, here’s what the NFL source had to say: “I haven’t heard a scout yet who has really been impressed with him. Everyone I’ve spoken to say he’s too tall, his mechanics get out of synch quickly, and he has accuracy issues all over the place.”

[mooby]

Good stuff. Thanks for posting. As far as Weeden goes, I think he'll be a good football player, it's just my concern is for how long. If the Skins do draft him I'll warm up to the idea of him being under center though.

[MTK]

Yeah Weeden is looking at a shortened career, but I heard an analyst saying yesterday that there's no reason he couldn't have a productive 8-9 year career.

[Chico23231]

Weeden is not a bad player. I wouldnt be pissed if we got him, but he's the type where you got to play him immediately. If we fall out of the Peyton, RG3 or Luck scenarios, I wouldnt object to bringing him in. He should be there in the second round. I sure as hell would take him over starting Orton at the beginning of next season.

[FRPLG]

Part of the age issue in football is all the pounding players take. A 28 year old QB who took a few years off to play baseball and not get kicked around by linebackers isn't as "old" as a guy who left after his Jr. year and has been thumped for 8 years. With a good enough arm and athleticism there is no reason he can't play until his late 30's and even longer if he is talented enough.

[skinsfaninok]

Age isn't a huge problem but honestly I've watched him play a bunch and I really don't see him being much better for us.

[Lotus]

Awesome Matty. Thank you.

Maybe we could take Weeden now with the commitment to draft another QB high in a year or two. This might give us a viable long-term QB plan.

[CultBrennan59]

As to Weeden, remember, Kurt Warner did take over for the Rams in 1999 at the age of 28.

Good read on Reiff and Osweiler.

Not good to hear that miami got the 8th pick and carolina the 9th, thats just one less spot the dolphins have to trade up to and for st. louis/minnesota to move down.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Yeah Weeden is looking at a shortened career, but I heard an analyst saying yesterday that there's no reason he couldn't have a productive 8-9 year career.

Which is more then we have had at the QB position.

[SkinzWin]

Shanny likes his smoke screens to throw the bloodhounds off the scent. I could see Weeden as a diversion to take pressure off the real deal, trading up...

[SmootSmack]

I've gotten the impression they like Tannehill and Foles more than Weeden

[JoeRedskin]

Yes, Weeden can probably have a 8-10 year career in the NFL and that is fine IF he is a Day 1 starter (Even with that, you got to figure that starting a rookie QB means a year or two of taking lumps - rare is the 1-2nd year QB who gets you to the promisedl land).

I just don't know if Weeden is a Day 1 starter. If he is, I am fine with him - just not at the 6th pick. There are better, lower risk options at that spot.

[diehard]

Weeden can come to this team as the "unquestioned" starter for all I care. I'm all in for drafting the best player available at #6 (sans RG3) and then taking Weeden in the 2nd/3rd or later...

[REDSKINS4ever]

Weeden is similar to Jay Schroeder. Schroeder played baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays before he was drafted by the Redskins in the 4th round in 1984. Schroeder, after replacing Joe Theismann, was a pretty good quarterback for three seasons for the Redskins until he lost his starting job to Doug Williams.

Weeden is an accurate passer. It shouldn't matter that he's 28 years old. I think that's a plus. You'd figure that he'd be more intelligent and mature than say a 22 or 23 year old rookie QB.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

Yes, Weeden can probably have a 8-10 year career in the NFL and that is fine IF he is a Day 1 starter (Even with that, you got to figure that starting a rookie QB means a year or two of taking lumps - rare is the 1-2nd year QB who gets you to the promisedl land).

I just don't know if Weeden is a Day 1 starter. If he is, I am fine with him - just not at the 6th pick. There are better, lower risk options at that spot.

This is it pretty much. If he can come in do the job day 1 then the issue of age really becomes less important. At that point it is almost a wash.