Draft Day Wish List
April 23, 2009
Finally, mercifully, the NFL Draft is upon us.
For those old enough to remember when that meant little more than checking the Monday morning Washington Post sports section for the inside-page graphic listing the name, position and college of twelve mostly unknown new Redskins, the colossal hype machine surrounding 21st-century draft weekends is still the source of a little bemusement. It is no doubt a great weekend for any serious NFL fan however ... and all kidding aside, I count myself among them.
Bring it on.
Two of the best mock draft compilation sites I know of,
DC Pro Sports Report and
hailredskins.com, both show roughly quarter of their compiled mock drafts predicting the Redskins will stand pat at pick number 13 and select Ole Miss
OT Michael Oher.
Not being one to spend the hundreds of hours required to meaningfully assess an entire incoming draft class for the best prospect for any given teams' needs, I will assume, at the very least, that those who have put in the time have justifiable reason to believe Oher is worthy of being selected that high.
At 6'5”, 310 lbs., with no history of injury or "character issues" and widely considered a solid prospect, Oher would be a difficult selection to criticize. If ever a team needed a young, potential ten-year anchor at OT added to their roster, it is the 2009 Washington Redskins. If that is how it plays out Saturday, I will hail the pick.
Should it play out that the Redskins instead end up using that pick to select a similarly highly-regarded defensive end or linebacker, I will hail that as well. At some point the Redskins are going to have to begin restocking their offensive and defensive line and linebacker corps with young players, including, at long last, some drafted in the higher rounds rather than second-day hopefuls.
As much as an Oher or other similarly-rated DE or LB would feel "right" in terms of immediate on-field considerations, it would also send a comforting signal that the Redskins are willing to fight the impulse to chase "splash" with their top pick, and start the non-sexy but fundamentally sound process of rebuilding at the line of scrimmage.
Of course, then there's the whole
QB Mark Sanchez thing ...
CLICK HERE to read more