Press Release: #Redskins Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams

[TK]

April 24, 2018

 

Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams

       

Opening remarks:

“It’s good to be here. The last three weeks or so, we’ve been in the room with all the scouts, the road scouts, the pro scouts, Bruce [Allen], Jay [Gruden], just going over players that are out there that we feel like can come in here and help us, so here we are.”

 

On if he seeks players that are more NFL-ready because of the current CBA:

“No, you know what, when you talk about players, you’d like for players to come in and play, but we also grade players too. The guys that are going to be eventually be starters, might be backups, you try not to go out there and get players that are practice squad. You don’t draft a guy to say he’s a practice squad player even though some of them might end up on the practice squad. You would like for all of them to come in and help you. Like last year, if you look at the roster, all [10] of our guys that we drafted last year played some portion of last season. Some of them contributed heavily. You take Jonathan [Allen], who got hurt who was really coming on, you take [Josh] Harvey-Clemons, [Montae] Nicholson, all those guys played a good amount of time last year. So at the end of the day, we look at last year as a very successful draft for us because they’re all still here and they’re contributing.”

 

On how this draft will be different for him in his new role:

“I’ve been involved in the last four. This is the fifth one coming up. But I think in my position now, it’s a little different because the community, the media and everybody else puts blame on somebody, so I guess it comes with the opportunity to put whatever blame – whatever congratulatory , whatever it is – but at the end of the day we don’t look at it from that standpoint because this is not a one-man show and that’s the good part about it. The scouts with Kyle [Smith] in charge and Tim Gribble and all the road scouts, you know, I’m a firm believer… Like I always use the cliché of Coach Eddie Robinson… the credit goes to the man in the arena. And when you think about it, sitting in that room and these scouts come in, they talk about these players and the information that they have and you think about how many hours they spend on the road in hotel rooms eating hamburgers or whatever they’re eating and trying to get all the information to bring back to us so we can sit in there and go over those guys, that’s where the credit goes. But at the end of the day, we come in and we put it all together and try to come up with the best board that we can.”

 

On drafting the best player available or drafting for need:

“You hear this cliché all the time, it’s always going to be the best player available, because at the same time if you’re looking for a need, the player you’re looking for a need might not be graded as high as the guy that’s on that board. At the end of the day, I like this football team we’ve got. Like, last year when I walked out of camp, I thought we had a pretty good football team and I still feel the same way today. At the end of the day, you get the best football player, and if that best football player is the guy that you want to plug and play, that’s all right. But if that’s the best football player that’s going to help your team overall, I think that’s the route you have to go. “

 

On scouting the character of prospects:

“When you talk about these road scouts, some of them are just like private eyes because they come back with information that is unbelievable, because they’ve got sources that you’d be surprised at how many sources out there will tell about some of these guys – whether or not it’s teammates, family people, coaches, trainers, people who know these guys. They come back with some very pertinent information and you find out that a lot of it is real. So you’ve got to give credit to the scouts, because they come back with all of this information on the character, the injuries and everything else. Because at the end of the day, being in-house most of the time, they are the ones that’s credited with bringing it back to you so you can go over these players because you want to make sure, today’s game, character does play a major part in the guy that you’re going to pick, especially when you’re talking about picking a guy high. There are some value picks and there are some guys that you might want to pick high that might not fit because of character, and if you knock them down a few rounds and hopefully they will learn their lesson and realize that you can’t do some of the things you’ve been doing. That’s if you pick them. But we try to stay away from bad character guys.”

 

On evaluating injury histories:

“During the combine, all of the doctors of every team is in Indy and there is also the re-check. We get those grades and we’ve got a grading system on injuries and everything else. A guy might have a grade saying, ‘You don’t want to take a chance on this guy.’ You might rule him out completely. Then he might have a grade saying, ‘Physically, this guy is ready to go.’ At the end of the day, you don’t control a lot of injuries. Guys are going to play this game and as long as this game is played the way it’s played, there’s going to be injuries, so you can’t protect against that as far as drafting a guy.”

 

On if injuries on the current roster impact the draft:

“Well, you know, if we had to play today, we wouldn’t be able to play without tackles. So we can’t go into the draft drafting tackles, you know? Hopefully the way it’s set up now, they’re going be ready to go during training camp and that’s what we’re looking for. So you can’t look at a guy and say, ‘Hey, he might get hurt tomorrow if we draft him.’ That’s not the way it works. And the guys that have been injured last year on our football team, we know where they are as far as progress and healing and stuff like that. We’re not going in to replace Trent [Williams] and we’re not going in to replace [Morgan] Moses or anybody like that. We’re looking at this football team as a whole and trying to get the best player.”

 

On what he wants the Redskins look like:

“Well, it’s like I said earlier. Coming out of Richmond last year, I liked this football team. I think we’ve got a tough football team, a smart football team. Some things you can’t control. We [were] very competitive up to a certain point, and when you have the injuries that we have, at a certain point, that competitive edge, you lose it because your best players are not playing. I think the team that we’re looking for is in the building now. And this week, this is the first week with them being back, you know, we’ve been in that room by ourselves with no noise in the building. It’s kind of like having your kids home and it’s good to see them all back now.”

 

On if the availability of free agents could alter draft plans:

“You always have free agents. There’s some free agents out there, and there’s going to be some more free agents after the draft. The thing about this, there’s a couple periods of free agents and at the end of the day the most important thing to us at this point is the draft. We’re going to deal with the draft first and whatever happens after that, if there’s some guys out there we feel like that can come in and help us to be a better football team, we’ll look at it from that standpoint. So as far as free agents, we’ve been through that period, we’ve did what we [were] going to do at this point. We’re going to deal with the draft now, and the second wave of free agents, if it’s somebody out there we feel like can help the Redskins,that’s what we’re going to do.”

 

On positions of strength in this draft class:

“Got a good class. It’s a good class overall. Not one particular class. We know there’s some strong people in an area, whether or not it’s cornerbacks, safeties, running backs. You know, linemen are down a little bit. Tackles are very valuable. There’s some out there, might not be up top, but there’s some out there. I think as a whole… Receivers, there’s a bunch of receivers. You never know who’s going to jump out at you. So at the end of the day, those are the chances you take when draft a guy.”

 

On if the draft gets his adrenaline flowing or if it is a “necessary evil”:

“It is a necessary evil, but I think over the last few weeks, you sit in there with about 20 people in that room watching tape all day, talking about the character, talking about injuries, talking about their abilities. I think this week it makes you feel a little better because it’s kind of like practicing during the week for the players – Sunday is the time you have a lot of fun. And I think now we’re probably doing the walkthrough at this particular time. We took off the pads as far as preparing is concerned. Waiting on Thursday so we can kick the thing off. So think it’s a lot of excitement building at this particular time.”

 

On if guard is a priority this week:

“If we had to line up today, if we had to line up with everybody healthy, remember, we ended with a guy. [Arie] Kouandjio is going on his third year now. So we can play with him. We’re not going in saying we’ve got to get a guard. That’s not where we are at this point because we’ve got enough guys around here that if we have to play a game, if everybody was healthy today with what we have, we wouldn’t have no problem in lining up and playing a game.”

 

On knowing the team does not have to select a quarterback early:

“You know, the thing about Alex Smith, I say we got the best third-round pick in the draft. I don’t care what nobody says. You can’t get a better third-round pick. And we feel pretty good from a stability standpoint in what he’s meant to this building as a whole walking in here – in the quarterback room, in the dressing room, in the dining hall. His leadership is unquestionable. It speaks for itself. And what he’s done as a player I think speaks volumes also.”

 

On the running backs on the current roster:

“Well, I feel pretty good about the running backs. We didn’t do exactly the way we wanted to, and, yes, everybody wants to upgrade. We want to upgrade everywhere we could. Running back is place that we always say we need a little more help. But if everybody is healthy and these guys coming back… [Samaje] Perine for his second year, Rob Kelley healthy and Chris Thompson is by far the guy that we need to be healthy to make this a great corps of running backs. But at the same time, if during the draft there’s a player that we feel like can come in and plug in who’s going to help us, we have no problem with that.”

 

On the roles of Owner Dan Snyder and President Bruce Allen in the draft process:

“Let me say this about Mr. Snyder. Number one, we’ve all got to look at it from the standpoint of he’s owns the football team, and he is aware of what we’re doing. I mean, he’s aware of the players that are out there because we sat down with him. We talk about it. But as far as making decisions, Bruce is in the room, but Jay [Gruden], myself, Kyle [Smith]… Mr. Snyder sits in there sometimes and just listens, but he [doesn’t] tell us what we have to do. He just asks about the guys. So as an owner of the football team, he has a right to know what’s going on with the football team and we make sure he knows. Bruce being the President, he has the right. But I think me, Jay and Kyle, we are in a lot of discussion, and after we discuss things, we’ll sit down with Bruce. But Dan is not here every day talking about football. But I’m sure he’s aware of what’s going on because, number one, we work for the guy, so we’ve got to keep him abreast of what’s going on.”

 

On if there is a tier of players that he would be happy with at No. 13 overall or if he would consider trading back:

“You know, the draft is so funny. You know, we sit here now with Jonathan Allen from last year. If you remember, Jonathan Allen was projected to go in the Top 10. So we really don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re talking about this draft with six quarterbacks possibly can go in the first round. So you don’t know how that run is going to go. You don’t look at it from that standpoint. When you’re in that seat at 13, number one, you sit there and you just watch the draft as it goes. And you’ve got your guys that you’d like to have. You’ve got about six or seven guys on that board that you’re hoping is there when you get there. If you lose one, you put another one up. If you lose another one, you put another one up, so when you get to your turn, you know, a couple minutes out, what have you, you sit there and you have your little pow wow and you come up with the player that you’re going to pick out of that group.”

 

On the odds of trading up versus trying to trade down to potentially recoup a third-round pick:

“Well, let me say this, the chances of trading up might be a little slimmer than trading down, but at the same time, you’ve got to have somebody to trade with, and I don’t think you go into it saying, ‘I’m going to trade down.’ And we’re not trying to recoup the third-round pick. I just said we had the best third-round pick in the draft, that third-round with Alex. I think at the same time, we’ve got phones that are in that room, if they ring, you’ve got guys calling all the time and want to know, ‘Do you want to come up or do you want to go back?’ But it all depends on who’s there when they’re calling you. They don’t just call you to ask you. There might be a player that they want at that particular time that they’re afraid that somebody else is going to pick and they might call you to ask you, ‘Do you want to move back?’ But we would have to call somebody to say we want to move up. At this point, I think where we are, if we [weren’t] in the quarterback business, which that’s what this league is all about, if we [were] in the heavy quarterback business, we’d talk about moving up, but at this time, we just sit back and find out what’s going to come to us if we stay at 13. But if we move back, it’s because somebody called us to ask do we want to move back.”

 

On if six quarterbacks potentially being selected in the first round could push the player they want to No. 13 overall:

“I don’t know whether six will go before 13 [Laughter; reporter clarifies that four could conceivably go before that selection]... Well, I don’t know. That’s what the gurus say. You know, that’s what they’re saying, that’s a possibility. But at the same time, every time one of those guys go, I'm sure they’re pushing somebody back to 13. And we just wait to see who they push all the way back and we’ll go from there.”

 

On how they project the different scenarios:

“We do just like you do. You all have got mock drafts. We look at them and we sit there and we talk to other teams, we talk to the Pro Directors, we do a lot of conversation. We talk to other people and we kind of project what they need, who they’re looking for to try to figure out who might and might not be there… Then, draft day, everything gets thrown out the window.”

 

On if it was important for the team to trade S Su’a Cravens before the draft:

“That wasn’t big, important to get Su’a traded. It was just the opportunity we had. We had somebody who wanted Su’a. So we made the trade. That’s what it was all about. He’s happy. We’re happy. We move forward.”

 

On if he considered waiting until closer to the draft to trade Cravens:

“No. It happened. We had a trade partner who wanted him. We made the deal and we all move forward. Hopefully he has a good time out there. We’re certainly going to move forward and try to have a good time here.”

 

On his comfort with his current tight ends given Vernon Davis’ age and Jordan Reed’s injuries:

“Vernon is the best looking 34-year-old you’ve ever seen on a football field, let me say that. But, no, we’ve got [Jeremy] Sprinkle from last year and we feel good about where Jordan Reed is as far as his health. I think he’s going to be a lot better this year than he was last year. Him being in the building and talking to him, he feels the same way. He’s confident that he’s going to be ready to go. Like you say, he’s one of the best in the business in this league at what he does.”

 

On why he thinks Reed will be healthier this year:

“Same reason I think Trent is going to be healthy and Moses is going to be healthy – what the doctors say. So we’ve got to go by what the doctors say.”

 

On nose tackles:

“Well, you know, like we said early on, we’ve got to improve in the run game and it starts up front. I think all the guys coming back healthy, we’ve got a pretty good start. Phil Taylor was starting nose tackle last year. He got hurt on the first play of the game, and that kind of set us back. Then Jonathan [Allen] went out. So the defensive line went down quickly. I think if we start off healthy, whether we get one in the draft or not, I think we’ll be pretty good. And like I say, there’s a second wave of free agents out there. You never know what can happen after the draft is over.”

 

On who will represent the team in North Texas:

“I think over the last years, I think the equipment guy and the film guy have been there, am I right? [Mike] Bracken and the equipment guy have been down on the phone at the drafts.” [Note: Video Director Mike Bracken and Assistant Athletic Trainer Mark McCracken will represent the team at the draft this year.]

 

On the decision makers in the room at team headquarters:

“Me, Kyle and Bruce and Jay are going to be around the table, and the other guys are going to be circling around to keep everybody else out [laughter].”

 

 

[goskins10]

I watched this live streaming. Good interview. Not sure he told us anything...  LOL 

[Califan007 The Constipated]

32 minutes ago, goskins10 said:

I watched this live streaming. Good interview. Not sure he told us anything...  LOL 

 

He said "At the end of the day" nine times, though lol...

[JSSkinz]

He was much more reserved in his answers than he was at the combine, sounded like he didn't want to give much away.

[Burgold]

Doug Williams good a job in saying nothing. Sounded like a GM

[Califan007 The Constipated]

7 minutes ago, Burgold said:

Doug Williams good a job in saying nothing. Sounded like a GM

 

There's some irony here somewhere lol...

[Est.1974]

On the running backs on the current roster:

“Well, I feel pretty good about the running backs...............

 

[bobandweave]

For anyone who missed it

 

 

 

1 hour ago, goskins10 said:

I watched this live streaming. Good interview. Not sure he told us anything...  LOL 

 

If he had he wouldn't be doing his job. Smoke screens and nothing else. Saying anything meaningful would have hurt them

[MarkB452]

At least nobody asked him how long he has been a black GM..........

[Darrell Green Fan]

It sure would be nice if we actually knew who was making the final calls.  It's the weirdest thing, I can't ever remember not knowing this answer. Why are they afraid to simply reveal that?

 

As for the interview my only concern is it sounded like he thinks they can start the season with Kouandjio as the starting LG.  Oh my, that's pretty concerning.  

[NewCliche21]

8 minutes ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

It sure would be nice if we actually knew who was making the final calls.  It's the weirdest thing, I can't ever remember not knowing this answer. Why are they afraid to simply reveal that?

 

As for the interview my only concern is it sounded like he thinks they can start the season with Kouandjio as the starting LG.  Oh my, that's pretty concerning.  

 

Didn't Bruce say a while back that he had final say?  That wouldn't change.

[Darrell Green Fan]

3 minutes ago, NewCliche21 said:

 

Didn't Bruce say a while back that he had final say?  That wouldn't change.

 

That was my understanding but as you said that was said a long time ago, when the question has been posed recently it's always "a group decision".  Which is nonsense, there needs to be a tie breaker.

[WelshSkinsFan]

I think he is actually being honest when he says it is a group discussion between himself, Bruce, Jay and Kyle with them looking to achieve consensus.  I am sure Bruce has veto power and will be the one to break any deadlock but overall I think they are comfortable with Kyle from a scouting perspective and they have made a lot of references to Jay being a good judge of talent so I take it at face value that they are running this as a committee.

 

I am sure Kouandjio is not the plan at LG but he is not going to tell us the real plan during a mandated PR event.  If we can move back and add either a second or third to a lower first round selection then there are some good talents that will be in that range such as Ragnow or Wynn.

[Darrell Green Fan]

Oh I get that it's all a group decision. But they will never come to a total agreement, someone has to step up and decide.  Is that Bruce?  Nobody seems to want to say. 

 

As for LG they really need a vet to be cut, then of course they need to draft people and put them in the pipeline.  But they need to find better players to pick, the mid round OGs they have drafted have not worked out and that's a problem.  Every team seems to be able to find quality guards in the 3rd-5th rounds other than us apparently. 

[bobandweave]

14 minutes ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

 

That was my understanding but as you said that was said a long time ago, when the question has been posed recently it's always "a group decision".  Which is nonsense, there needs to be a tie breaker.

 

Group decisions take the heat when it goes wrong off the single guy who deserves it the most. Its a chicken way of doing things. But it's how they do it

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/76059/group-decides-redskins-draft-pick-but-bruce-allen-has-final-say-on-trades

 

Though posted a year ago that says that the draft final say goes to the group and it's grades which are inputted by many people, trades are done by Bruce Allen and he has final say. 

[joeken24]

Good interview.

 

I tell ya.....cynicism and controversy will never be drained from this fan base (no matter who takes the podium). I'm beginning to think this mindset will remain long after Bruce and Dan are gone.  

 

Again, I'll be the first to curse (and even get banned sometimes) after poorly played football games. But I mean really....

 

Is Doug Williams an honest guy that has somehow gotten too close to Mordor?  Has he somehow morphed into some wicked mouthpiece for Dan Sauron.....I mean Snyder? 

Does Bruce Allen somehow resent being a child running around in the Redskin's locker room during the glory years?

 

This is about the best situation for this organization.

You have a kid from Silver Springs that buys the team he loves only 12 years out of high school. 

You have another kid that grew up as ball boy for the Redskins while his dad coached the team.

You have another kid (a little older) that won a freakin Super Bowl for this organization.

 

When I put those facts into perspective, I have to pause the sheep speak narrative that grips some of this fan base.

Its just stifling sometimes.  

 

Good ****ing interview Doug!! Thanks for taking the time to talk to the media and indirectly to the fans. Appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dyst]

For some reason whenever I hear anyone from ownership/management speak, I hear the Benny Hill theme in the background.

 

[goskins10]

6 hours ago, bobandweave said:

For anyone who missed it

 

 

 

 

If he had he wouldn't be doing his job. Smoke screens and nothing else. Saying anything meaningful would have hurt them

 

Uh, that was pretty much my point. Not sure where you are going with this. 

 

 

 

 

Wasn't really sure where to put this as it doesn't need it's own thread. This is as good as any place I guess. Thought some might enjoy it if thy have not seen it already. Shows many of the nasty hits we laid on dallast over the years, along with some great plays against them. I know I enjoyed it. 

 

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

12 hours ago, bobandweave said:

 

Group decisions take the heat when it goes wrong off the single guy who deserves it the most. Its a chicken way of doing things. But it's how they do it

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/76059/group-decides-redskins-draft-pick-but-bruce-allen-has-final-say-on-trades

 

Though posted a year ago that says that the draft final say goes to the group and it's grades which are inputted by many people, trades are done by Bruce Allen and he has final say. 

 

Thanks for this. So if I'm reading this correctly the group decides the board and then I assume they pick straight from the board?   Who is the guy to say "that's the pick"?  What if a left guard is available but a slightly higher rated tight end is the top available player on their board when it's their time to pick?  Who makes that decision?   Why is this not clear?  

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

1 hour ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

 

Thanks for this. So if I'm reading this correctly the group decides the board and then I assume they pick straight from the board?   Who is the guy to say "that's the pick"?  What if a left guard is available but a slightly higher rated tight end is the top available player on their board when it's their time to pick?  Who makes that decision?   Why is this not clear?  

 

It's clear as mud.  I posted this in the Bruce thread:

http://www.espn.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/36360/doug-williams-says-new-role-has-been-a-smooth-transition