This Franchise Will Never Win Until the Draft is Taken Seriously

[MattFancy]

All good teams build through the draft. We hear this constantly, yet this franchise continues to ignore it year after year. When looking at our current roster, I decided to look at who we have on this team that we drafted. For the sake of the drafting argument, I'm not including UDFAs.

 

Here's that list:

 

98 Brian Orakpo 28 DE 7 7 255 6-3 Texas 7/31/1986 5   Washington Redskins / 1st / 13th pick / 2009 91 Ryan Kerrigan 26 DE 11 11 255 6-3 Purdue 8/16/1988 3   Washington Redskins / 1st / 16th pick / 2011 10 Robert Griffin 24 QB 5 5 220 6-2 Baylor 2/12/1990 2   Washington Redskins / 1st / 2nd pick / 2012 71 Trent Williams 26 T 10 10 315 6-5 Oklahoma 7/19/1988 4   Washington Redskins / 1st / 4th pick / 2010 99 Jarvis Jenkins 26 DL 11 10 309 6-4 Clemson 4/24/1988 3   Washington Redskins / 2nd / 41st pick / 2011 93 Trent Murphy 24 DE 11 4 250 6-5 Stanford 12/22/1990 Rook   Washington Redskins / 2nd / 47th pick / 2014 39 David Amerson 23 CB 10 10 205 6-1 North Carolina St. 12/8/1991 1   Washington Redskins / 2nd / 51st pick / 2013 76 Morgan Moses 23 OT 7 1 314 6-6 Virginia 3/3/1991 Rook   Washington Redskins / 3rd / 66th pick / 2014 67 Josh LeRibeus 25 G 6 1 316 6-3 SMU 2/2/1989 2   Washington Redskins / 3rd / 71st pick / 2012 60 Spencer Long 24 OG 2 0 320 6-5 Nebraska 11/8/1990 Rook   Washington Redskins / 3rd / 78th pick / 2014 85 Leonard Hankerson 26 WR 1 0 205 6-1 Miami (FL) 5/7/1988 3   Washington Redskins / 3rd / 79th pick / 2011 86 Jordan Reed 24 TE 6 1 236 6-3 Florida 7/3/1990 1   Washington Redskins / 3rd / 85th pick / 2013 8 Kirk Cousins 26 QB 6 5 214 6-3 Michigan St. 8/19/1988 2   Washington Redskins / 4th / 102nd pick / 2012 26 Bashaud Breeland 22 CB 11 10 197 5-11 Clemson 1/30/1992 Rook   Washington Redskins / 4th / 102nd pick / 2014 56 Perry Riley 26 LB 9 9 238 6-1 LSU 5/3/1988 4   Washington Redskins / 4th / 103rd pick / 2010 29 Roy Helu 26 RB 11 0 216 6-0 Nebraska 12/7/1988 3   Washington Redskins / 4th / 105th pick / 2011 52 Keenan Robinson 25 OLB 11 11 240 6-3 Texas 7/7/1989 2   Washington Redskins / 4th / 119th pick / 2012   Phillip Thomas 25 FS     208 6-1 Fresno St. 3/1/1989 2   Washington Redskins / 4th / 119th pick / 2013 14 Ryan Grant 24 WR 11 2 199 6-0 Tulane 12/19/1990 Rook   Washington Redskins / 5th / 142nd pick / 2014 84 Niles Paul 25 WR 11 5 225 6-1 Nebraska 8/9/1989 3   Washington Redskins / 5th / 155th pick / 2011 46 Alfred Morris 26 RB 11 11 219 5-9 Florida Atlantic 12/12/1988 2   Washington Redskins / 6th / 173rd pick / 2012 15 Aldrick Robinson 26 WR 2 2 184 5-10 SMU 9/24/1988 3   Washington Redskins / 6th / 178th pick / 2011 68 Tom Compton 25 T 11 4 314 6-5 South Dakota 5/10/1989 2   Washington Redskins / 6th / 193rd pick / 2012 64 Kedric Golston 31 DT 8 0 301 6-4 Georgia 5/30/1983 8   Washington Redskins / 6th / 196th pick / 2006 95 Chris Neild 27 NT 0   313 6-2 West Virginia 12/1/1987 3   Washington Redskins / 7th / 253rd pick / 2011

 

25. That's the number of players on the full roster that were drafted by this team. We have one player on our team that was drafted by the Redskins before 2009, Kedric Golston, who during his time here as never really been anything more than a role/situational type player. Also in that time, we have 4 OL that are still with this team (Williams, Long, Moses and LeRibeus).

 

Compare our 25 drafted players on the roster to that of Green Bay's 38 players drafted by their team on their roster. The Ravens have 33 such players. Seahawks have 30 guys they drafted on their roster.

 

Took look at starters, not even half of our starters on both sides of the ball were drafted here. We have a total of 9 starters that were drafted here: Griffin, Morris, Williams, Reed, Kerrigan, Murphy, Breeland, Amerson.

 

Will the 2015 draft finally be the one to get this franchise going in the right direction?

 

 

All info taken from: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/was/2014_roster.htm

[GoSkins0721]

Oh, I think they take it seriously. They just seriously suck at it.

 

There have numerous years where the word "rebuilding" should have been used. But it never was. Never. "Just 1-2 players away"...

[nfl guru]

 

Will the 2015 draft finally be the one to get this franchise going in the right direction?

 

Hard to believe it will.  This team hits the 1st rounders quite well, everything after is a crapshoot.  Guys like Jenkins and Amerson should be building blocks, not playing comparable to a low level free agent.  Other hand, we've spent a multitude of middle picks on guys like Rinehart, Leribus, Long, Moses (Tyler Compton is a starter but the jurys still out on him imo)....

 

Its pretty simple imo.  Bruce Allen's drafting track record is poor thus to expect him to reverse this trend and nail a complete draft is a reach.  Ideal situation is he hires a proven personnel guy that has positive history of scouting and drafting while Bruce handles contracts and alumni affairs.

[GoldSkinner]

Snyder wants offseason splashes. He needs to be assured tickets will be sold; that merchandise will be flying off shelves; and a new layer of excitement permeates Redskins nation at least every 2 years. I suspect he depends on the high spurts of revenue generated by offseason buzzes to sustain relevance and expenses.

[deejaydana]

wasn't Bruce Allen with the Raiders previously?

 

I think we're terrible at hiring coaches and management as well. It all starts at the top. Danny still makes his millions every year. Where's the motivation to change?

[Koolblue13]

I blame our GM.

[Boss_Hogg]

Kinda hard when Bruce Allen and Snyder are making the picks. 

 

Snyder is still involved, don't kid yo selfs. 

[skins4eva]

There's a thread like this once a year or so.  The build through the draft mantra, which I completely agree with.  But, as other posters have said, Boss H in particular, this franchise is completely screwed as long as Snyder owns it.  He is the worst owner in the league.  An absolute disgrace.  We have no hope with him in charge.  Good draft, bad draft.  It's totally irrelevant.  Everything the man touches as it relates to football, and basically every investment he's made post striking it rich as a marketing-peak-of-the-market-charlatan has turned to dog ****.  He is the one constant through all the crap we have been through.  He is a total loser, and he infects this franchise with the spirit and leadership of a loser.  As fans, we need to, once and for all, stand up to this nonsense.  Stop buying merchandise, stop buying tickets.  Just stop until there is no fan base left to monetize and he is forced to consider selling or at least ceding day-to-day control.  The sooner we all wake up, the faster this may happen. 

[sportjunkie07]

I think we've done a respectable job on the draft post cerrato (when it seemed we really didn't care about the value of draft picks).

 

We're hampered mostly by a coaching change and the attempts to land a respectable qb.

 

other than that though, we've done well in the draft.

[Warhead36]

We need to commit to using the draft as our primary source of acquiring talent.

 

Look at the Packers. Like, 95% of their roster is guys they drafted/developed. As a result they're always good, because they have a steady pipeline of talent coming in every year. Ditto teams like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc.

[Springfield]

You can get top tier WR's in free agency. You can get RB's through trade. You can find LB's and Safetys when you need them.

All the best offensive linemen are sourced through the draft. This team needs to draft offensive linemen (and defense as well). Not just this year to make the fans happy. Next year too. Not lip service, a true dedication.

Then we will have a QB that can win for us.

[wysknz1]

It's going to get to the point that when we draft a player they're going to do a Elway or Eli and sit out or play baseball to NOT play for the skins.

[SkinsFTW]

Who wants to bet against us drafting a QB 1st even if the guy is destined to suck? (and why wouldn't he)

 

Since Heath Shuler was drafted in 1994 the Redskins have used these Draft Picks for QB's:

 

1st Rouders

 

1994 Shuler

1999 Traded 1st to Vikings for Brad Johnson

2002 Patrick Ramsey

2005 Jason Campbell

2012 RG3

2013 RG3

2014 RG3

 

7 first rounders used on QB's.

 

No other team has used more than 3 and remember we almost traded 3 more to Denver for Cutler according to Igor

 

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/09/23/vinny-cerrato-explains-how-skins-2009-trade-talks-for-jay-cutler-fell-through/

 

"“I get a call like 11:30 at night, it was [then Broncos head coach] Josh McDaniels,” Cerrato went on. “And he says, ‘We’re ready to do this.’ I says, ‘What do you want?’ It was like three ones and a two. And I said, ‘Is that it?’ I said, ‘That’s all you want, three ones and a two?’ It was like Draft Day, the movie, you know? And he wanted three ones, a two and Jason Campbell. So then I called Dan — it was like 11:30 — I said, ‘Dan, game on.’”"

 

2nd Rounders

2000 traded to Vikings for Brad Johnson

2010 McNugget

 

3rd Rounder for Brunell

3rd  and 4th Rounders traded to Denver for pick for Campbell

Cousins 4th Rounder

Rosenfels 4th Rounder

 

some randoms like 5ths 6ths or 7ths for Palmer Brennan Hamdan Husak Frerotte

[Chachie]

 

Snyder is still involved, don't kid yo selfs. 

 

 

 

FINALLY someone gets it. He never took his mitts off the football. I love when fans scream, "but he's no longer involved in football decisions!" Stop. Just stop.

 

This team will never succeed while he owns it. Ever.

[Voice_of_Reason]

Kinda hard when Bruce Allen and Snyder are making the picks. 

 

Snyder is still involved, don't kid yo selfs. 

Snyder has never, and will never, be involved in anything other than a first round pick on a QB.  He's not going to get involved in which middle linebacker in the 5th round is better than some OLB.  He wouldn't even begin to care.

 

I think it's actually unlikely that he has any say in the draft, maybe minus the Griffin trade, since Shanahan got here.  Do you really think he's out there picking between Okung and Trent Williams?  Kerrigan vs. Watt?  Trading down in the second and picking up Murphy, Long and Moses?

 

Those are not the types of decisions that Snyder would even be interested in making, let alone have any input on. 

 

Did Shanahan consult with Snyder before the Griffin trade? I'm sure he did.  I think he'd have to.  If Bill Bellechick decided to trade away 2 #1's and a #2, I think he's consult with Bob Kraft.  Who conceived it? No idea.  If Shanahan was violently against it,it wouldn't have happened.  

 

I think we've done a respectable job on the draft post cerrato (when it seemed we really didn't care about the value of draft picks).

 

We're hampered mostly by a coaching change and the attempts to land a respectable qb.

 

other than that though, we've done well in the draft.

Since 2010, we've done pretty well in the draft.  There are a number of solid players on the team that we drafted that can be cornerstones for a while.

 

The real problem is that we have 1, ONE, player on the team from a draft prior to 2010, and that's Orakpo.  And he's probably gone after this year also.  

 

We need to commit to using the draft as our primary source of acquiring talent.

 

Look at the Packers. Like, 95% of their roster is guys they drafted/developed. As a result they're always good, because they have a steady pipeline of talent coming in every year. Ditto teams like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc.

That number for the Packers is incorrect, based on the OP.  They have 38 of 53, (71%), Seahawks 30 of 53 (56%), 'Skins 25 of 53 (47%).

 

Based on the OP.

 

Here's the good news: the 'Skins have 25 players on the roster from the past 4 drafts. Which means that there has been a focus on the draft for the last 4 years.  

 

The problem is that prior to 2010, there was NO focus on the draft, and the drafts sucked.  2008 was epic-bad.  But none of the others were any good either.

 

Look at the best teams: Their blue-chip players, in their prime, came from the drafts from about 2006-2011.  That's about 3-8 years of experience.  When you have NOTHING from 2006-2009, you really don't have the possibility of having a lot of blue chip players in their primes.   

 

You can get top tier WR's in free agency. You can get RB's through trade. You can find LB's and Safetys when you need them.

All the best offensive linemen are sourced through the draft. This team needs to draft offensive linemen (and defense as well). Not just this year to make the fans happy. Next year too. Not lip service, a true dedication.

Then we will have a QB that can win for us.

I think you've got a really good point.  QB, OL, DL and CB are REALLY hard to get through FA, because the good ones either never hit the market, or are madly expensive.

 

You can do more with LB, WR, TE, S, FB, etc.

[sportjunkie07]

^I agree that we have had some bad drafts, but it isn't necessarily bad drafting (from a personnel standpoint)

 

we don't have the blue chip players because we never had the blue chip draft picks to select said players, mostly because we traded away picks foolishly during the cerrato years and have gambled on qbs in the shanny year.

 

couple that with coaching changes and the blue chip players you do draft (rogers, landry, orakpo, etc..) have a much harder time panning out.

[carex]

FINALLY someone gets it. He never took his mitts off the football. I love when fans scream, "but he's no longer involved in football decisions!" Stop. Just stop.

 

This team will never succeed while he owns it. Ever.

 

 

then why are you here?  If you don't think the Skins can succeed why do you have to spread the misery?

[lavar1156]

What about Keenan Robinson? And Breeland? And hopefully some of these O-Lineman can develop.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

What about Keenan Robinson? And Breeland? And hopefully some of these O-Lineman can develop.

This is their first year being active on game day. Come talk to me if they aren't worse players 4 years from now.

[Bishop Hammer]

We need to commit to using the draft as our primary source of acquiring talent.

Look at the Packers. Like, 95% of their roster is guys they drafted/developed. As a result they're always good, because they have a steady pipeline of talent coming in every year. Ditto teams like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc.

I would love for The Redskins tl use that model to build the team. Its been close to twenty years if the FO hasn't figured out thays the way to go they won't anytime soon. :-(

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

I would love for The Redskins tl use that model to build the team. Its been close to twenty years if the FO hasn't figured out thays the way to go they won't anytime soon. :-(

It may be the plan for a year. New plan the next year. No philosophy or organizational identity.

[PokerPacker]

That number for the Packers is incorrect, based on the OP.  They have 38 of 53, (71%), Seahawks 30 of 53 (56%), 'Skins 25 of 53 (47%).

we're actually currently at 32/53. If you include the UDFAs we brought in, though, we're much higher than 38/53. It's actually pretty easy to single out those who aren't homegrown talent.

Players who did not get their start in GB:

FB John Kuhn (though only spent one season on Pitt's active roster before joining Pack)

RB Dujuan Harris (part of one season with Jacksonville)

QB Scott Tolzien

DT Letroy Guion

OLB Julius Peppers

There are a few others who spent some time on another team's practice squad, but those five are the only ones on our current 53 that spent time on another team's active roster before coming to GB (unless you want to count Flynn, but him being here right now is very related to us having drafted and developed him). So that's somewhere around 90% homegrown talent on the roster.

[Conn]

we're actually currently at 32/53. If you include the UDFAs we brought in, though, we're much higher than 38/53. It's actually pretty easy to single out those who aren't homegrown talent.Players who did not get their start in GB:FB John Kuhn (though only spent one season on Pitt's active roster before joining Pack)RB Dujuan Harris (part of one season with Jacksonville)QB Scott TolzienDT Letroy GuionOLB Julius PeppersThere are a few others who spent some time on another team's practice squad, but those five are the only ones on our current 53 that spent time on another team's active roster before coming to GB (unless you want to count Flynn, but him being here right now is very related to us having drafted and developed him). So that's somewhere around 90% homegrown talent on the roster.

This is kind of like doing a jig in front of a paraplegic.

[carex]

Funny thing about the claim the Skins haven't cared about the draft in 20 years.  In 91 only about half our team was home grown talent. On defense the only Redskins drafted players who started regularly were  Mann, Green and Andre Collins, with Gouveia a part timer.

[Old Bay]

I think there's a difference between taking it seriously and then doing it well.  Cerrato never took it seriously and traded them away like candy.  This is well documented.  I think folks seem to think that Cerrato is still in charge (I know results haven't been much better).  From 2000 to 2009 we had 59 picks, for 6.5 per draft.

 

Since Allen/Shanahan, we've had 42 draft picks, which averages out to 8.4 picks per draft since 2010.  Pretty much two more picks on average per draft.  This would indicate to me that this current management takes the draft more seriously.

 

There have been trades done, but most teams make trades.  They have thus far not worked out, but to say that we can and should only use the draft is silly to me.  Use all the tools available, just use them wisely.