More NFL draft talk from Mel Kiper on the Redskins (for what it’s worth, he has only two quarterbacks worthy of being first-round picks — Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen:
Kiper on how the Redskins can maximize the value if they want a quarterback and tackle: “I would say there, would you rather have Anthony Davis or Russell Okung at No. 4 and Colt McCoy or Dan LeFevour in the second round or would you rather have Jimmy Clausen or Sam Bradford at No. 4 and then maybe a [Bruce] Campbell or Bryan Bulaga. I’ve seen it happen before where tackles have dropped at times in the second round. In the case of Clausen or Bradford I would take the quarterback first. I have Clausen and Bradford rated higher than Davis and Okung. I would go quarterback first, then try to get the offensive tackle in the second round and hope that Campbell or Bulaga fell down to me.”
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On Mike Shanahan’s history as a drafter: “Mike likes it. You have to be passionate, study film and evaluate players. I think Mike does well. With Mike, there are some things that were done and I don’t know who made the final decisions. There were some mistakes there that hurt the franchise a bit. But overall I have great respect for Mike’s ability as a coach No. 1 and his personnel skills will be on display right away.”
On Bradford: “The accuracy jumps out at you. The problem was when he was pitching and catching two years ago when he had all day to throw with good receivers. This past year I wanted to see him under duress and he got hurt. The issue I have with Sam is that we have not seen him in NFL settings where there was pressure and he has to throw into small windows. He did [face that] in a couple games and they lost both games. He’s a very good thrower on the run, whether he’s going left or right and he’s certainly very smart. Some games I noticed when he was behind some guys on short- and medium-range throws so his accuracy, while really good, wasn’t as spectacular as some credit him with — and that’s when he was having time to throw. But [the receivers] were still in a position where they could catch the ball or make an attempt to catch it. Bradford and Clausen are right there; you just have to decide which one you want.”
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