The sixth pick will be celebrated, paraded in front of the cameras, touted as pivotal to the future. And it will be justified, given his standing.
But the Redskins’ draft will be made in the lower rounds, where the hidden gems reside — and where they have four picks in the final three rounds. The key is finding them, something the Redskins have not done enough of lately.
» Since 2000, the Redskins have made 26 picks in rounds four through seven. Only five were on the roster at season’s end, including three draft picks from last spring. And only one, then-rookie Kedric Golston, was a starter. Rock Cartwright is a key special teams contributor and former seventh-round pick.
» From 1981-91, the Redskins excelled at finding talent among low-round picks, contributing to their Super Bowl runs. The best years were 1981 and ’86, when they found a combined seven players who became key players.
This past season, Indianapolis drafted Howard University strong safety Antoine Bethea in the sixth round. He started 14 games.
“Without [Bethea] and Joseph Addai, the Colts are not in the Super Bowl,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said. “A lot of guys go in the fifth or sixth round who I think are second or third-rounders. That’s why day two is as important as day one.”
NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said teams struggle to find good second-day picks when there’s a disconnect between the coaching staff and the scouts. In those cases, one side might favor productive college players who lack the so-called measurables while the other prefers those who test well at workouts.
“Indy and New England are teams that hang their hats on guys who are high-level college production people,” Mayock said. “If I find a guy who was a good player in the Big Ten or SEC and he slides through because he’s not quite as quick or big, then I already know I have a good player. The guys who worry me are the ones who run a 4.4 [in the 40-yard dash] at the combine, but who don’t show me college production. Too many teams get carried away with the 4.4.”
However, the Redskins have failed with this thinking, too. Of those 26 second-day picks, 20 came from schools currently in BCS conferences.
“A lot of it is intangibles,” Redskins vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said. “Kedric wasn’t the greatest athlete, but his effort was unbelievable.”
Stepping out
» Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said, despite coming off a 5-11 record, there aren’t many openings for draft picks. “You’d love to have a guy make an immediate impact, but to be truthful, you look at the team and where could a player step in now and say, ‘I’m taking over.’ Where is that? That makes us feel good. I don’t feel panic that we have to take any one thing, but it’s hard to say someone would step into any position right now.”
HIDDEN GEMS
The Redskins helped build their Super Bowl championship teams by drafting quality players after the fourth round, or by signing undrafted free agents.
OT Joe Jacoby
(rookie free agent, 1981)
DE Dexter Manley
(fifth round, 1981)
WR Charlie Brown
(eighth round, 1981)
DT Darryl Grant
(ninth round, 1981)
S Ken Coffey
(ninth round, 1982)
DB Barry Wilburn
(eighth round, 1985)
G Raleigh McKenzie
(11th round, 1985)
LB Ravin Caldwell
(fifth round, 1986)
QB Mark Rypien
(sixth round, 1986)
LB Kurt Gouveia
(eighth round, 1986)
RB Timmy Smith
(fifth round, 1987)
OT Ed Simmons
(sixth round, 1987)
QB Stan Humphries
(sixth round, 1988)
C Mark Schlereth
(10th round, 1989)
RB Brian Mitchell
(fifth round, 1990)
