The evidence can’t be ignored: teams that draft well typically succeed. Not to mention they end up hoisting trophies at season’s end.
Of last year’s top eight teams, each had found at least 10 starters through the draft from 2003-07.
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The Redskins, meanwhile, have work to do to catch up to those teams — they had an NFL-low 11 players (seven starters) on their roster from the 2003-07 drafts. They’ll get some of that work done this week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, which runs Wednesday through Feb. 26.
The Redskins hold a pick in every round of this year’s draft, except for a fourth-rounder that went to Atlanta as part of the T.J. Duckett trade. The draft is strong in two areas of need: defensive end and offensive tackle.
“This is just a piece of the puzzle,” Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said of the combine.
He said his staff did most of the preparation while he focused on the coach search, though he was watching film in his office Monday.
Many teams have been burned by falling in love with a player’s speed or athleticism at the combine in the past. Cerrato points to last year’s sixth-round pick, linebacker H.B. Blades, as the anti-combine player. At 5-foot-9, he’s considered too short too play. But his college numbers were too much to ignore.
“Production is huge,” Cerrato said. “You don’t know what he has in his heart. You find out a lot of that stuff by watching film.
“[But] you get a chance to see his athletic skills, does he have the skills for the position?”
The real bonus is being able to interview prospective picks as well as get detailed medical information. Also, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said as many as 16 juniors could be picked in the first round. They haven’t been scouted as heavily so this gives teams a chance to see them close up.
“In any sport, home grown is the way to go,” Kiper said.
