Longtime NFL scout Dave Razzano gave the Redskins a B for their draft this past weekend. After spending 23 years in the business, and being part of five Super Bowl teams, he’s now analyzing the draft from an outside perspective. But he watches the game like what he is: a scout. Here’s what he had to say about the Redskins draft (I will say, his opinion mirrors what I heard from a GM though the GM was a little more skeptical of certain picks; I’ll post his thoughts later). For what it’s worth, Razzano said the Redskins deserved a B for their draft.
… “Ryan Kerrigan is real solid. Guys like him won’t be Supermen; they just come in and help your team win. He has a motor and plays with effort. Those are the guys you want on your team. They’re real solid. They’re lunch-pail guys. They come to work every day and you’ll get everything they have. He’ll be smart. Those are guys who help your organization. He’ll be productive. It’s a little bit of a projection at linebacker but if the guy just has a motor and plays with effort, you’ll get the consistency week in and week out.”
… “Leonard Hankerson is a good player. He can stretch the defense. He’s big. That’s what they need. Their receivers are small and he’s a big target with good hands. He has big-play ability.”
… “Roy Helu is a downhill back. He’s in-between a power and finesse back. He’s always moving forward and he has good hands. He’s a good, competitive running back with natural run skills. He fell a little bit because he had some injuries at Nebraska. At one time he was a big-time back there. He can go the distance. He has a chance to be a solid starter. He’s not a real flashy guy, but he has size and some power and some elusiveness in space. He’s pretty good; I like him.”
… “I like Niles Paul. He did a lot better as a junior. He’s a good route-runner with real good hands and he’s tough. He could have an early impact if he stays healthy. DeJon Gomes was one of my sleepers after the first round. He’s almost like a nickel linebacker and he can hit. He’s a physical tackler; he’s smart. He has good speed. He’s not the most athletically gifted, but he plays the run like a linebacker. He’s athletic enough in coverage. Playing free safety will be interesting. He stood out in the run game. He has good ball reaction. That’s a good pick for them.
“Paul is a big guy [NOTE: Here’s a YouTube highlight video of Paul]. He’s a second-round talent and he had some injuries. He’s probably the best reciver they’ve had [at Nebraska] in five or six years. He has good hands; he’s productive and he has speed. He’ll catch the ball over the middle. They didn’t throw it a lot at Nebraska, but if he was in a real pass-happy offense he would have had 90 catches for 1,300 yards. He can produce.”
… “Evan Royster is another productive guy. A few years back I thought he’d be a first-round pick, but people started dinging him for whatever reason. The games I saw him play he was always productive and he has size, which is the key. I like that pick in the middle of the draft. I didn’t study him a lot but I think he’s a real good runner, a move the chains runner.”
… “Aldrick Robinson was productive, a good hands guy [MORE YouTube Video highlights]. He’s a pretty good receiver. He’s a real good separator and has real soft hands and he can run after the catch. He’s not a stopwatch burner, but he’s consistently a good route-runner and he works to get open. He has some running back in him after the catch.”
… “I would never take a receiver early because there are always good ones. In the history of the draft there are too many Marques Colstons and Donald Drivers and Wes Welkers. The list goes on and on. You can find good receivers in rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6. History shows that.”
… “I did like John Beck coming out of college. He had a terrible Senior Bowl game. At BYU I thought he was quick with his feet, and dropped quickly. He had a good release and was very accurate short and intermediate. He could scramble away from pressure. He had a real accurate arm, he just didn’t have great size. But I’ll tell you what, they loved him at BYU. They couldn’t say enough about him. They thought he had good accuracy and smarts. It was just a matter of getting an opportunity and staying in one system. It wouldn’t shock me if he’s their starter. I thought he could be. You probably want someone better in the long run but you can win with him. He’s better than Rex Grossman by a longshot. Grossman is erratic as hell. If Beck gets dialed in and he’s smart, he can handle that offense.”
