The pairing is a new one, but the reputations provide a glimpse into what might happen. And make no mistake, the Redskins are expected to make something happen. They could do the safe thing in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night, stay at No. 4 and select an offensive tackle.
Or the Redskins — with coach/president Mike Shanahan, who is definitely in charge of the show, and general manager Bruce Allen — could be bold, trade down, add picks and select a different position all together.
“Something tells me they’ll be the first team to shake things up,” ESPN analyst Todd McShay said.
The Redskins have only four picks — in the first, fourth, fifth and seventh rounds — and would like to add more. The question is, can they? Possibly, if they trade defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth or quarterback Jason Campbell. Haynesworth, if traded, could yield a second-round pick. Campbell is unlikely to fetch more than a fifth-round choice.
Here are some things to know about Shanahan’s draft history: In his last nine drafts in Denver, Shanahan made a trade involving a first-round pick six times. He made no such trades in his first five drafts. Shanahan loves taking offensive linemen, defensive backs and receivers. In his 14 drafts with Denver, he selected 19 defensive backs, 18 receivers and 18 offensive linemen (five tackles). In fact, there was only one draft in which he did not pick a lineman. Shanahan’s draft record in Denver is spotty at best. And he developed a reputation for picking players based mostly on potential.
“You can be sure that almost every pick [makes you] say, ‘Wow,’ at some point when you evaluate him,” former NFL scout Russ Lande said. “That’s something he’s big on.”
It led him to Brandon Marshall and Terrell Davis. It also led him to a number of mistakes. He’ll often select guys coming off injuries, feeling he’s getting a guy who, if healthy, would have gone higher and therefore has higher value.
But that led to first-round mistakes such as tackle George Foster and corner Willie Middlebrooks and a second-round gaffe in Paul Toviessi. All three were coming off injuries; none made an impact. Toviessi retired a year after being selected.
“He’ll take more risks because he wants more in return,” one NFL general manager said.
Said one Broncos source: “He doesn’t always respect the [scouting] process. So that tends to create risk.”
Shanahan has never selected higher than 11th overall. And his highest two picks in Denver were quarterback Jay Cutler (11th) in 2006 and tackle Ryan Clady (12th) in 2008. The latter already is developing into one of the best at his position.
Had Shanahan stayed in Denver, the 2006 class would have gone down as a productive one for a long time. In addition to Cutler, Denver took Marshall, linebacker Elvis Dumervil and starting guard Chris Kuper.
