Rumors: Washington Redskins Interested In Running Back Christian McCaffrey
The Washington Redskins need to add a running back in the 2017 NFL Draft. Rumor has it that they may be interested in Christian McCaffrey with their first round pick.
Heading into the 2016 season, the Washington Redskins had a weakness at the running back position. They had a trio of potentially solid backs at the position, but no true workhorse. Matt Jones fizzled out midway through the season while Rob Kelley had some potential, but would be better as a backup. The best of the backs may have been Chris Thompson, but he has too small of a frame to be a featured back. Because of this, the Redskins need to find another running back in the 2017 NFL Draft.
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That said, it appears that the Redskins are attempting to target one of the potential first round backs with the No. 17 overall pick. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Redskins are among a trio of teams that are interested in acquiring Christian McCaffrey in the first round.
Along with the #Panthers, the #Broncos & #Redskins loom for McCaffrey (not sure he’s still there for either team). https://t.co/dEdxvMmdjJ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 6, 2017
While McCaffrey would likely be a good fit in Washington, there are some concerns with the pick. Namely, it seems that McCaffrey is likely to be off the board before the No. 17 pick.
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Peter Schrager of Fox Sports was the first to report that McCaffrey is rising up draft boards. On Wednesday night, Scharger sent out a tweet that said McCaffrey could be a top 10 pick. This is not a huge surprise, as he has been terrific during offseason workouts and the character concerns with Dalvin Cook are pushing McCaffrey up to No. 2 in the running back rankings.
At the NFL level, McCaffrey is a true three down back. He is a terrific pass catcher and should be able to be a weapon that can produce at least 2,000 plus scrimmage yards every season. He is a lot stronger than he looks, and that will allow him to have success.
In terms of teams that could be interested in McCaffrey that are picking ahead of the Redskins, the Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Philadelphia Eagles all make sense. They could view McCaffrey as the answer to their respective running back woes. That could make it so that he is not on the board for the Redskins pick. In my current mock draft, I have McCaffrey going No. 19 overall to Tampa Bay, but he will have to be moved up in wake of this news.
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At the end of the day, McCaffrey is a really good player who would fit in very well with the Redskins offense. If he is available, then they will be able to take him. That said, it is looking less likely that he will escape the top 10 picks, so the interest make have no impact. Regardless, McCaffrey has to be considered one of the top options if he makes it to the No. 17 overall pick.