Redskins: Jay Gruden wants to add running back, may draft one early
Jay Gruden appeared on the Grant and Danny show on Tuesday afternoon, and spoke about some personnel decisions that the team would be facing.
The Washington Redskins have been fairly active in the past few days of free agency, hosting a myriad of players and signing Orlando Scandrick to a two-year, $10 million deal. As it stands, their roster appears to be in solid shape, and there are just a few holes left on the roster to fill.
Jay Gruden seems to know that one of the biggest holes on the roster is at the running back position. While the team has some solid rotational players in Samaje Perine and Chris Thompson, the team has lacked a true lead back since the decline and departure of Alfred Morris. Now, they have to find a new leader.
Per Grant Paulsen of the Grant and Danny Show, Gruden spoke to him about the possibility of adding a running back in the early rounds of the draft. Paulsen posted Gruden’s response on Twitter.
Just asked Jay Gruden if we should expect the #Redskins to draft a RB in the early rounds: "That's a good possibility, yes."
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) March 20, 2018
This is an entirely sensible viewpoint from Gruden. The team definitely needs a true, three-down back to complete what could be a stellar rotation. And they will have the opportunity to do that.
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The Redskins are armed with a first and second round pick, and they will almost certainly look to spend one on a running back. It seems unlikely that any first-round running back would be a reach, as Saquon Barkley will almost certainly go in the top four of the 2018 NFL Draft. At No. 13, the Redskins will be in position to land a defensive stud like Minkah Fitzpatrick or Da’Ron Payne. Reaching for a guy like Derrius Guice or Sony Michel at that point would be a mistake, though they could trade down to get one of them.
Still, the more efficient option for the team would be to wait until the second round to grab one of the remaining backs that will almost certainly be on the board. As of right now, we have the Redskins selecting Ronald Jones out of USC in our Round 2 mock draft, and he would be a great option as a potential leader. Nick Chubb and Kerryon Johnson would be other options and they could end up being comparable to the potential first round guys.
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The Redskins really need to add a running back to their team. Alex Smith needs a quality player to hand the ball off to, and any of the top six backs in this class would get it done. It’s good news that Gruden understands this, and hopefully, they will make the move to get a game-changer.