Washington Redskins: 15 best first-round draft picks of all time

Chris Samuels was literally Trent Williams before Trent Williams.

Samuels was a dominant offensive tackle for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Starting 42 games at offensive tackle in his career, Samuels never gave up a single sack. Using his long 6-foot-5, 310-pound frame, Samuels mauled whoever lined up across from him; his prowess mirrored that of the Alabama football program itself.

In 1999, Samuels’ final collegiate season, he took his play one step further, never once allowing a pressure on his side of the line. For his efforts, he earned consensus All-American honors and recognition as the Outland Trophy winner.

Samuels’ talents afforded him interest early in the 2000 NFL Draft, and the Redskins, with two picks in the top-three and a glaring need at left tackle, couldn’t afford to pass him up. Setting his sights on “resurrecting the Hogs” (per Liz Clark of the Washington Post), Samuels was given the starting job early and he never looked back.

Samuels spent 10 seasons in the NFL, suiting up for Washington in all 10. He played at least 12 games in nine of those seasons, and excluding his 2009 campaign, which was cut short due to a spinal injury, Samuels only missed eight games in his entire career.

In nine years, Samuels was voted to the Pro Bowl six times. And while the Redskins sifted through starting quarterbacks between 2000 and 2009, starting 10 different signal callers over that time span, they never had to worry about who was protecting their blind side.

Samuels made sure of that. Samuels’ reliability was unmatched, so much so that when Samuels hung up his cleats in 2010, the Redskins wasted no time following that same blueprint to draft his successor. The purest form of flattery.