Grading the Adonis Alexander pick for the Washington Redskins
Grabbing Adonis Alexander in the sixth-round of the Supplemental Draft was certainly a solid move by the Washington Redskins. Now, we’re grading the acquisition.
When the fifth-round of the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft rolled around and just Sam Beal had been selected, there was some minor surprise from savvy NFL fans. Many had expected that Virginia Tech cornerback Adonis Alexander would come off the board at some point in that round. Alas, he remained on the board until the sixth-round before a team took a chance on him. And that team was the Washington Redskins.
Taking Alexander was definitely a sensible move by the Redskins. They already had drafted a couple of Virginia Tech players in Greg Stroman and Tim Settle, and defensive backs coach Torrian Gray used to work for the Hokies before coming to the Redskins. The ties there run deep and that will be huge for Alexander in his rookie year.
It’s also worth noting that Alexander has a lot of talent. Had he declared for the 2018 NFL Draft, there was some speculation that he could have been a Round 3 or Round 4 pick. He has the versatility to play corner and safety and should succeed as a big, physical player in a press-man scheme. With some development, it’s entirely possible that he could develop into a starter in the NFL and at the least, a top backup.
Of course, there are some concerns surrounding Alexander as well. Notably, he had a drug arrest back in 2016 and he was also ruled academically ineligible for the 2018 campaign, which prompted him to enter the Supplemental Draft. That said, it appears that Alexander has learned from his past mistakes and really cleaned up his act following his arrest. Alexander said this to Eric Galko of the Sporting News in a recent interview.
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"I ended up, from freshman year to junior year, I never failed a drug test. As a matter of fact, I self-reported every time I had an instance where I was around weed. And I know that, the third or fourth game this year they’ve been drug testing me every other week, so I probably have like eight or nine negative drugs tests this year alone. And I appreciated it. I have a track record now for teams to see. I definitely feel like a whole different person, and it did nothing but build character for me."
From this statement, it seems that Alexander is owning his past mistakes and has really gotten his act together. The off-field issues will still be a minor concern, but it seems that he knows what it will take to have an NFL career. Hopefully, they won’t be a problem at all and many teams will wonder why they never took a chance on Alexander.
All that said, picking Alexander was a solid value for the Redskins, but he didn’t fill an immediate need at all. The team already had eight corners on the roster, and many of them are young and inexperienced. Alexander will add to the competition there, but he is far from a lock to make the roster. Additionally, he could push another quality candidate off the roster and to the practice squad, so that is something that needs to be taken into consideration. Still, Alexander has a lot of talent and could continue to grow, and having too much talent is never a bad thing.
Next: Which Redskins DBs are on the bubble after Alexander pick?
Overall, the Alexander pick deserves a good grade. The Skins still have 10 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and they added a good player for pennies on the dollar. This grade might change if Alexander can’t make the roster, but for now, he’ll earn a mark in the high-Bs.