Redskins Mailbag: Cornerback battle, RB room, Payne or Vea, and more

NFL Draft flashback

Bill P: Would the Redskins have still taken Daron Payne at No. 13 if Vita Vea was on the board?

The comparison between Vea and Payne will probably never end since they were the two true nose tackles that were taken in the first round (not that either can’t play multiple roles, but most projected them as nose tackles). And this certainly is a fair question that we will never know the true answer to.

Payne was always a favorite among the Washington front office, with WalterFootball.com’s Charlie Campbell reporting as early as February that the team was strongly considering Payne with their first-round pick. Up until draft week, it seemed that they preferred Payne to Vea.

However, just days before the draft, Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst reported that Vea to the Redskins was the “worst kept secret in the league” and mocked him to the team with the No. 13 pick. So, it seemed that if the Redskins were able to get Vea, they probably would have taken the big man from Washington.

To answer this question simply, I’m not exactly sure what the Redskins would have done if both were on the board. I was a big fan of Payne for the whole draft process, so I probably would have recommended selecting him with the 13th pick.

That said, I would say it’s more probable than not that based on the pre-draft rumors regarding Vea, the Redskins would have taken him had the Bucs not selected him one pick earlier. Either way, both players should have great careers, and it will be interesting to see which one develops into the stronger player (if they can even differentiate themselves enough).