Reggie McKenzie wouldn’t be right fit with Redskins, if they need front office help

If Bruce Allen leaves the Redskins for the Oakland Raiders, the team may need a new president and/or front office structure. While Reggie McKenzie could get consideration, he might not be the best fit with the team.

There have been some rumors swirling about that Bruce Allen may not be long for the Redskins. He may be a candidate for the Oakland Raiders’ GM spot, and while he may not end up ultimately getting the job, his seat is getting hot in Washington either way. The team president may find himself elsewhere next season either way, so the team may find themselves needing some new talent in the front office.

With that said, some have been talking about the man recently jettisoned in Oakland, Reggie McKenzie, as a potential replacement option for Allen, should Allen depart the Redskins this offseason. McKenzie will likely get some looks from front offices across the NFL, but the ‘Skins wouldn’t be a great one. Here’s why.

As Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball.com pointed out, McKenzie really hasn’t been a great talent evaluator with the Raiders. Here’s what he said about McKenzie’s tenure in Oakland.

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"As for McKenzie’s gaffes, he hired Dennis Allen, and he also had some major whiffs in the early rounds of the draft. Here are his bust picks from the first and second rounds: D.J. Hayden, Menelik Watson, Mario Edwards, Jihad Ward and Obi Melifonwu. Those are five busts out of 10 first- and second-round picks, which is a high number. Meanwhile, very few late-round picks were hits.Here’s a list of McKenzie’s Day 3 selections who have panned out:Jack CrawfordLatavius MurrayThat’s it. That’s the list."

Frankly speaking, that type of track record in the draft isn’t inspiring. At all. And while McKenzie did have success by drafting Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper, and — to an extent — Derek Carr, three players does not make a great GM. Plus, Cooper and Mack were both dealt before he left Oakland, so that’s not a good sign either (though that may be on ownership at the end of the day).

So, with McKenzie’s spotty record in terms of draft-day evaluation, it just doesn’t make sense to bring him in. In recent drafts, guys like Kyle Smith and Doug Williams have done a good job of identifying solid players and bringing them to the team. That duo would have more of a chance at success in the draft process than McKenzie, especially since they already fully understand the needs of the Redskins team.

McKenzie deserves a shot somewhere. He was the NFL Executive of the year in 2016, and he has done some good things during his career (namely drafting the three aforementioned players). That said, the Redskins already have a solid scouting staff, so overhauling that entirely wouldn’t make sense. Without Allen, things would likely run smoother, so it would probably be best to see what that would look like before bringing in a guy like McKenzie.

If the Redskins do make changes to their front office, they should still do their due diligence and talk to McKenzie. I’m just not convinced he would be the perfect fit for the team at this time (though he would certainly be better than Allen at this point).