Should the Redskins have drafted Derwin James over Daron Payne?
By Ian Cummings
Daron Payne was a stud for the Redskins in 2018.
Regarded as a stout run defender with the strength and athleticism to add a pass rushing element to his game ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft, Daron Payne blew away initial expectations in his first season with the Washington Redskins.
Playing in all sixteen games of the regular season, Payne wreaked havoc on opposing offensive lines, logging 5.0 sacks, three pass deflections, 56 total tackles, six tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits, and a forced fumble.
Payne’s rookie campaign was nearly deserving of a Pro Bowl bid, and as long as he continues to develop under defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, Payne should be a staple of the Redskins defense for years to come. With his early returns so promising, could it possibly be conceivable…. that the Redskins made the wrong pick at No. 13?
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As good as Payne was in college, and as good as he was in his rookie season, he wasn’t the only defensive game-changer on the board at No. 13. Another name had also gained traction among the Redskins fan base: Florida State safety Derwin James.
James would end up slipping to the No. 17 pick after being passed on by Washington, and by the end of the night, he’d call Los Angeles his home.
By the end of the 2018 season, Los Angeles would be Derwin James’ castle.
The rookie became royalty to his fan base in 2018, embarking on a first-team All-Pro campaign in his very first season. In sixteen games, as a defensive chess piece for the Chargers, James logged 105 total tackles, four tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions, and 13 pass deflections.
James transformed the Chargers’ defense into a playoff unit, and in their first playoff game, his impact was felt from the first snap. The Chargers used James’ speed and length to stymie an unorthodox, unpredictable Lamar Jackson-led offense, an offense that had torn defenses apart on the ground for six straight weeks. They ran for 90 against James and Co.
Looking back, one can make a very compelling case that James was the right pick to make at No. 13. Payne was stellar in his rookie season, but with D.J. Swearinger gone, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix nearing free agency as a trade deadline bust, Washington has a massive void in the secondary, and their defense is totally lacking in terms of deception.
One can make a case that Greg Manusky wouldn’t use James right (Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s game plan was superb against the Ravens), but nabbing James would have given the Redskins more versatility to start the season, and he could’ve been the piece the Redskins needed to keep up with the NFL’s most modern offenses. Perhaps the defensive collapse late in the season would have never happened.
What do you think? Did the Redskins make the right choice? Or was there a better route to take?