Redskins 7-round mock: What if they embraced the tank?

Round 3, Pick 1 – EDGE Ben Banogu – TCU

Offense has been prioritized. Now it’s time to move to the defense, where positions like edge rusher, inside linebacker, and safety hang in the balance.

I was going to go safety with this pick, but the edge options had been almost picked clean earlier, and if a competent rusher wasn’t picked at this juncture, it might not have ever happened. So with their first pick in the third round, with Preston Smith’s fate yet unknown, the Redskins select TCU edge rusher Ben Banogu.

If you’re a fan of uber-productive defensive ends, Banogu is your guy. After logging three sacks and ten tackles for loss in one season with Louisiana-Monroe, he transferred to TCU. He was forced to sit out a year, due to transfer rules, but when he came onto the field, he made the wait worth it for TCU.

Banogu, in his two seasons with TCU, amassed 17.0 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss, including 18.0 in his final season. He also added seven forced fumbles to these totals, two at UL Monroe, and five during his time in the Big Twelve.

Banogu’s only an average athlete, and he doesn’t have much bend, so his upside is limited in some respects. But he’s fairly quick for being 6-foot-4, 245, and he has a diverse set of moves he uses on opposing offensive linemen. The fine details work well enough for some, and Banogu’s on his way to fundamental proficiency. Whether he gets there, and if he amounts to anything when he does? Uncertain. But every mock draft is a different scenario. In this one, the edge position was mined a bit too early, and this is the result.