Redskins should avoid Jachai Polite in Round 1 after disappointing combine

Jachai Polite was one of the players that the Redskins would have considered taking with the 15th pick. However, after a disappointing performance at the NFL Combine, the team should think twice about taking him.

Every year at the NFL Combine, players improve their stock and hurt their stock. Athletic testing alone doesn’t always have a massive impact on draft stock, but an amalgamation of things can be learned off the field at the combine. This year, it appears that one of the players that may have hurt his stock is Florida edge rusher Jachai Polite.

Coming into the combine, Polite was considered to be a potential riser. He played well in his final season at Florida, notching 11 sacks, and has a good first step. However, he was a bit undersized and needed to test well athletically. That didn’t happen.

Polite ended up running a 4.84-second 40-yard dash. Considering his smaller 6-2 frame, this was a massive disappointment. After the drill, Polite was declared out for the rest of the day with a hamstring injury. This could certainly have had an impact on him, but at the same time, his inability to perform in other drills and his poor 40 time certainly had a negative impact on his stock.

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Elsewhere, there are reportedly some concerns about Polite off the field. WalterFootball.com’s Charlie Campbell has reported that a couple of teams are close to removing Polite from their board, citing “character concerns.”

"The character concerns with Polite are comprised of a variety of factors. There are some minor concerns about maturity and accountability. There also are some minor worries about how he spends recreational time and hobbies. But perhaps the biggest issue is concerns about how Polite conducted himself during his sophomore year when Jim McElwain’s staff was on their way out. Some evaluators are worried that Polite quit on the staff and led teammates to do the same."

These concerns will need to be investigated further by talent evaluators, but they certainly don’t sound great. Polite didn’t do a lot to quell concerns this week. Per The Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard, Polite said that the Rams were his best meeting of the week, but he provided odd reasoning for it.

Teams may not like seeing this from Polite. They may view it as an inability to take criticism and be accountable. Of course, the meetings also could have been a test to see how Polite reacted, so that’s notable as well. This incident alone won’t greatly hurt Polite’s draft stock, but it certainly won’t help it. That, coupled with his injury and poor 40-time, may have allowed others to leapfrog him in the rankings.

If the Redskins end up going with an edge player in the first round, they’re better served to target a guy like Montez Sweat or Brian Burns. One of them could end up falling despite strong showings at the NFL Combine, as the potential remains for four quarterbacks to go in the top-15 picks. At this stage, each has fewer concerns than Polite.

Polite still isn’t a bad option, but his stock is now on the decline and he could be more of a late first-round option. The Redskins shouldn’t go after him, especially if there are other talented edge prospects on the board. Unless something happens to stabilize Polite’s draft stock, they would be best served to let someone else take him.