Redskins: 5 values too good to pass up at pick No. 15

Isn’t it convenient that the most valuable player on this list happens to be the one most likely to fall?

Brian Burns should go in the top ten. He has almost all the traits required for an edge rusher: Burst, bend, length, hand quickness, a high motor, and lateral agility. He can work to implement power into his game more often, but he has the length to cultivate leverage on his own, and with an NFL coach, he could magnify his talents and explode at the next level.

Burns has the best culmination of traits in the 2019 NFL Draft, among edge rushers. The burst that Josh Allen lacks consistently, Burns has. The flexibility that Montez Sweat relatively lacks, Burns has. The length that Polite lacks, Burns has. By my evaluation, Burns is the closest challenger to Nick Bosa by a decent margin. He’s No. 3 on my draft board, and yet, we keep hearing that he’ll slip.

Why would Burns slip? Perhaps his less-than-dominant production (still very good) might scare teams away, who might think he’s maxed himself out. Perhaps teams are still hung up on his playing weight, as Burns played at 235 in college, although he weighed in at 250 at the NFL Combine, and didn’t lose a step.

As we’ve seen in the past, teams will cling to some negative traits, and convince themselves out of picking a prospect. Such a case could happen to Brian Burns, especially in a draft class where Montez Sweat has a 4.41 40-yard dash time and impressive strength; in a draft class where Josh Allen has monstrous production to boast; in a draft class where Clelin Ferrell’s Clemson lineage speaks for itself.

Brian Burns could very well fall to No. 15, and if he does, he’s the best value deal the Redskins can get; filling a need and adding a top five talent all at the same time.