Redskins select North Carolina LB Cole Holcomb at pick No. 173
By Ian Cummings
After hitting the offensive side of the ball four picks in a row, the Redskins came back to defense, adding to their linebacking core.
The Washington Redskins spent their two fourth-round picks on Stanford running back Bryce Love and Indiana offensive guard Wes Martin. They then came back in Round 5 and added Alabama interior offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher, reinforcing the Washington-Alabama connection that’s been ever-present in the NFL Draft in years past.
Now, with a solid influx of players heading to the offensive side of the ball, the Redskins returned to the defense, a team facet they hadn’t addressed since trading up for Montez Sweat in the first round on Thursday night. With the No. 173 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Redskins selected linebacker Cole Holcomb, formerly of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Holcomb played outside linebacker in North Carolina’s scheme, but he’s not an edge rusher. Instead, he projects as an inside linebacker with the Washington Redskins, although he might not ever latch on to substantial defensive snaps. He was highly productive in college, logging 312 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and twelve pass deflections in three years as a starter. In his final season, he forced four fumbles.
At 6-foot-1, 235, Holcomb has decent size for a linebacker, and he couples that with good speed; he was clocked at around 4.57 at the NFL regional combine, per Rotoworld’s website. A good vertical athlete with some explosion, Holcomb’s best traits, per draftanalyst.com, are his instincts and his intensity as a defensive leader. Holcomb is lacking in terms of length and wingspan, but he has a good culmination of traits that could give him some potential as a special teams stalwart and spot starter.
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The addition of Holcomb gives the Redskins a potential special teams standout, and added depth in their inside linebacker core. But now, with three picks left in the NFL Draft, there are still areas to address for Washington. A second wide receiver should be added, and more help could be acquired in the secondary. Stay tuned, as we’ll let you know how they close the draft out. With Holcomb in Round 5, they get a decent linebacker with some upside to contribute.