Redskins select Stanford RB Bryce Love with No. 112 selection
By Ian Cummings
The Redskins have a tendency to reach on players they like, in terms of upside, in Round 4. They did that last year, and they did it again today.
Coming out of the first two days of the NFL Draft with three new potential starters, the Washington Redskins came into Day 3 with plenty of flexibility, in terms of who they could pick. With flexibility comes calculated risks, and the Redskins first fourth-round selection was very much a calculated risk.
With the No. 112 pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Redskins selected Stanford running back Bryce Love, adding a former Heisman candidate to their running back room.
Love peaked in 2017, two seasons ago, when he accrued 2,118 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on 8.1 yards per carry. Injuries dismantled his collegiate career, however, and his draft stock plummeted. It was believed he wouldn’t be more than a developmental pick late in the draft. But the Redskins, as they often do, decided to use an earlier pick to lock him up.
In a vacuum, the Love selection is solid. Love, when healthy, provides exciting explosion and elusive abilities, and he could be a valuable, versatile offensive weapon. But it’s ultimately a pick that was made at least two rounds too early. With Love coming off an ACL injury, and with Love’s style very reliant on explosion from his knees, it’s very likely that teams would have been scared to take him before Round 6.
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The Redskins didn’t take those factors into account, however, and by extension, they passed on higher-rated players at positions of need, such as Kelvin Harmon, Emanuel Hall, Amani Oruwariye, Amani Hooker, and Deionte Thompson. With six selections remaining in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Redskins will have other opportunities to add value and potential starters. But their first fourth-round pick was their best chance to do so. And they failed to use it to attain maximum value.