The fourth week of the college football season is here and there are plenty of potential top prospects on display. Here’s a look at some players the Redskins could be interested in.
It’s September. We’re only two games into the 2019 NFL season, so it seems very early to be talking about the 2020 NFL Draft. That said, teams do around the clock work on the event, and that includes the Washington Redskins.
Currently, the Redskins are sitting at 0-2. There’s not a need to completely panic this early in the season, and the team is coming up on a couple of winnable games against the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants.
However, despite the seemingly decent schedule the next two weeks, morale is low among fans. The team is dealing with injuries while the defense has been much worse than initially anticipated. Jay Gruden and Greg Manusky are both seeing their respective seats heat up and if the team can’t win on Monday Night Football against the Bears, the season could really start to slip away.
With there being an extra day between games, Redskins fans may take an extra interest in the college games this weekend. The ‘Skins have some big holes that need to be filled but do have some young talent that could grow if they continue to strengthen the team. And in a draft that is deep at some of the team’s position of needs (offensive tackle, wide receiver) the top prospects will bear extra attention.
With that said, here’s a look at some of the top prospects that the Redskins front office should be watching on Saturday.
The Redskins were able to land one top-notch safety when they signed Landon Collins in free agency. So far, the return on the 25-year-old have been solid, as he has been the team’s best tackler though there is still some room for improvement in coverage moving forward.
However, Montae Nicholson has been a bit more hit-or-miss. He has made some plays, but he has also dealt with some injury issues. If the Redskins decide that he’s better served as a top backup, they could opt to target a rangy centerfielder to complement Collins very well.
Grant Delpit could be the answer. The highly instinctive Delpit has been a big-time playmaker for LSU over the course of the past three seasons. He reacts quickly to plays and can come downhill well, but he also has excellent coverage skills and can make plays on the ball. In 2018, he had five picks and nine pass defenses while being one of the best players on the LSU defense.
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Delpit was also great as a situational blitzer and recorded 5.0 sacks and showed quickness coming off the line of scrimmage. He could end up being a real chess piece at the NFL level and the defensive coordinator that lands him could move him around the defense to best utilize his diverse skill set.
Despite his great traits, Delpit hasn’t been quite as productive in coverage so far this season. So he’ll need to improve in that area moving forward if he wants to be a top-10 pick. The Bulldogs play Vanderbilt this week, so in SEC play against a team with a new starter (Kyle Shurmur graduated) he could try to wreak havoc and create some big-time plays.
The Redskins may not want to take a safety early, but if Delpit falls into their lap, they’ll be happy to scoop him up and really fortify the middle portion of their secondary.
Remember when the Redskins had a promising group of corners? That seems like it was a long time ago.
Since the start of the 2019 season, the Redskins cornerback room has been decimated. Josh Norman has been torched. Quinton Dunbar and Fabian Moreau are battling injuries. Greg Stroman and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are on IR. Adonis Alexander is on the practice squad. Just about the only bright spot has been Jimmy Moreland, as the seventh-round pick has performed well as the team’s top slot option with Moreau out.
If the Redskins don’t have a guy like Moreau get healthy and step up, they could target some help in the secondary early in the draft. This isn’t a lot of cornerback depth in this year’s draft, but Paulson Adebo stands out.
Adebo emerged as a big-time contributor at Stanford in 2018 when he broke up 17 passes, logged four interceptions, and totaled 64 tackles as a top corner option for the team. At 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Adebo has good size and has the makings of a true No. 1 corner at the NFL level.
This week, Stanford will take on Oregon and potential top-10 quarterback, Justin Herbert. This will be a good chance for Adebo to prove that his coverage skills are strong and if he flashes against the Ducks, he could do more to solidify his status as a potential top-10 pick.
The Redskins will be watching to see if Adebo can make some plays. If they want a disruptive cornerback to don the burgundy and gold, they won’t be likely to find a prospect much better than Adebo in 2020.
This seems like a great match on paper. Some view Jerry Jeudy to be the best player in this draft class. The Redskins love Alabama players and though Terry McLaurin has looked excellent through two games with the team, they could still use some extra talent at the position.
Jeudy (6-foot-1, 192 pounds) has been a force for the Crimson Tide receiving corps and emerged as Tua Tagovailoa‘s top weapon during his sophomore season. During that campaign, Jeudy put up 68 catches for 1,315 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging a whopping 19.3 yards per catch. He was a big-time playmaker and was part of what made the Alabama offense so explosive.
Jeudy has very good speed but is also a very good route runner. He can make men miss in space, has elusiveness, and is shifty. He profiles to be a true No. 1 receiver at the next level and can win in a variety of ways. That’s what should make him a top-five pick, provided that he continues to be productive.
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So far, Jeudy has lived up to the expectations in his junior year. He is averaging just 12.8 yards per catch this year — a departure from his averages from the previous two years — but he has been more of a volume producer, grabbing 24 catches and four touchdowns in just three games.
For the Redskins, Jeudy would complement McLaurin, another fast route runner, very well and could give the team two true do-it-all receiver weapons. If the team ends up picking early, Jeudy will certainly grab their attention, especially given their strong connection to the Alabama football program.
Jeudy will have a chance to continue to be productive while taking on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday. They’ll start the Alabama home game at 12:00 p.m. ET, and the Redskins should certainly be keeping an eye on him.
It doesn’t seem like Trent Williams is going to come back to the Washington Redskins. Even if he does return in 2019, the chances of him playing the final year of his contract in 2020 seem slim. In a deep tackle draft, the ‘Skins could look to find his replacement. And if they pick early, Andrew Thomas could be in play.
Thomas (pictured in on the left behind Jake Fromm above) has been a rock-solid blocker for the Georgia Bulldogs over the course of the past few seasons. Playing left tackle, Thomas has effectively replaced Isaiah Wynn and has been a stalwart for Georgia. At 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, the tackle has very good size and even better length. So, he should find success on the outside.
Beyond his size, Thomas is athletic and moves fluidly. That should give him the ability to match quicker edge rushers while still being able to use his length and strength to combat longer, bigger players.
Thomas earns the top spot to watch because of the matchup he is facing against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are the No. 7 team in the country and should give No. 3 Georgia a run for their money. Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem are both very good players on the defensive line who could challenge Thomas. But if he can stonewall them, that will continue to heat up his stock during his junior season.
At the moment, Thomas is the best tackle that the ‘Skins could have a chance of landing to replace Williams. Needless to say, they’ll be watching him in all of his top matchups this season in case they have a chance to draft him come April.