Redskins Saturday Spotlight: Seven-round mock draft with trades
By Ian Cummings
Picks before trades
Before we get into the trades, let’s talk a little bit about what the Redskins have, prior to making any calls. Here’s a breakdown of their future picks, round by round:
Round 1: One
Round 2: Zero
Round 3: One
Round 4: Two
Round 5: One
Round 6: Zero
Round 7: Two
Total: Seven
The Redskins notably traded away their second-round pick when they moved back up into the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to grab edge rusher Montez Sweat. They have two fourth-round picks, courtesy of a compensatory pick they’re due to get from Jamison Crowder.
The Redskins don’t currently have a sixth-round pick, as they traded it for Case Keenum and a seventh-round pick from Denver Broncos in the 2019 offseason. Those picks are easier to recoup, but most of the Redskins efforts should be spent toward trying to amass more early picks. They have marketable assets in house, and by engaging in trade talks, they can give the effort to support Dwayne Haskins much more ammunition.
With that being said, it’s important to note that a team can be reckless in trading away players for assets. For the Redskins, there’s a fine line between equipping the scouting department with more resources and creating un-needed holes for Haskins, as well as chipping away at beneficial familiarity continuity.
For our purposes here, let’s assume that the Redskins cut Josh Norman and Vernon Davis, two non-tradeworthy assets, to create additional cap space. Then they re-sign Brandon Scherff long-term in free agency, as well as Ereck Flowers and Donald Penn, keeping together a solid core on the offensive line, with Penn providing depth.
It’s worth noting that, if the Redskins are in fact being aggressive and trading assets, then it can be safely assumed that Bruce Allen is gone as president. By extension, there’s a chance, in that scenario, that stalwart left tackle Trent Williams could return to the team, as his qualms were with Allen specifically, and not Dan Snyder or the rest of the organization. We won’t make that assumption here, as it is particularly wishful, but that is a possibility moving forward. A lot has to happen beforehand, however. Allen himself is a universal roadblock to progress.
Alright, enough discombobulation. Let’s get into the good stuff.