The Washington Redskins lack a second-round pick this season and will need to do their due diligence on many third-round prospects that could be available with their early selection there. Here are five options they could consider.
At this point in the 2020 NFL offseason, there isn’t a lot of intrigue surrounding the Washington Redskins’ potential draft class. And there’s a good reason for that.
The Redskins are armed with the No. 2 overall pick right now and it’s expected that that will stay put and take Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young. It’s not completely set in stone yet, but to call it the likely outcome would be an understatement.
Without a second-round pick, it’s hard to know exactly what the Redskins will do come the third round. After all, how can we really know who will be on the board 60-plus picks into the NFL Draft? We can have an idea, but things always change in the lead-up to the draft.
Most Redskins draft projections will be guesswork at this point. But it is never too early to look at potential candidates at positions of need that the ‘Skins could be interested in. With that in mind, here’s a look at three potential third-round options that the team should be looking at with the draft just over two weeks away.
3. TE Adam Trautman, Dayton
The Redskins don’t have a lot at the tight end position right now. They signed a few low-cost veterans in free agency and it seems like Logan Thomas, Richard Rodgers, and Jeremy Sprinkle will be the main three guys at the position right now.
Thomas still has some upside despite being 29, but can he be counted on as the tight end of the future? Probably not. Because of this fact, the Redskins may look to select a better option in the third round of the draft. And one potential prospect for them to target is Dayton’s Adam Trautman.
Trautman was a highly productive tight end playing at Dayton, an FCS school. He logged 70 catches, 916 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns as a senior. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end was a tough matchup for the lower-level schools and he is in the running to be the first tight end off the board in 2020.
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Trautman isn’t a great athlete. He didn’t do much to wow anyone in the athletic testing portion of the combine, logging a middling 4.8-second 40-yard dash but a solid 6.78 3-cone drill. But in the on-field drills, Trautman was strong. He was smooth in the workouts, showed a willingness to be a blocker on tape, and showed an ability to high-point balls. He wasn’t spectacular, but in a weaker tight end class, he may be one of the more NFL-ready players at the position.
Trautman could go in the second round. If he does, Cole Kmet could be another option to look at here, though he could also be a second-round pick. Aside from those two, however, the Redskins shouldn’t consider a tight end here. The class is simply so weak that the team is likely to have a hole at the position no matter who they take.
For that reason, I’m a proponent of taking a shot on a Day 3 tight end with upside while focusing on tackling some of the deeper positions in this draft class (namely receiver and tackle) with the team’s third-round pick. And that’s part of why Trautman only comes in at No. 3 on this list.
2. OT Matt Peart, UConn
A lot of talented tackles will come off the board in the first 66 picks of the 2020 NFL Draft. Could the Washington Redskins select one at 66? It certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty at left tackle for the squad. Trent Williams still wants to be traded, but the team hasn’t relented as of this writing. That means that Cornelius Lucas and Geron Christian are penciled in as the starter and swing tackle, in no particular order. Meanwhile, Morgan Moses is coming off a down year at right tackle and the team could use some depth to develop there in case he regresses again in 2020.
Luckily for the Redskins, there will be several quality tackles on the board at this juncture. It’s unclear exactly which ones might be there, but in a group this deep, there will be someone worth selecting.
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After weighing a few other possibilities including Saahdiq Charles, Lucas Niang, and Charlie Heck, we settled on Matt Peart as our favored target. The UConn product was a four-year starter at college and played multiple positions on the offensive line. Most recently, he played right tackle, but he could shift to the left side if needed.
Peart has a 6-foot-7, 318-pound frame that he could continue to add muscle to as he develops at the NFL level. He’s an experienced player with good athleticism (5.06 40-yard dash, 26 bench press reps) and long arms. He has solid technique and should be able to stay with the quicker edge rushers at the NFL level.
Peart’s big issue is his lacking strength. He just needs to bulk up a bit to find success with the stronger rushers at the NFL level. If he can do that while continuing to move fluidly as he does on tape, that should allow him to find success at the next level.
At the very least, Peart would be a quality swing option at the next level. And if he can bulk up in a strength and conditioning program, he could be ready to start early in his NFL career. There are few options expected to be available that are better than Peart, so he should surely be on the Redskins radar.
1. WR Laviska Shenault, Colorado
At one point, it seemed likely that Laviska Shenault would be a first-round pick. Now, it looks more likely that he’ll go in the second round. But could he last until the Redskins’ pick at 66? Don’t count it out.
Shenault has a well-built 6-foot-1, 227-pound frame and figures to be a good vertical threat at the NFL level. He plays faster than his 4.58 40-time, tracks the ball well, and can make contested catches. He’s versatile, having played all three receiver spots at Colorado, and can take the ball on direct snaps out of the backfield as well.
So, why could Shenault possibly fall to the third round? Simple. He’s had durability concerns at Colorado that may impact his draft status. Due to COVID-19, prospect visits and medical rechecks haven’t been able to happen. That will have a detrimental impact on a guy like Shenault, as teams would’ve probably liked to a medical exam performed by a team doctor before committing an early resource to him. So, he could drop a bit further than expected.
It also doesn’t help that Shenault isn’t the best route runner. Perhaps he just needs to be coached up in that area, but usually, players that aren’t great route runners see their stock dip a bit.
Shenault’s ceiling is enticing though. And as a versatile weapon to pair with Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims Jr., the Redskins should absolutely target him if he falls into their laps at 66. This is by no means a guarantee, but a similar thing happened to Keenan Allen in the 2013 NFL Draft. He was viewed by many as a potential first-round pick but slipped to the third due to injury concerns.
Perhaps Shenault will be the next Allen. If so, the Redskins could surely reap the rewards if he’s on the board when their second pick rolls around. But if Shenault is off the board, there will be plenty of other receivers to choose from. And maybe, if they’re lucky, Chase Claypool will somehow slip to their selection.