Redskins were right not to select a tight end in the 2020 NFL Draft

The Washington Redskins didn’t select a tight end during the 2020 NFL Draft. Here’s why that was the right decision for the team.

In the lead up to the 2020 NFL Draft, there were a few big needs on the offensive side of the ball that Redskins fans were hoping would get filled. They were left tackle, wide receiver, and tight end.

The Redskins filled the former most position by taking LSU tackle Saahdiq Charles in the fourth round. He will give the team long-term upside at the position provided that he can avoid hte off-field concerns that caused him to fall into the fourth round of the draft.

At receiver, the team picked Antonio Gandy-Golden from Liberty who should be a big red-zone target on the outside. Meanwhile, Antonio Gibson is a running back/wide receiver hybrid, so he could be a dynamic weapon and add depth to the offense as well.

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But at the tight end position, the Redskins didn’t draft anyone. They avoided the position entirely and it was absolutely the right move.

The reason for this is simple. The 2020 NFL Draft was very, very weak at the tight end position. There were few players who profiled as starters right away, and even those players carried risk and had their draft stock artificially inflated because of the weakness at the position. As a result, there was little value at tight end throughout the draft, so it made sense for the Redskins to go in other directions with the picks that they had.

It’s also notable that a few notable tight end prospects fell to the undrafted ranks and as a result, the Redskins were able to scoop one up. They grabbed LSU tight end Thaddeus Moss, the son of Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss. The younger Moss easily could’ve been selected on Day 3 and he was a player I had mocked to the Redskins in Round 5 a couple of times. But by being patient, they were able to get Moss as an undrafted free agent. And he could be a candidate to make the roster.

Moss isn’t a great athlete but he was productive at LSU. He’s good at settling into pockets of space against zone coverage and though he’s a bit on the smaller side, he’s a willing blocker. He’ll have a chance to become a solid player at the position, but even if he fails to do that, the Redskins didn’t risk any draft capital on him. So, this is a risk-free investment.

The ‘Skins aren’t likely to be good at tight end in 2020. Their top veterans at the position are Logan Thomas, Richard Rodgers, and Jeremy Sprinkle. But even with a tight end draft pick, that projection wouldn’t change much.

And the Redskins were bound to still have holes in 2020 given the sheer amount of needs that the team had to fill this offseason. They can get by for a year with subpar talent at tight end and hope that Moss, Sprinkle, or Hale Hentges can take a step forward and emerge as contributors.

We’ll have a chance to see how the team’s tight end rotation shakes out in the near future. But overall, their decision not to target a tight end in the draft was likely a smart one.