Grading a Washington Redskins draft immediately after players have been chosen is difficult, but looking back to grade the team years later is certainly much easier.
Many analysts are continuing to examine each team’s 2020 NFL draft choices and while that is probably an exercise in futility, we also took a look at the Redskins draft class. In fact, we did more than one assessment.
While some football pundits continue to grade the class of 2020, today we will take a look at the Redskins draft class for 2010 and offer new grades. Years from now there can be no doubt that the grades we see for this year’s crop will change and some evaluations will actually remain the same. But make no mistake, the grades for this year’s class will change substantially and many of us will be eating a healthy slice of humble pie in a few years.
For the next few weeks, we will take a look at the 2010 through 2019 Redskins draft classes and offer some pointed analysis for each draft.
The 2010 draft for the Redskins was a rather pitiful endeavor outside of their first-round and fourth-round picks. To be brutally honest, it was forgettable and in retrospect, it looks like the selections were made by another general manager in the NFC East! Ok, that is an exaggeration, but this look back at 2010 is painful. Let’s get right to it.
Round 1
The Redskins had the fourth overall pick in the first round and they made it count.
Massive offensive tackle Trent Williams of Oklahoma was the choice and many analysts at the time had very favorable opinions of the Redskins selection.
It was not a secret that the Redskins would take a left tackle – a huge need that offseason – but new coach Mike Shanahan and new general manager Bruce Allen had to choose between Williams and talented Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung.
Williams was the choice and he continues to be one of the best left tackles in football. Williams was traded just prior to day three of the 2020 draft, but his legacy of being one of the all-time greats in Washington is not disputed.
Grade: A+
Round 2
This grade is complicated. On an Easter Sunday evening in 2010, the Redskins traded for longtime Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and the cost was this second-round selection and a 2011 fourth round pick.
At first, the trade appeared to be a favorable one for the Redskins as McNabb was running offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s system quite well. Under the surface, it was a far different story.
McNabb began to clash with the Shanahans and was benched late in the 2010 season. Suddenly, the trade was starting to look like a monumental failure. After the season, the Redskins traded McNabb to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2012 sixth-round pick and a conditional 2013 selection.
What looked so promising for the Redskins became a huge mistake. The Burgundy and Gold could’ve used that second round selection on players such as Rob Gronkowski, Sean Lee, NaVorro Bowman, Jimmy Graham, or T.J. Ward.
We will still grade this trade as a draft pick and admit that the Shanahans messed it up with this move.
Grade: F
Round 3
Guess what? The Redskins didn’t have a pick in the third round either. The pick was used in the supplemental draft in the summer of 2009.
In all fairness, the previous regime of head coach Jim Zorn and general manager Vinny Cerrato made the decision to add Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon. In essence, that was the 2010 third-round pick.
After two seasons with twelve total tackles and a half of a sack, Jarmon was traded to the Broncos for wide receiver Jabar Gaffney. Gaffney had a decent 2011 with the Redskins in his final full season as a player (he played three games for the Dolphins in 2012 and retired).
Jarmon didn’t make the 53-man roster in Denver and was out of the NFL at age 24. Jarmon was a complete and total bust, but at least the Redskins did get one good season out of Gaffney.
Investing in a third-round player should produce an athlete who is talented and will provide the organization with production for several years – perhaps a decade or more. There is only one way to grade Round 3.
Grade: F
Round 4
Surprise! The Redskins finally had an actual draft selection after zero picks in the previous two rounds.
LSU inside linebacker Perry Riley was the choice. Riley was a solid linebacker for the Tigers, but some scouts thought he was a bit undersized for the position.
Riley’s first year was uneventful and he was utilized mostly as a special teams player. Whispers of him being a bust were hard to ignore, but Riley improved in his second season as a special teams standout and began to see action as a linebacker.
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Riley’s third and fourth seasons were superb as he became an impactful starter in 2012 and 2013. He was rewarded with a new contract just prior to the start of free agency in 2014.
Riley’s production slipped a bit in 2014, but he continued to be a solid contributor. His sixth season (2015) for the Redskins was limited due to injury and his once-promising career was beginning to crumble. Riley was released by the Redskins in the summer of 2016 and he signed with the Raiders a few weeks later. After having a minimal impact in Oakland, Riley was out of football by 2017.
The Redskins made a good choice in this round, but it would’ve been nice to see Riley perform well on his second contract. Overall, this is a decent grade and if it wasn’t for the untimely injury, Riley could’ve finished his Redskins career on a higher note.
Grade: B-
Round 5
Pardon me if you have heard this story before. The Redskins did not have a pick in Round 5. The front office traded with the Rams for defensive end Adam Carriker and a seventh-round selection. Carriker had fallen out of favor with the Rams after being selected thirteenth overall in the first round of the 2007 draft.
Carriker had a subpar first season with the Redskins, but improved in his second year with 5.5 sacks and a pass deflection. The 2012 season held a lot of promise, but an early-season injury all but ended his career. The Redskins held out hope that he would be ready to go in 2013, but it never happened and it was time to hang up his pads.
Carriker’s attitude was rock solid and no one could question his heart, but the former Nebraska Cornhusker’s body betrayed his positivity and a promising Redskins career. In the final analysis, this was a poor trade and it is a bittersweet grade.
Grade: D-
Round 6
Dennis Morris was the pick early in round six and it wasn’t pretty. He was a fairly good tight end for Louisiana Tech and the Redskins turned in the card.
That’s pretty much the story on his Redskins career. No, seriously, that’s it!
In August, he was traded to the Rams. He spent some time with the Chargers in 2011. In 2014, Morris tried to make a name for himself with a Texas indoor league team.
As you can see, Dennis Morris really didn’t have much of a career in professional football and the Redskins actually drafted him in the sixth round. What else is there to say?
Grade: F
Round 7
In Round 7, the Redskins had three selections. First, they went with Terrence Austin – a wide receiver from UCLA. Austin spent most of his first season on the practice squad and played mostly on special teams his second season. He tried to make the Detroit Lions roster in 2013, but his brief career was over.
Erik Cook, a center from New Mexico, was taken with the 229th overall pick. He spent most of the season on the practice squad and played sparingly in 2011. Shortly thereafter, his career sputtered away.
Two picks later, the Redskins selected Selvish Capers out of West Virginia. Some scouts believed Capers could make the team and be a solid backup tackle. The reality was far different. Capers was cut late that summer and spent some time with the New York Giants (he bounced back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster). Capers was out of pro football by 2013.
In all honesty, this seventh round was an absolute disaster for the Redskins. It’s possible these seventh-round selections were made on an old Pentium computer from 1994.
Grade: F
Overall Grade
Let’s go ahead a give the team an overall grade for the 2010 draft. The first and fourth rounds stand out as excellent and solid, respectively. Trent Williams and Perry Riley kept this draft from being an abysmal failure.
Grade: C-
How would you grade this draft and each round? As you can see, it is easier to assign these grades many years later. Our recent grades for the 2020 draft will look far different by 2030. We will have a look at the 2011 draft soon.