Washington Redskins: Top 30 players in franchise history

Paul Krause only played four of his 16 seasons with the Redskins. But in those seasons, he was an otherworldly talent, and his gold jacket speaks to that.

The Redskins drafted Krause in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft. Standing at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Krause was ahead of his time, in terms of his size. He started right out of the gate as the team’s right safety, and had arguably had one of the greatest rookie seasons in history for a safety.

After notching 12 interceptions in 1964, Krause was a known quantity: A dangerous, rangy ball tracker. He earned both Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in his first two years, but after accumulating only 10 interceptions in the two years after that (I know, what a crime, right?), he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh-round pick and linebacker Marlin McKeever.

This trade can easily be deemed a failure, as McKeever would only play one season as the Redskins’ starter before leaving to join the Los Angeles Rams in 1971. Krause, meanwhile, went on to carve out a Hall of Fame career with the Vikings, notching 53 more interceptions in 12 years with the team. He ended his career as the NFL’s all-time interception leader, and in 1998, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Like Champ Bailey, Paul Krause is another cautionary tale of handling talent for the Redskins. The team, at the time, was confident in McKeever. But sometimes, if you have a player who’s exceeding expectations, it might be best to stay the course.