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Washington Football Team: Draft strategy 101 for the 2021 offseason

By Jonathan Eig

ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 26: A video board displays the text "THE PICK IS IN" for the Washington Redskins during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 26: A video board displays the text "THE PICK IS IN" for the Washington Redskins during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 28: (L-R) Josh Doctson of TCU holds up a jersey with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked #22 overall by the Washington Football Team during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 28: (L-R) Josh Doctson of TCU holds up a jersey with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked #22 overall by the Washington Football Team during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /

Rules 3-5

3)     Do not draft a wide receiver in the first round. I admit this takes into account Washington’s particular recent history. The team that at one point got HOF’ers Charley Taylor and Art Monk with Round 1 picks, more recently has managed to select Desmond Howard, Michael Westbrook, Rod Gardner, and Josh Doctson.

But this applies across the league. Of the eight receivers chosen for the Pro Bowl this season, you are just as likely to find one taken in the fifth round of the draft (Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs) as you are to find one taken in the first round (Justin Jefferson, DeAndre Hopkins). Actually, if you average it out, this season’s Pro Bowl receiver was most likely drafted somewhere around the middle of third round. Seems to me that the Washington Football Team did have some luck recently with a third-round receiver.

4)     So there are a few positions you should avoid. Who should you take? There is a little bit of a debate between drafting the Best Player Available (BPA) or drafting for need. I’ll make this easy. ALWAYS DRAFT THE BPA!

The one possible exception might be at quarterback. If you already have a great one, maybe you don’t spend a high draft pick on another, even if he is the BPA (which, by the way, doesn’t appear to have hurt Green Bay this year). But in all other cases, you can never have enough good players at any position. Your goal must be to gather the best 53 football players possible.

If you are thin at offensive tackle and strong at linebacker, you may be sorely tempted to reach just a bit for a tackle in the fourth round even though you have a linebacker rated higher. Don’t do it. I’m not saying it never works. I’m just saying it’s far more likely to bite you in the ass. So, unless you’re into that sort of thing, always draft BPA.

5)     Draft big guys. My brother, who is pretty smart, thinks you should draft whoever you want in the first three rounds, then just take the biggest guys on the board the rest of the way. I think that may be ever so slightly over-simplistic, but there is some truth in it. If you don’t have three draft picks whose combined weight approaches half a ton, you are doing something wrong.

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