Washington Football Team: 2021 trade-back mock draft

The Players

Round 2, Pick 40: Notre Dame OT Liam Eichenberg

This actually turned out to be the one trade I regretted making. The tight end I wanted, Pat Freiermuth, went one pick before my turn. Still, adding a strong, productive tackle is never a bad move. I have read some analysts project Eichenberg as a right tackle. He played on the left side in college, and I watched him hold his own against elite talent so I am not convinced the switch is necessary. Either way, he’s a good player, and you always need good linemen.

Round 2, Pick 49: Alabama QB Mac Jones

See, I am not a total Mac Jones hater. I have written extensively about how the Washington Football Team should not reach for Mac Jones in the first round. Given current evaluations, I don’t see how it is possible he would still be around at 49, but in this simulation, he was. Getting him here is much more agreeable.

Round 2, Pick 51: Purdue WR Rondale Moore

See D’Wayne Eskridge below.

Round 3, Pick 71: Miami TE Brevin Jordan

Freiermuth is a more complete tight end than Jordan, but the Hurricane standout may turn out to be a better complement to the Washington Football Team’s starter Logan Thomas. He is an adequate blocker and a dynamic receiver who should offer more separation speed and yards after the catch than Thomas. He is also a versatile player who lined up all over the field for Miami, and Scott Turner will be able to do a lot with him at the pro level.

Round 3, Pick 78: Western Michigan WR D’Wayne Eskridge

When the Washington Football Team signed Curtis Samuel on the third day of free agency, they addressed one of their major roster holes. But they need more help in the slot and on the outside. Success in today’s NFL requires multiple fast playmakers who will give defenses headaches. Washington was very thin in this department in 2020. If I have my way, that will not be the case in 2021.

Along with Samuel and Terry McLaurin, Washington will have a returning Kelvin Harmon, and should see some growth from at least one or two young players like Cam Sims, Antonio Gandy-Golden, and Isaiah Wright. These are bigger receivers who should probably line up on the outside. But I have been watching what Kansas City has done in building the most formidable offense in the league. In addition to having the best quarterback, they have lethal speed coming from multiple receivers. So I am doubling down here.

Rondale Moore and D’Wayne Eskridge are both several inches shy of six feet, but both are explosive playmakers with game-changing speed. Moore may be a little quicker and Eskridge looks to me to be a little stronger, but they can both run a variety of plays out of the slot, or line up outside as well. If one of them hits, you’ve got a strong weapon. If both hit, along with Scary Terry and Samuel, watch out.

Round 3, Pick 82: North Carolina LB Chazz Surratt

Chazz Surratt was a quarterback until just a couple years ago. As such, he seems to have excellent instincts in analyzing an opposing offense. He would seem to be able to step into the off-ball linebacker spot that Kevin Pierre-Louis played in 2020 and stay there for the next five years.

Round 4, Pick 128: Cincinnati S James Wiggins

Wiggins may be a bit of a reach, but you can do that in later rounds when you have a lot of picks. His upside is very high. He returned from a 2019 ACL injury in 2020 and played better and better as the season went on. Most project him as an in-the-box safety, but assuming he suffers no further physical setback, I see him having the size and the range to play any safety position. I admit this is a small gamble, but if it works out, Kam Curl and James Wiggins form the best safety tandem bargain in the league.

Round 4, Pick 143: Grambling State OG David Moore

5’10”, 320. You find a guy like that who can move like David Moore and you have a potential force on the interior of your line. There will be concerns about the competition he faced in college. Concerns about his technique, which looks pretty good to me. Concerns about height (Though he is taller than both Rondale Moore and D’Wayne Eskridge, and about 125 pounds heavier). I’m not worried about any of that. You want maulers at guard.

Round 6, Pick 214: Oregon CB Deommodore Lenoir

Round 7, Pick 243: North Carolina Central CB Bryan Mills

You always need corners, and with the luxury of being able to double down, I feel like I am getting solid developmental guys here. Lenoir shows a little more strength, while Mills has length, and reminds me a little bit of a pre-injury Fabian Moreau. Neither player is sure thing, but Jimmy Moreland proved to be a diamond in the rough as a seventh-round corner a couple years ago. Both these players have a chance to replicate that success.

Round 7, Pick 244: Georgia EDGE Malik Herring

With Ryan Kerrigan leaving, the Washington Football Team needs depth behind dominant edge rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Incumbents James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill will get shots at playing more frequently in 2021, but you always need to be restocking the position.

Herring reminds me of Jordan Brailford, who probably would have been a candidate for a significant role in 2021 had he not been plucked off the practice squad by Minnesota. Herring is a long-term project, as he will be rehabbing from an ACL injury suffered during Senior Bowl week. But if healthy, he is a dynamic force along the line. And with eleven draft picks, you can justify taking a flyer on a player like him at the end of your draft.

Not all of these guys are going to live up to their potential. But if the Washington Football Team hits on half, they have five or six quality players locked up for the next 4-5 years at a good price. That is how you build a championship team.