Reviewing Washington Football Team drafts over the last 20 years

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Washington Football Team LB Brian Orakpo. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

2006 NFL Draft (Vinny)

No picks in the first, third or fourth. Vinny’s long-term management skills strike again.

BEST: Rocky McIntosh (2)
WORST: Kili Lefotu (7)
VALUE: Kedric Golston (6)

McIntosh was a decent player and Golston returned good value as a sixth-rounder. It may seem overkill to pick a seventh-rounder as “worst,” but Lefotu’s brief, checkered time as a member of the team wins him the honor. He was released after being arrested for assault.

2007 NFL Draft (Vinny)

Again, five picks total. Nothing in the second, third or fourth.

BEST: LaRon Landry (1)
WORST: Everyone else
VALUE: None

Landry made the Pro Bowl – after he left Washington. No one else did anything of note. Vinny’s worst draft, until…

2008 NFL Draft (Vinny)

Something new. Plenty of picks. No first-rounder, but three in the second and 10 total. He missed on almost all of them.

BEST: Fred Davis (2)
WORST: Devin Thomas (2)
VALUE: Chris Horton (7)

Davis had talent but was woefully erratic. And he was the best. Thomas gets the nod over Malcolm Kelly as the worst because he went higher in the second round. Horton looked good for a year or two, but the entire thing was a train wreck.

2009 NFL Draft (Vinny)

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Vinny’s finale. He went out with a whimper.

BEST: Brian Orakpo
WORST: Jeremy Jarmon (3 – supplemental)
VALUE: None

Orakpo fell to Washington and they pounced. He turned out to be pretty good, though not the savior fans hoped for. One parting gift Vinny gave the franchise was forfeiting the following year’s third-round pick to select Jarmon, who did nothing, in the supplemental draft.

I suppose Kevin Barnes was OK as a third-round corner, but you really devalue “value” if you choose him on this list.

2010 NFL Draft (Bruce Allen/Mike Shanahan)

With Vinny gone, the assumption was that team president Bruce Allen would handle the business matters and new coach Mike Shanahan would take care of player personnel.

Washington made a panic move in trading a couple picks for washed-up QB Donovan McNabb, but recouped one of them by trading Jason Campbell. With just one pick in the top 100, the results were … blah.

BEST: Trent Williams (1)
WORST: Dennis Moore (6)
VALUE: Perry Riley (4)

Shanahan did not muff his first pick, getting Washington’s best player of the 21st century in Williams. Riley was a solid linebacker. Moore was traded away before the season and never played in the NFL.

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