On days one and two of the NFL draft, the Washington Football Team didn’t stray too far off the script that many analysts were predicting.
You may have preferred Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah over Jamin Davis in Round 1 — though in hindsight, it appears no one in the NFL did — or Dillon Radunz to Samuel Cosmi in the second round. But if these were reaches at all, they were very small ones.
But when you get to Day 3, all bets are off. You will see wild variations in terms of valuation. Such was the case with the Washington Football Team and their picks in the final four rounds of the draft.
What the Washington Football Team did well on Day 3
First, three things I loved about what Washington did on day three. They entered the day with four picks and came away with six. They did have to give up a Round 5 pick in 2022, but that is still a net gain, and I am a big fan of having more picks.
Second, they followed their own board, picking players in Rounds 4 and 5 that many analysts had rated significantly lower. You have to trust your own scouts.
Finally, they continued to draft players with flexible profiles. Three of the six players drafted on day three are indeed locked into one primary role or position, but the other three can move around. That is becoming a hallmark of the entire league, and Washington is making good use of the trend.
Washington Football Team draft pick: TE John Bates
Everyone knew Washington was interested in bolstering the tight end position. With the departure of Jeremy Sprinkle, there is no experienced depth behind Logan Thomas.
When Washington chose Boise State’s John Bates in the fourth round, Brevin Jordan, Noah Gray and Zach Davidson were all available. Jordan was clearly rated higher in most minds – analysts and fans alike. Gray and Davidson were often rated higher as well.
But Washington went with Bates. Even his name sounds mundane. When one analyst on the NFL Network compared him to Sprinkle, you could almost hear fans groaning.
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I will admit that Bates was not on my radar at all until Riggo’s Rag’s own Ken Johannesen identified him as one of eight tight ends the Washington Football Team met with at the Senior Bowl.
In the last few hours, I have watched more of him, and you should know that relying on highlight packages is always risky. But several things become clear. Bates can block. And he can catch. Which means he can get on the field. He may not have separation speed but he can contribute.
Do not discount what Sprinkle did for this team. He was not a good pass catcher but he helped a lot both in the running game and in pass protection. Bates appears to have much better hands. He might find play a role similar to one of the most beloved tight ends on Washington’s championship teams, Don Warren.
Donny was a ferocious blocker and a sure-handed receiver. Sure, he never ran for more than two yards after catching the ball, but he played an important role. Bates could be similar, with more run-after-catch potential.
Washington Football Team draft pick: S Darrick Forrest
And everyone knew Washington needed a deep safety. They passed in free agency. They passed in the early rounds of the draft. When their pick came around in the fifth round, Jamar Johnson and Richard LeCounte (with whom Washington also met at the Senior Bowl) were available.
On some draft boards that I looked at before the draft, both Johnson and LeCounte were ranked more than 100 spots ahead of Darrick Forrest, the safety from Cincinnati.
Forrest is a flexible safety. He has the size and speed to play either classic spot. On the other hand, maybe he doesn’t fit either role perfectly. I have to admit that I worried about the exact same thing with last year’s seventh-round safety Kamren Curl.
Forrest and Curl look very much alike to me, and that may be the point. There isn’t a big bruiser who will play in the box and the fast, rangy guy who will play deep. They are both just solid safeties who can play up close or can play a two-deep zone.
After what they found in Curl last year I am prepared to give Forrest every benefit of the doubt.
Washington Football Team draft pick: LS Camaron Cheeseman
After trading a 2022 fifth-round pick to pick up two late day three picks this year, the Washington Football Team selected Camaron Cheeseman, a long-snapper from Michigan. This was also a position of need, as Washington parted company with long-time snapper Nick Sundberg this off-season.
But Washington may have been aced out on the snapper they preferred when Carolina snatched Thomas Fletcher three picks earlier.
Still, Cheeseman has a long and excellent track record. In a recent profile piece, he said he has modeled his game on that of Morgan Cox, a perennial Pro Bowl snapper who played for 10 years for the Baltimore Ravens, and has now moved on to Tennessee.
Few people, even serious fans, know who Cox is. But Baltimore always invests in special teams and knows the value of a quality snapper. Cheeseman also has dental school in his future. This one-time Wolverine has already been accepted at Ohio State. But hopefully, he will put it off for a decade or so while he is snapping for the Washington Football Team.
Washington Football Team Round 7 values
Washington went back-to-back with edge players with their first two picks in the seventh round. I am a big fan of that strategy. The draft, especially in the later rounds, is largely a crap shoot. You are often gambling on potential. Doubling up increases your odds of hitting on one of those two picks.
In William Bradley-King, they grabbed another seventh-round hyphenated-name player, to compete with 2020 draftee James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill (who may now change his name to Casey Too-Hill).
And in Shaka Toney, they have an athletic, small, quick end who will join that mix as well. Toney was a productive player for Penn State, using his speed to make numerous plays behind the line.
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His size may have scared off some teams who worry he will simply be overmatched at the pro level. But if his lean frame can carry another 10-15 pounds, he should be right there with Smith-Williams, Toohill, and Bradley-King looking to replace the Ryans – Kerrigan and Anderson – as fill-ins for Chase Young and Montez Sweat.
With their final pick, the Washington Football Team took another receiver. After adding Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries and Dyami Brown, the receiver room should be a lot more exciting than it was in 2020.
Dax Milne, who caught a lot of balls from No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson at BYU, could be a very good complement. Terry McLaurin, Samuel, and Brown project to start at X, Z, and slot respectively. Brown is a classic outside threat, while Milne could be an effective slot player, with the skills to move outside as well.
As with most of their picks in the last several drafts, Washington has prioritized positional flexibility. Milne can play behind Humphries for a while and then perhaps become a potent slot receiver in his own right.
We all have a lot more studying to do on these newest Football Teamers. Based on my early impressions, I am excited to see what Bates and Toney can do at the pro level.
Over the last five years, the Washington Football Team has found Matt Ioannidis, Chase Roullier, Tim Settle, Jimmy Moreland, and Kamren Curl on Day 3 of the draft. It will be a real measure of how effective the new administration is to see how many of this year’s day three longshots make a significant impact in the years to come.