Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Weeden the latest name in Redskins QB sweepstakes

The latest entrant into the Redskins’ quarterback sweepstakes is Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State. He has all of the tools to be a high first-round pick. The one drawback is his birth certificate. He was born on Oct. 14, 1983 so he will be 29 years old after about a month of his rookie season has passed.

Weeden’s name was floated by Don Banks of Sports Illustrated in a mock draft he posted earlier this week. Banks said that he heard an interesting theory that “Mike Shanahan loves Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden, who he coached in the Senior Bowl, and might try to trade down into the 20s of the first round to take him.”

The Redskins’ first-round pick is the sixth overall. A hypothetical trade back with the Titans, who have the 20^th pick, would net at least a second- and a third-round pick along with maybe a two or three next year. Going further back into the 20’s would, in theory, net more in return.

There is a good chance that this is smoke from the Redskins’ camp but probably one of the rumors will turn out to be what actually happens. 

 

O-line starts off media phase of NFL Combine

The NFL Combine gets in full gear today as the offensive linemen and tight ends go into the second day of their four-day experience as they meet with the media.

As the big uglies rehash their college careers and try to remember which teams they talked to in last night’s meet and greet session, the glamour boys will be arriving at the Indianapolis airport and making their way downtown to Lucas Oil Stadium. The quarterbacks and wide receivers will check in and start the process.

Even though two groups will be going through the process today, don’t tune in the NFL Network to look for any players in shorts running and jumping today. And don’t look for them tomorrow when defensive linemen and linebackers arrive. It won’t be until Saturday that the O-linemen and tight ends will kick off that phase of the combine by doing the bench press and vertical jump, running the 40, and doing other activities like the three-cone drill.

Until then the public face of the combine will be about the players and the media. We’ll talk to Matt Kalil and see how he feels about the possibility of him being a top-five pick in the draft. Riley Rieff will tell us why he deserves to be a top-ten pick. And other, less heralded players will chat with reporters as well.

And the parade of NFL coaches and general managers to the podium will begin as well. Rarely is news made but some valuable insight can be gained if the right questions are asked. Mike Shanahan is schedule to talk tomorrow.

 

Combine preview: Finding out what's under the QB's helmet

By Rich Tandler

The process of the Redskins selecting their next quarterback starts a new phase this week in Indianapolis. Mike Shanahan has been viewing college quarterbacks on film since before the regular season ended. Washington's scouts have been reviewing film on signal callers since long before that. They are now quite familiar with the on-field games of the likes of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. This week they will start to get to know what is under their helmets.

Comprehensive interviews aren't possible at the combine. The conversations are more of the job fair variety although the prospective employers already are quite familiar with the candidates. There is much more eliminating of prospects going on than there is selection. A few quick questions can indicate whether or not a quarterback can call the right protection if the safety walks up to the line. That could be all that is needed to stop further investigation of that player and move on to another.

Luck is the top prospect and he might as well go ahead and pick out a locker at Lucas Oil Stadium while he is there. The Colts are on the clock and they are certain to pick the Stanford product.

Griffin, of course, has many Redskins fans buzzing to the point where the web is flooded with images of him Photoshopped into a burgundy and gold uniform. Certainly, they will be keeping a close eye on him and try to maximize their time in face-to-face meetings. They will have to be very, very confident that he can be a franchise quarterback if they are going to try to swing a deal to move up to draft him. They have seen the performances that earned a quarterback from Baylor (Baylor!) the Heisman Trophy, now they have to figure out if he can get it done against defenses from other than in the Big 12.

The Redskins might not stop at drafting one quarterback if they take Griffin or Ryan Tannehill, the consensus third-best quarterback in the draft. It’s certainly possible that another quarterback will be the best player on the board sometime during the later rounds of the draft. That could be B. J. Coleman, a former Tennessee Vol who transferred to Tennessee-Chattanooga. He has solid skills and needs some development. Or perhaps Shanahan was impressed enough with the mind and raw skills of Ryan Lindley of San Diego State when he coached him at the Senior Bowl to take a late-round shot at him.

The complete list of quarterbacks invited to the combine is below. They are in the order of Wes Bunting’s scouting grades.

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

 

 

Combine preview: WR interest could be high or low (or mid)

By Rich Tandler

There is no doubt that the Redskins will have wide receivers under the microscope in Indianapolis this week. The degree of their interest on draft day, however, could well depend on what transpires in free agency.

There is no question that the Redskins need to add talent at the position. It is their second-greatest area of need behind quarterback. But it is hard to go too deeply into what they might be looking for as far as receivers in the draft until we see what unfolds in free agency. That, of course, is true with vitually any area of the draft but it it seems to be more up in the air here.

If they solve the quarterback issue in free agency by signing someone like Matt Flynn or Peyton Manning they could be looking for a wide receiver early in the draft, putting receivers like Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State or Kendall Wright of Baylor in play. They are both projected to be taken somewhere in the first round. Blackmon could cement himself into a spot in the top 10 with a solid 40 time at the combine.

Should the Redskins use their first-round pick on a quarterback like Robert Griffin III or Ryan Tannehill, Wright and Blackmon will be long gone by the time they pick again. One second- or third-round prospect they are likely to be keeping an eye on is Stephen Hill of Georgia Tech. Although his game needs some refinement, at 6-5 he is about to go up and pluck the ball out of the air like a pro already. If he proves to have good athletic ability the Redskins could look to him as a potential red zone target fairly soon and a playmaker from anywhere on the field at some point in the future.

Another second-day prospect is Joe Adams of Arkansas. He was the on the South team in the Senior Bowl, the squad coached by the Redskins’ staff. He looked good as the South’s Most Outstanding Player has he hauled in six passes for 116 yards.

The Redskins often go with the best player available later in the draft. An interesting prospect here might be Tommy Streeter of Miami. He’s another big guy at 6-5. Streeter didn’t play much until his 2011 junior season. Streeter became a big-play guy leading the ACC with an average of 17.6 yards per catch. He should get a good look from the Redskins at the combine as a third-day project.

The complete list of wide receivers invited to the combine is available via the link below. They are in the order of Wes Bunting’s scouting grades. 

Download 2012 WR combine list

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

Combines for Gibbs, Zorn had little drama

By Ryan O’Halloran

On the eve of another Scouting Combine, the larger issue this year especially is the impending free agent period, which starts on the afternoon of March 13.

The following month-and-a-half will focus on the draft. But there’s always been a Redskins element at the festivities. Here some of my memories from the five I attended.

February 2005: The story of the week was Santana Moss being acquired from the Jets for Laveranues Coles. All these years later, Moss remains in with the Redskins. The Combine week also planted the seed to be interested in Auburn players. The Redskins got a glimpse of Carlos Rogers and when they foolishly left Fred Smoot go to Minnesota in free agency, Los became a Skin. But was a short class-board session between the Redskins and quarterback Jason Campbell was the story of their draft. Gibbs made a special pre-draft visit to Alabama and saw enough to trade up to No. 25 overall.

February 2006: The Combine this year was a rumor for the Redskins. Their first December to Remember of the decade and they had a chance at Seattle in the NFC second round. All of the Redskins’ focus was free agency … and it produced Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, Todd Collins, Christian Fauria, Atwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd (trade). They had only one of the top 152 picks and they drafted a linebacker – Rocky McIntosh – with bad knees. Who knew the bottom half would include Reed Doughty and Kedric Golston. A classic example of having a quantity of picks, something will stick out.

February 2007: Another bad draft class. The Redskins had to take LaRon Landry sixth overall after Archuleta flamed out in a half season of work. Really, that’s it from that week of work at the Combine.

February 2008: Vinny Cerrato’s first draft back in charge following Gibbs’ second retirement brought optimism when Vinny talked in Indianapolis keeping the picks, trading young, not going crazy in free agency. And for the most part, the Redskins held to that plan … it just didn’t work. Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly went in the second round and the only other pick among the players – Rob Jackson – were on the team at the end of last year.

February 2009: Brian Orakpo certainly looked the part, and it took the Redskins about three seconds to turn in their card on Draft Night. The best line of Combine Week was from New England’s Bill Belichick, marveling at the size of the event. “We were all at Arizona State in 1985 watching William “The Frigerator” Perry did the broad jump in the dark,” he said. Times have indeed changed.

Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@comcastsportsnet.com

 

Breaking down a 7-round mock

By Ryan O’Halloran

There are people who love the NFL Draft who have much time on their hands … and then there are people that love the NFL Draft who have TOO much time on their hands.

The folks at www.draftsite.com fall into the latter category.

But to their credit, they have assembled a pick-by-pick mock of the NFL’s annual selection meeting.

On to the Redskins’ selections with my thoughts:

Round 1, No. 5 overall: LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

RO says: Doesn’t make sense just from a need standpoint. If there is a spot the Redskins have some depth, it’s the defensive line, especially with Jarvis Jenkins coming back. If they can’t trade up to take RG3, Morris Claiborne is also gone and waiting on Ryan Tannehill is worth the risk, the Redskins will be open for business.

Round 2, No. 39 overall: Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

RO says: No way Tannehill is on the board at 39, much less 29 and maybe even 19. If he has a good throwing season this spring, he’ll climb up the board. If they Redskins don’t take him at 6, they can’t trade down too far … if they want him, that is.

Round 3, No. 70 overall: Wisconsin receiver Nick Toon.

RO says: The Redskins need to add receivers in free agency or the draft who can create separation without the benefit of motion or a pick route at the snap. Toon is listed at 6-3 and has good pedigree – his dad, Al, is a former Jets first round pick.

Round 4, No. 102 overall: San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman.

RO says: Until the Redskins’ coaches have lost faith in Evan Royster … and are willing to share that with people this early in the game, there are better directions to go at this point, like inside linebacker or safety. Hillman enters the draft after his redshirt sophomore year – he had rushing years of 1,532 and 1,711 yards to go with 36 touchdowns.

Round 4, No. 109 overall: Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State offensive tackle.

RO says: Mel’s top-rated senior offensive tackle before the juniors declared and was listed in the Cowboys’ media guide at 6-foot-6 and 322 pounds. If the Redskins think he could develop into a right tackle after the left side protecting Brandon Weeden, it could be an option.

Round 5, No. 133 overall: Alabama cornerback DeQuan Menzie.

RO says: Played in an NFL-type program so he could make a quick transition and the Redskins’ secondary could still be in flux at this point. Listed at 5-11, he needs to run well at the Combine.

Round 7, No. 191 overall: Boston College defensive end Max Holloway.

RO says: No. Not a position of need and Holloway doesn’t even have a draft-him grade by CBS Sports.

 

NFL Combine: Not strong at safety

By Rich Tandler

The Redskins are likely to be putting the strong safeties under the microscope when they are at the NFL Combine this week. Starter LaRon Landry could well depart via free agency, and that would create a hole that probably can’t be filled by current roster members.

It probably can’t be filled in the draft, either. The crop of strong safety candidates is exceptionally weak this year. Mark Barron of Alabama is the only one who seems to have a chance of starting in the NFL in 2012 and he is sidelined with a double sports hernia. It is unlikely that he will be able to work out for teams prior to the draft. His work on film at Alabama will be good enough to get him drafted, perhaps even somewhere in the first round.

Once you get past Barron, however, you have nothing but suspects and projects. Kelcie McCaray from Arkansas State is a good athlete but he has problems sticking his nose in to make tackles. Antonio Allen of South Carolina is an old-fashioned in the box safety making his utility limited in these days of three- and four-receiver sets.

Washington also is looking at a thin free agent crop at the position. It will be interesting to see how they might handle Landry’s potential departure.

The complete list of strong safeties invited to the combine is below. They are in the order of Wes Bunting’s scouting grades.

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

 

 

NFL Combine: Tackles face position switch

By Rich Tandler

When offensive linemen speak with the media at the NFL Combine, almost every one of them tries to get out the message that he is a scheme-diverse left tackle. That, of course, is because protecting the quarterback’s blindside is where the money is.

The problem is that there are only 32 of those jobs and many of them are occupied by players who aren’t going anywhere. Thirty-five players were invited to the combine as tackles and only a handful of them—Matt Kalil of USC, Mike Adams of Ohio State, Riley Reiff of Iowa and perhaps one or two more—will end up in one of those coveted left tackle positions.

The rest will have to give it a go on the right side and a good number of them will move to guard. In fact, of the 35 combine attendees listed as offensive tackles Wes Bunting of the National Football post has 11 rated as guards. Certainly more will move inside when OTA’s and minicamps roll around.

One of those wanna-be left tackles could end up playing right tackle for the Redskins. They are in search of a successor to Jammal Brown. They might not trust that Brown will be healthy for the 2012 season and might want someone who will be able to step in right away. Or, they might want to lean on Brown and hope he can get through another year or two while his replacement is being groomed. The Redskins’ draft could well be shaped by which way they decide to go.

Some mock drafts have had the Redskins going OT early, taking Reiff with the sixth overall pick. That may be early to take a right tackle and Reiff, as noted, is very capable of playing on the left side. Reiff or Adams could represent good value in the top 10 to a team looking for a left tackle but the Redskins are going to ride with Trent Williams there. Still, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Redskisn would pull the trigger on a tackle here, especially if the solve their quarterback problem in free agency.

If the Redskins are intent on replacing Brown sooner rather than later, Jonathan Martin of Stanford could be sitting there in the second or maybe even the third round. He is athletic but he struggles with power making him a potential bargain for a zone blocking team like the Redskins.

So the Redskins will go to Indianapolis to meet the prospects they have seen on film and then decide if they will address the tackle position in free agency, in the draft, do both, or decide to stand pat with Brown backed up by Tyler Polumbus and Willie Smith.

The complete list of offensive tackles invited to the combine is below. They are in the order of Bunting’s scouting grades. Those who were invited to the combine as tackles but who are rated as guards by Bunting have scores with a *.

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

NFL Combine: Will the Redskins look to upgrade at center?

By Rich Tandler

As noted in the NFL Combine preview about guards, the Redskins could be looking to upgrade the team at center. Instead of shuffling things around as suggested in the earlier article, the Redskins could just draft a center.

Several of the centers invited to the combine this week have the potential to become starters either immediately or at some point during their first or second seasons. It won’t take the Redskins long to do a thorough examination of the centers in Indianapolis. Only six players who were invited are designated as centers. Of course a player who goes to the combine at another line position could be viewed as a prospect to anchor the middle of the line as well.

Peter Konz of Wisconsin is the top-rated center prospect at the moment and he would be a fit in the zone scheme. If center is a priority for the Redskins they could end up taking him in the second or third round. That seems unlikely but if they like him at the combine they could find the combination of his size and athletic ability hard to bypass.

A later-round center the Redskins might look at is David Molk out of Michigan. At 286 pounds, he might have to put on a little weight but not much. He is described as an overachiever and that sort of player can thrive in Mike Shanahan’s system.

The complete list of centers invited to the combine is below. They are in the order of Wes Bunting’s scouting grades.

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

Combine preview: Will Redskins wade into shallow pool of guards?

By Rich Tandler

The Redskins could come to the NFL combine this week looking to upgrade the center position by getting a new left guard.

Will Montgomery started 14 games at center in 2011 (he started the other two at left guard) and while he performed respectably, many believe is that the team could do better. The thought is that they could move Kory Lichtensteiger from left guard to his natural position at center and then get a guard in the draft.

That plan is one of those that looks good on paper but may not work in reality. This draft is very thin at the guard position. Even though the Redskins’ zone blocking scheme can utilize players who might not be rated highly by other teams, it might be difficult to pluck an immediate starter at guard in this draft.

Going by the ratings assigned by Wes Bunting of the National Football Post, only three players who are invited to the combine as guards grade out as potential NFL starters. The top player at the position, and one of the top five players in the entire draft, is David DeCastro of Stanford. Despite his lofty ranking, he is likely to be drafted somewhere in the middle of the first round since the position is not highly valued. While he could be plugged right in and start immediately, there is no chance the Redskins will look at him with the sixth overall pick.

Lucas Nix of Pitt is the second-rated guard likely to be available in the second round and maybe even the third. At 6-6, however, he may be too tall for fit the zone scheme, although he is athletic. Next on the board is Kevin Zeitler of Wisconsin, who is limited athletically but has a nasty streak.

That is about it as far as prospects who are likely to be able to start on opening day. Certainly the Redskins could use some depth at guard and they will be looking to identify some late-round gems. To pluck a name from the lower-rated prospects, the Redskins could give Adam Gettis of Iowa a good look in Indianapolis. Some scouts say that he needs to add weight but at 6-4, 280 he wouldn’t have to bulk up much to play for the Redskins. Gettis is a good athlete and someone to keep an eye on as the draft process unfolds.

Several of the players invited to the combine as tackles might end up playing guard in the NFL so there are more possibilities than are listed here. We will look at the tackle position here on Tuesday.

The complete list of guards invited to the combine is below. They are in the order of Bunting’s scouting grades.

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.