DE in 1st (Campbell/Merling) or DT (Laws) in the 2nd?

[RedskinDan0557]

The Skins have an obvious need to generate a greater pass rush. With Daniels getting older, selecting a DE early in the draft seems like a wise move. However, Cerrato apparently wants an interior defensive lineman "who has some pass-rushing ability" and he believes "with speed rushers Andre Carter, Marcus Washington and Chris Wilson coming off the edge, the defensive line could use more push from the inside."
http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=34543

So, in this year's draft should the Skins take a DE i.e. Campbell or Merling in the 1st or should they instead take a DT who can bring pressure up the middle like Trevor Laws in the 2nd?

[JetSkins]

DE definitely needed in first or second round

[robotfire]

I think we should pick whoever is best in the draft at that point, regardless of position (ignoring a select few spots where we're loaded with talent).

[blitzpackage]

Is Trevor Laws the kid out of Notre Dame?

*edit
Yeah, that's him. I saw some of him yesterday and the guy looks like a beast. What I like most about him is he is perceived to be a high character guy. Here is a bio:http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=15894

I still think best player available at #21 but would love to pick up a 304 lb DT like Laws in the 2nd if we decide to go WR or DE in the 1st.

[Robbnva]

high pick for the D-Lineman that will be available at 21. Let's get the best available if it is a CB, Safety, or WR

[New]

The Skins have an obvious need to generate a greater pass rush. With Daniels getting older, selecting a DE early in the draft seems like a wise move. However, Cerrato apparently wants an interior defensive lineman "who has some pass-rushing ability" and he believers "with speed rushers Andre Carter, Marcus Washington and Chris Wilson coming off the edge, the defensive line could use more push from the inside."
http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=34543

So, in this year's draft should the Skins take a DE i.e. Campbell or Merling in the 1st or should they instead take a DT who can bring pressure up the middle like Trevor Laws in the 2nd?


I think the DE is the safer pick, Laws is intriguing to me. Being a fan of the IRISH, this guy has gotten better every year, and was undoubtedly the lone bright spot on their team last year. He will quietly be a winner and has the potential to be solid for years to come. High motor, High character guy! Can disrupt the backfield and get to the qb from the interior. If we can get him in the 2nd or maybe even third rd, go for it. GO IRISH! HTTR!

[PlayAction]

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=34543

So, in this year's draft should the Skins take a DE i.e. Campbell or Merling in the 1st or should they instead take a DT who can bring pressure up the middle like Trevor Laws in the 2nd?

I don't like Campbell. He's tall and doesn't protect his lower body well. Also, he was not productive in his senior year. The first round pick is hard to predict at 21 because we don't know who will be available. Merling appears to be good value at the 21st pick if he's available. I think he will only be available if teams ahead of the Skins start picking WRs and CBs instead of the current projected DL talent. If the DL talent is gone I think the Skins will wind up going CB in the first. Or, even better trading down with another team that wants a CB. I'd love for the Skins to get an extra 3rd round pick this year. I want a WR in the 3rd (Jordy Nelson - Kansas State) and also a G/C in the 3rd (Kory Leightsteiger Bowling Green)

The writeups on Laws don't look that impressive.

[Skins-in-CT]

I would go line, most likely DE in the first UNLESS Malcolm Kelly is still on the board. In that case I think it would be unwise to pass him up, as he could be the big WR everyone says we desperately need.

[Chump Bailey]

Listening to Mayock, the DT class is not very deep or as deep as DE. I think if we're going to go DL with out first pick, then it should be DE IMO only because it would seem to be less of reach. We would seemingly be in a postion to get a better quality DE than DT at #21. I think it's a big, big mistake to assume Wilson and company will adequately fill the void. We need an everydown DE and Wilson ain't that guy. Evans played pretty well and I like Buzbee, but we need to get an upper-tier DE there sooner than later.

[dswerdlw]

I don't think Laws will be available by the time we pick in the second. We should go for Merling, Harvey, Balmer or Campbell in the first (in that order). Merling is the most complete player. Harvey is the best end rush guy. Balmer would give us pressure up the middle. Campbell is a good risk. I do like Laws a lot. If we trade down for a high second and third, I'd take Laws and hope to pick up Q. Groves in the second. Then take a guard (Benedict or McGlynn) and DB (Godfrey, perhaps) in the third. Hopefully, Jordy Nelson will fall to us in the fifth. Eddie Royal is looking good at the combine.

[Grimm]

I still like the idea of getting the best DE left at #21. Daniels is getting old and we need depth behind him and Carter. I think we are ok at DT with Golston, Montgomery and Griffin.

[Veretax]

None of the above.

Pick #21 Brandon Albert OG UVA
2nd Rd Pick: BPA either DE/DT/CB
3rd Round Pick: Owen Schmitt FB WVU

[Darth Tater]

I'd say much of who we pick is based on who is available when we pick. A lot of what we do in the draft, especially day 1, has to do with what we do in FA. Some more depends on what weaknesses we can hide the easiest. Finally, you protect yourself to a degree from potential busts by getting multiples of the same position. Thing is, if you pick complementary players, if one is bad, he might make the other look bad. Of course, if one is great, even if the other is mediocre he may still look good.

From 2000 to 2007, our defense has been excellent almost every year (6 top-10 defenses in terms of yards and 3 in terms of points) and both times our defense sucked the next year it went to good to great (in fact, the 2004 defense following on the heals of one of the worst defenses in our history was the best we've had since Allen). Over the same period, our offense has not finished in the top-10 and been sub-par at least half the time. Our biggest problems in 2007 were leaving points on the field and not maintaining drives (an aging and brittle o-line with no depth? Small WRs?). In all but 1 of our losses, these reasons were undeniably the biggest. Our biggest defensive problem were a couple of discipline issues that gave points away. Improving our defense would not help us as much as improving our offense and much of improving our defense will come with greater maturity on LL's part. We saw the loss of two major contributors to our offense and our offense never recovered (the offense we saw after the bye week was NOT the offense we planned to run which was much more wide-open). We lost a lot of guys on defense but were able to deal with the issue to a greater degree. We've got limited resources and need to fix where we're bleeding first.

I could see something like this IF we get the WR and o-line depth in FA, but I'm not convinced this will happen. I do like someone like Jordy Nelson in the 3rd. I also think we may need to go CB in the first round assuming the reports about Carlos are true and the comments by Blache are not just smoke. Personally, unless a top DE falls into our laps, I don't think we'll be looking that way until day 2.

[Wyvern]

I chose -- "None of the Above."

That's because I think we need to trade down our #21 pick for more picks in the 2nd and/or 3rd round and/or 4th round. We need the extra picks to load up with the best athlete available for the following areas -- Defensive End, Cornerback, and anywhere on the O-line. I would seek to meet our WR and OLB needs through free-agency.

My priority for these needs (should there be a tie) would be: DE, CB, G, C, T. I exect we would land a decent DE with our 2nd round pick -- assuming we can still scout well.

As you can see, my top priority is a DE, but not two DEs or a DE and DT with our first two picks. That's because I'm not sure we have that urgent a need for more new DTs. Sure it would be nice to have already groomed a backup for when Griffin starts to falter, but we have other more important needs. Let's see how our current group of DTs work out -- they might continue to improve.

[Veretax]

I'd say much of who we pick is based on who is available when we pick. A lot of what we do in the draft, especially day 1, has to do with what we do in FA. Some more depends on what weaknesses we can hide the easiest. Finally, you protect yourself to a degree from potential busts by getting multiples of the same position. Thing is, if you pick complementary players, if one is bad, he might make the other look bad. Of course, if one is great, even if the other is mediocre he may still look good.

I can't disagree with this point enough. When you need a RT You don't draft two guys and say fight it out, the same is true on the Oline. Now I'm not against drafting an Olineman in the 1st 3 and another for depth later on, but to spend multiple high picks on them this year with the contracts that Thomas, Jansen, and Samuels now have, just is not economically viable. We do need some help at Guard, maybe a Center to eventually replace Casey, but given that Casey's been healthy, we can afford to look for his replacement later on or next year if need be. Kendall is the only Oline position I am worried about. Fabini is okay as a back up, but he sucked as a starter.



From 2000 to 2007, our defense has been excellent almost every year (6 top-10 defenses in terms of yards and 3 in terms of points) and both times our defense sucked the next year it went to good to great (in fact, the 2004 defense following on the heals of one of the worst defenses in our history was the best we've had since Allen). Over the same period, our offense has not finished in the top-10 and been sub-par at least half the time. Our biggest problems in 2007 were leaving points on the field and not maintaining drives (an aging and brittle o-line with no depth? Small WRs?).

I tend to agree. If we can improve the Oline with a solid young guy now, that would help Campbell have more time to get those throws off. I'm not opposed to drafting a WR, just not in the 1st Round. It had better be someone with good hands, because we had far too many drops last year. I'm talking at times worse then Atlanta Falcons Receivers were the prior year.


That's why I'm for drafting a Guard, and then seeing what comes to us in the 2nd and 3rd.

[1972FAN]

DT and a DE in the first 3 rds, hey what can I say, how about the Giants.

[squatch66]

definitely a de in the first. depending on how the wr prospects are shaking out dt or wr in the second. after that we need to get a dt or an olineman.

[#98QBKiller]

I put draft a DE/DT in the first three rounds. I am of the opinion that we should draft a WR in the first, either Limas Sweed or Malcolm Kelly and use either 2 or 3 for DE/DT and the remaining pick for a solid OT.

[Captain 47]

i'm a fan of notre dame and trevor laws was the one bright spot on the team this year. i'm pretty sure he was the only defensive lineman in the country to have over 100 tackles this past season. without checking the stats, i think he blocked 6 field goals in his career too. the guy's motor never stops. he also busted out 35 reps in the lifting portion of the combine. without trying to sound like too much of a homer, i'd love to have trevor laws on the skins.

here's a good little write up on him.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/notredame/cs-080219-notre-dame-nfl-combine,1,2879110.story

[seanyt]

1st Rd. DE...
3rd Rd DT...
Sounds good to me Squeeze in a Cb or Ol in the 2nd and maybe fill in a couple of holes in the FA market and we should be fine...

[Tedskins 73]

Trade down to obtain more picks. Get a three technique DT who can generate some push from the inside. Carter and the best pass rushing DE from the 2nd bringing some heat from the edge.... BOOM sacks all day

[Darth Tater]

I can't disagree with this point enough. When you need a RT You don't draft two guys and say fight it out, the same is true on the Oline. Now I'm not against drafting an Olineman in the 1st 3 and another for depth later on, but to spend multiple high picks on them this year with the contracts that Thomas, Jansen, and Samuels now have, just is not economically viable. We do need some help at Guard, maybe a Center to eventually replace Casey, but given that Casey's been healthy, we can afford to look for his replacement later on or next year if need be. Kendall is the only Oline position I am worried about. Fabini is okay as a back up, but he sucked as a starter.

Actually, bringing in multiple guys for one slot is pretty SOP especially for o-line. The multiples are why we drafted two linebackers last year and signed at least two through free agency. It is why we drafted two o-linemen in 2004 although in that case, neither worked out. It is why we ended up with the posse back in the day (both WRs worked out instead of one going bust which is what was expected). The year we drafted Schuler, the reason we also drafted Ferrote was to protect us to some degree if Schuler busted. Anytime you see multiples picked for the same position that is what is being done.

[Oldskool]

The DE pool is good in the first couple of rounds and then is gone this year.

DT depth is there very early in the draft (Ellis, Dorsey, etc) but then is dry until the middle rounds.

[jistardy]

Listening to Mayock, the DT class is not very deep or as deep as DE. I think if we're going to go DL with out first pick, then it should be DE IMO only because it would seem to be less of reach. We would seemingly be in a postion to get a better quality DE than DT at #21. I think it's a big, big mistake to assume Wilson and company will adequately fill the void. We need an everydown DE and Wilson ain't that guy. Evans played pretty well and I like Buzbee, but we need to get an upper-tier DE there sooner than later.

Do you think if Wilson picks up 12 to 20 pounds on the off season he won't become an inside force? Do you think he will have a chance? Remember he was considered a rookie. And played his B*lls off. I think DT is more important at first pick than DE. DE in 2nd or 3rd deeper pool at DE. I do say, if DT's are gone, then we need to get best available at any of our needs at first pick. We took Landry last year and I think he will be stellar through his carrier and he wasn't truely a need at that time. Thank the one upstairs we got him now. If the best OL fall to us and we don't have our sloted DT we need to take him. Even CB and Wide. But I think DE will be best available so all this is pointless if the case holds true.

[Veretax]

Actually, bringing in multiple guys for one slot is pretty SOP especially for o-line. The multiples are why we drafted two linebackers last year and signed at least two through free agency. It is why we drafted two o-linemen in 2004 although in that case, neither worked out. It is why we ended up with the posse back in the day (both WRs worked out instead of one going bust which is what was expected). The year we drafted Schuler, the reason we also drafted Ferrote was to protect us to some degree if Schuler busted. Anytime you see multiples picked for the same position that is what is being done.

Sartz and Blades really played different positions at LB though so I don't count them, what I object to is drafting three tackles just because its BPA.

oh and if your interested in the tackle stats for the ncaa

Tackle Stats for NCAA 2007 (http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2007&div=4&rpt=IA_playertotaltackles&site=org)

and it does look like laws is the only one in the top 100 players listed who is a DL. That's surprising to me, there might be more players that just aren't on that list though.

[Robbnva]

Any chance we trade up to get a earlier 1st round pick? I know Long is a 3-4 player but a convert to 4-3 can't be that difficult OR Gholston was a beast also, he had like 14 sacks last year.

[coopluvstheskins]

DE, Merling 1st round
DT, tevor laws 2nd
OG, Brandon Albert 3rd

that would be the best draft day for the skins.

[Warpath11]

If Laws is anything like one of his alumni I'd love to see him in B&G. Justin Tuck is a monster when he moves inside and uses his quickness to beat him man. Thing about Tuck is that he was a former DE (heir apparent to Strahan) so I think his quickness is his greatest assest. I wouldn't be opposed to drafting a D-end and turning him into a 3-technique guy like Tuck (especially on passing downs).

[Passizle]

I cant beleive I am saying this, but I think VC may have been right with his summation. I was actually all over Amobi Okoye last year, but we passed him up. I am in no way dissapointed in LL. Kid was a great pick.
That being said... I would actually like to pick up this guy: http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/dt/dremoore.html
But not in the first 2 rounds. he is a little bit of project, but he has great speed for a DT and has proven to be a guy that can collapse a pocket.

[[[ghost]]]

DE, Merling 1st round
DT, tevor laws 2nd
OG, Brandon Albert 3rd

that would be the best draft day for the skins.

I kind of want Kenny Phillips in the 4th, and it might be a reach, but I say we gamble on Leodis McKelvin in the 5th, and then Malcolm Kelly in teh 6th. I know their both a bit early, but we have to address needs.

[Tedskins 73]

]']I kind of want Kenny Phillips in the 4th, and it might be a reach, but I say we gamble on Leodis McKelvin in the 5th, and then Malcolm Kelly in teh 6th. I know their both a bit early, but we have to address needs.

Malcolm Kelley will be long gone as well as Kenny Phillips

[Veretax]

]']I kind of want Kenny Phillips in the 4th, and it might be a reach, but I say we gamble on Leodis McKelvin in the 5th, and then Malcolm Kelly in teh 6th. I know their both a bit early, but we have to address needs.


None of those guys will be available past the 2nd Round. Count on it.

[FootballGuy2677]

We need to pick up a DE in the first round, a WR in the second(unless our boy isn't there), and DT or CB in the third.

[jsmith2003]

I think we should go DE in 1st, and DT in 2nd, especially if Laws is available @ 2, and Big WR in 3rd, with possible swap @ 2/3 if Laws isn't there and BPA dictates otherwise. then concentrate on OL depth with remaining picks 5/6/7 for C/G positions...

[TaylorPickSix]

If it were me:
1st: DE
2nd: WR/S/CB (whichever one we don't sign in FA)
3rd: DT
later rounds - OL & QB