Grant and Danny hosted former Washington player personnel director Vinny Cerrato last Friday.
Cerrato told a story of how Washington owner Daniel Snyder again intruded into the draft, demanding Cerrato to draft a certain player.
The setting was the 2008 NFL draft. Joe Gibbs had retired following the 2007 season playoff loss at Seattle. Snyder for some very bizarre reason, hired Jim Zorn to be the offensive coordinator before there was a head coach. This meant the new head coach would not even be permitted to hire his own offensive coordinator.
Consequently, Snyder had extreme difficulty finding anyone to take the head coaching job. So, embarrassingly, Snyder then made Zorn the head coach, though he had yet to be a coordinator in the NFL.
When the 2008 draft came, Cerrato traded out of the first round, giving the Redskins three second-round selections. At No. 34, he took Michigan State wide receiver, Devin Thomas.
Snyder then inquired to Cerrato whom he was going to select. Washington held the No. 48 and 51 selections. Cerrato told Grant and Danny that on that day he conveyed to Snyder he was wanting to draft Jamaal Charles a running back out of Texas.
However, Snyder, according to Cerrato, wanted receivers for Jim Zorn’s offense, voiced for Cerrato to take Oklahoma wide receiver Malcolm Kelly. Cerrato says he disagreed and again said he wanted to take Charles.
What was missing in Cerrato’s version of the story is that Washington actually had another selection where Cerrato took USC tight end Fred Davis at No. 48.
Once again Cerrato said Snyder insisted the No. 51 selection be Kelly. So Cerrato surrendered and chose Kelly. Wouldn’t you know it? Kelly was already battling a knee issue, only caught 28 passes for his brief career, and never caught a touchdown pass.
Charles on the other hand was chosen by the Chiefs in the third round at the No. 73 selection. He provided the Chiefs 9 NFL seasons rushing for 7,260 yards, 43 rushing touchdowns averaging a HUGE 5.5 yards per carry.
But hey, Cerrato knows he is not clear from blame for the poor 2008 Washington draft. Thomas only caught 3 touchdown passes and 43 receptions overall in his unspectacular career. Davis had two good seasons (2009, 2011) before his career went south. He caught 162 passes, 13 for touchdowns.
Thomas had been chosen at No. 34 while Jordy Nelson (36th) and Matt Forte (44th) would have both been much better additions to the Washington offense.
Even more frustrating, DeSean Jackson was taken by the Eagles at 49, and Calais Campbell by the Cardinals the very next two picks after Cerrato took Davis at 48.
Oh well, this is the legacy of Daniel Snyder, the people he hired, and how he intruded into football matters.