With less than three weeks standing between us and the 2020 NFL Draft, we’ve all seen the bulk of mock drafts that are setting up for the action, and we can pretty much predict the first five or so picks, should nothing go crazy. In a vacuum, it would likely look like this:
- QB Joe Burrow — Cincinnati Bengals
- DE Chase Young — Washington Redskins
- CB Jeff Okudah — Detroit Lions
- LB Isaiah Simmons — New York Giants
- QB Tua Tagovailoa — Miami Dolphins
Of course, a couple of those picks could be switched around, but barring a trade up from some team, those are the first five players that are expected to be drafted — we’ve accepted that.
But what if something crazy were to happen? What if the Dolphins were able to trade up to the No. 1 spot, giving the Bengals two of their first-round picks, and maybe a couple of second-round picks as well? It’s unlikely, but it could happen. In their latest mock draft, USA TODAY’s Touchdown Wire carried on under this scenario of chaos. While it would be incredibly exciting to watch unfold, it doesn’t change much for the Redskins. They’re still sitting there at No. 2 with Chase Young available to them. Easy pick, right? Apparently not.
In Doug Farrar’s mock, he has the Redskins PASSING on Young, selecting Okudah instead. Here’s his justification for the pick:
Yes, the obvious pick here is to give Ohio State edge-rusher Chase Young to the Redskins, and all signs point in that direction. But this is a team that released Josh Norman and mysteriously traded Quinton Dunbar, one of the 15 best cornerbacks in the NFL last season, to the Seahawks for a fifth-round pick. We have no idea why, but Washington needs cornerbacks more than it needs edge rushers right now, and Okudah is the one scheme-transcendent, lockdown cornerback in this draft class. Last season, he allowed an opponent passer rating of 45.3, with 27 catches allowed on 58 targets for 282 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
To call the trade of Dunbar ‘mysterious’ seems a bit off, as it became clear that Ron Rivera and the coaching staff valued the cornerback’s talent and ability less than he valued it himself, refusing to give Dunbar the contract extension he desired before he could prove his ability to stay healthy for an extended period of time. Of course, a fifth-round pick in return may be a bit on the light side, but that’s a conversation for a different day.
Farrar is not wrong in saying that the Redskins need a CB more than they need an edge-rusher, but by looking at what they did in free agency — adding both Kendall Fuller and Ronald Darby — Washington seemingly set themselves up to stay afloat with the depth they have in the secondary, allowing them to take a generational talent in Young.
And that’s just what Young is — a generational talent. You don’t pass on a generational talent.
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