Predicting the Redskins Draft

Many draftniks, both professional and amateur, try to predict each NFL team's draft during the late winter/early spring of each year. Mock drafters come out in droves, providing Big Boards, Team Needs, and Mock Drafts for their favorite teams. Some even attempt to predict teams they do not follow, in a futile attempt to prove they are the ultimate Arm Chair GM!

From a Redskins perspective, predicting that year's respective draft has been one of frustration and confusion. Since 2010, the Redskins have had picks in the first three rounds just twice(2011 and 2015). Pseudo GM Bruce Allen and head coach Mike Shanahan(and Dan Synder) ran the draft from 2010-2013. Although Shanahan was supposedly in control of final football personnel decisions, it was rumored that his hand was forced in the 2012 NFL Draft, when the Redskins traded up to acquire Robert Griffin III, depriving them of their second round pick that year, and two first round picks the following two years. This obviously limited the amount of young, quality players the Redskins could select during those drafts, and likewise, limited the creativity and objectivity of draftniks everywhere, because the team was drafting almost on pure need.

Shanahan was fired after the 2013 season, and Bruce Allen regained control of football operations. He hired Jay Gruden to be the team's head coach, and with some obvious Imput of those around him, ran his first NFL draft as "the Man". The following season, Allen, knowing he needed help from a pure football perspective, helped convince Scot McCloughan to come to D.C. to become the team's new General Manager. Scot is running his second draft with the team, and for the second year in a row, has his top three picks in the first three rounds.

What players will Scot turn those first three picks into?

Here at HogsHaven, we love to play Arm Chair GM - probably more so than any other Redskins website on the planet! We are good at what we do, but just how good are we? We have tools at our disposal, like fanspeak's On The Clock Mock Draft Simulator, created by our own Steve Shoup, and the many draft sites, prospect databases, player profiles and YouTube clips we can get our hand on.

Below, you will find the results of the Redskins picks in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft from 2010-2015. I only chose picks through round three, because anything after that becomes really hard to narrow down.

2010 Draft: Only one pick in the first three rounds.

1st - Trent Williams - The majority on HH predicted we would take a LT. The discussion centered around Okung vs. Williams. The Redskins chose correctly, did you?

2011 Draft:

1st - Ryan Kerrigan - Not many saw this pick coming, yet some were high on him pre-draft.

2nd - Jarvis Jenkins - Kind of a shocker to many.

3rd -  Leonard Hankerson - I did see Hankerson in a few mock drafts.

2012 Draft: No second round pick due to Griffin trade.

1st - Robert Griffin III - After the trade, there was no shocker here.

3rd - Josh LeRibeus - NO ONE predicted this.

2013 Draft: No first round pick due to Griffin trade.

2nd - David Amerson - Amerson, as well as a few other DB's, were on a lot of draft boards.

3rd - Jordan Reed - A surprise pick to many.

2014 Draft: No first round pick due to Griffin trade.

2nd - Trent Murphy - If you predicted this pick, you get Mel Keiper's job!

3rd - Morgan Moses - I know one person who "suggested" this pick.

3rd - Spencer Long - Long in the third....yeah right!

2015 Draft:

1st - Brandon Scherff - Many had Scherff as our pick.

2nd - Preston Smith - I saw this name being floated around a bit.

3rd - Matt Jones - Not many saw this one coming.

Were you able to predict any of these picks? How will you do this season in the first three rounds?

Post your guesses for our top three picks in the comment section below.