Sunday Slop: Redskins news and notes

Eli Apple still must improve, but would strengthen Redskins CB corps | ESPN Redskins blog

Why he does: Because there are some prime positions defensively you can never get enough of: pass rushers and corners. Apple is a good player and would be able to help immediately (likely as a third corner). That would ease the burden on Culliver to be at or near 100 percent by the time the season begins. And it would give the Redskins three potential excellent corners when Culliver is healthy. It also would enable Quinton Dunbar to continue developing while learning a new position. Will Blackmon and Greg Toler would add solid depth and make this a position of strength.

Redskins have confidence in Matt Jones, but with some concerns | ESPN Redskins Blog

I've always said this and I don't think it's changed - they like him and have their fingers crossed that he'll be the guy. They certainly believe he has the tools to handle the job, but it'll come down to durability (which requires altering habits or adding others, which Jones mentioned after the season) and protecting the ball better. Both reasons are why their fingers remain somewhat crossed.

Need to know: McCloughan outlines his draft pick expectations | CSN Washington

Redskins best and worst case scenarios: Offense | CSN Washington

But in practical terms it's reasonable to expect that a given player's performance will fall into a rage based on factors such as past performance, age, etc. So over the next couple of days we'll look at best- and worst-case scenarios for key players on each side of the ball. We'll get it going today with the offense.

Need to know: Redskins draft prep hits crunch time | CSN Washington

Last year the Redskins started with 7 draft picks and by the time McCloughan and Bruce Allen were done dealing they had 10 plus one in this year's draft. The trade that triggered the dealing was the one they pulled off with the Seahawks, sending their 3rd-round pick, which was No. 69 overall, to Seattle for their third-, fourth-, and fifth-round picks, which were all late in those rounds. It will be more difficult to pull off a similar trade this year since the Redskins are picking about 15 spots further back in each round. In short, their third-round pick this year isn't as valuable as their third rounder was last year so they won't get as much in return for trading back with it. If McCloughan wants to stockpile picks he may need to trade back earlier, starting in the second round or perhaps the first.