Early Rush of Front Seven Players Hurts Redskins

Emmanuel Ogbah, Kevin Dodd, Jaylon Smith. Three players along the front seven gone, just three picks into the second round.

Then Myles Jack went with the fifth pick and Chris Jones went with the sixth, clouding matters further.

No, it's not crippling for the Redskins, by any stretch. But Washington would love to add to the defensive line, or inside linebacking corps, in the second and/or third round. The more front seven players that get taken, the harder that becomes. Even when edge rushers, which aren't high on the Redskins' list of needs, are drafted, it hurts the Redskins' chances to draft a lineman or linebacker. In today's NFL, in which defenses spend much of the game in the nickel or otherwise outside of their base defense, fit doesn't matter as much as it used to.

So if a team isn't completely sure if a player fits as a tackle or an end, outside linebacker or inside, it might be more tempted to take the chance and draft him, just so it doesn't miss out on a chance at a great player. Players such as Kevin Dodd, A'Shawn Robinson, Noah Spence and Willie Henry could be taken earlier than they otherwise would have, simply because teams panic and draft players that might not be ideal fits in hopes that they don't miss out on talent near that position.

To summarize: The Redskins are looking for a guy on defense who weighs 250+. A bunch of guys who weigh 250+ and play defense have already been drafted. That's not ideal.