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- Today, I’ll be proposing a series of questions/topics and would love to get your feedback ahead of our draft coverage this week. The arrival of the 2017 NFL Draft brings with it all the fibs, lies and falsehoods one could ask for, each draped in that special brand of silky sweet ambiguity that every NFL general manager is so well-versed in. Bruce Allen is no stranger to the smokescreen game, and in all fairness to him, he plays it well. (Perhaps part of that is due to the fact that nobody knows what to expect from him to begin with...but in any event, Allen can spin a tall tale with the best of them.) In the comments section below, please offer something you think a classically trained personnel man would say to best serve the interests of the Washington Redskins.
- Some of you are getting pretty damn nervous out there that the Redskins are inching closer to taking an offensive player in the first round. Given our glaring needs on the other side of the ball, any offensive weapon we add at #17 overall better be ready to contribute fast, or the wrath of the fanbase could be severe. I ask those of you MOST opposed to drafting offense in the first round to please find a space in your heart for one, and tell me which one that would be. To be clear—if you HAD to pick an offensive player, who would it be and why? I get that you find all offensive players equally deplorable, but refrain from just answering “No offense, just defense” (cough, Skins NJ).
- I am working on my “Best Player in the Draft” post this year, and I have it down to two players. One of them is Myles Garrett, which would make him one of only a few guys that were at the top of my list AND went #1 one overall (because people care). Since we’ll have this debate when the post comes out, let’s tweak it a little for today. in the first round, 32 players will find homes. When the dust settles, who will be the best player left standing? I’ll tell you right now, this is my kind of conversation, because in this modern age of the draft, this player will be on every team’s mind for a whole day. The first pick in the second round has almost become more valuable in some respects as a result of splitting it out, because countless general managers will spend those hours scheming for a possible shot at this player. There are many, many candidates, so all you Fanspeak drafters, bring your “A” game.
- On Thursday night, The Audible will be live at Caddies on Cordell, a long time hotspot in downtown Bethesda. We’ll be joined by The DCeivers, a local band that has been voted as the city’s top cover band multiple times. When they aren’t stepping in as the house band for the only DC sports podcast with a house band, you can see and hear them at The Bullpen before and after Nats games across the street from Nationals Park. We’ll be going Fallon/Roots style at the bar leading up to the first round (and of course the Caps/Pens game will be on as well). If you are within shouting distance of Bethesda, please come by and join the party. It will be a fun night.
- On Tuesday night, our regularly scheduled production of Offseason On the Brink will be recorded, and I was hoping to include your thoughts on the following topic: when all is said and done, how many of our draft picks will start on defense in 2017? For the sake of this discussion, you can include any circumstances you want, but be clear. For example, if you think an injury will force a guy in, that is okay, but try and be specific (as in, do you or don’t you think Junior Galette will make it). And let’s be honest, if a rookie is good enough to be an injury away from starting, that is either really good or really bad. Enlighten us! Steve Shoup will be joining us to get us revved up for the draft, and we will get his take on some of your more...creative...answers.
- Alright, I saved this for the end because I was hoping to dodge it altogether, but we don’t dodge the hard stuff here (especially when that hard stuff is Irish whiskey). In the ongoing saga of Kirk Cousins, draft day is the next red-letter day. Anything that could happen next in that saga is most likely to go down on Thursday, with a very real possibility that nothing happens. I am rooting for Thursday to be a quiet day in the news department for our franchise quarterback. I don’t want to see any blockbuster deals announced. I don’t want to see him moved at all, but we know that draft day is kind of the next opportunity for NFL teams to make bold moves. Allow me to lead off on this topic: I think that after the San Francisco 49ers draft a quarterback, Kirk and the Redskins will get a LOT more serious about a long term deal. The best-case scenario for the Skins is that the 49ers take a quarterback with the #2 overall pick, though I don’t think anyone is predicting that to happen. Maybe a realistic hope is for the 49ers to trade down in the first round and take a signal-caller with whatever extra first rounder they net in the deal. Looping back to the point made in #1, I feel like Bruce Allen has done a good job attempting to convince the football world that Kirk belongs to the Redskins this year and beyond, always mentioning the “team’s option” on him next season. Whether or not the 49ers take a quarterback early will tell us just how serious they think Bruce Allen is and just how difficult it could prove for them to pry Kirk away.