Can We Grade The 2015 Redskins Draft Now? Tevin Mitchel Edition

Two years have passed and I think it's safe for us to air our collective judgments about the successes and failures from the 2015 Redskins draft class. As many recall this was a highly anticipated draft as it was the first of Scot McCloughan's short tenure in Washington. The pre-draft excitement was at a high not just because of the players in the class but because for the first time in many years a well-known, well-respected, and proven talent evaluator was helping lead the team in what was the beginning of a rebuild for the team. McCloughan outlined a plan for the team and for the type of player and talent he wanted to fill the team with. By now we all know the what he was looking for. A football player. Size, talent, toughness, someone with innate instincts for their position and understands its not about the individual but about the sum of its parts.

Tevin Mitchel was selected immediately after the selection of Kysheon Jarrett. The late round corner was expected to compete and potentially earn a spot on the final roster as a backup. Mitchel made it to Redskins training camp but didn't do much before getting injured. Mitchel had an injury history going back to his days at Arkansas and though it was unfortunate it came as little surprise to anyone who had followed his career. Mitchel got surgery on his torn labrum and was waived by the Redskins in August 2015.

Some believe it was the Redskins intention to resign Mitchel once he cleared waivers but the Redskins wouldn’t get the chance as the Indianapolis Colts claimed him off waivers. Mitchel, of course, was out for the entirety of his rookie season with the Colts. Mitchel no doubt planned to be healthy for the 2016 season but again was hampered by injury. This time it was a hamstring that kept him out of action for the Colts. They placed him IR and released him with an injury settlement. Most recently, Mitchel signed a futures/reserve contract with the Colts this past January.

It's been two years and Tevin Mitchel has yet to take a regular-season NFL snap with any team. As the saying goes in the NFL “availability is the best ability” and Mitchel has been unable to show anyone his level of skill because of his injury frequency. Sixth round picks usually yield very little for the teams that select them and have an NFL career that averages around 2-3 years. With that said I still view this selection as a big disappointment, even in the last rounds. It's a bad pick for the Skins but objectively Mitchel himself deserves an “incomplete” grade.