Can We Grade The 2015 Redskins Draft Now? Evan Spencer 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.

Evan Spencer was taken a handful of picks after Tevin Mitchel. The WR out of Ohio State had a good draft night story and his brother who worked for the Redskins was the one to call him to deliver the news that he was being drafted by the Redskins. Spencer made it to the preseason and caught a few passes but was waived just before final cuts due to an injury and was released just before the start of the season with an injury settlement.

He got a second shot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and got an opportunity to play on a team that featured his father who was the running backs coach at the time. He was even promoted to the active roster during the 2015 season. Spencer’s time on the team and in football would be short lived though. In September 2016 he was released from the team and a few days later he retired from football.

Spencer had a tough road to make either team and really make his mark as a contributor. In the few opportunities, he received he never got to show enough to warrant a coaching staff reserving a roster spot for him as a receiver much less as a special teams player.

Spencer was taken with a pick that was acquired when the Redskins traded down in the 3rd round earlier in the draft. There were slim pickings rounding out the 6th round but a few players that have stuck around and could have helped the Redskins are:

JaCorey Shepherd, CB (Philadelphia),
Leterrius Walton, DT (Pittsburgh),
Quandre Diggs, CB (Detroit),
Aaron Ripkowski, FB (Green Bay)

and a few others.