Can We Grade The 2015 Redskins Draft Now? Martrell Spaight 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.

Martrell Spaight is yet another player that probably deserves an incomplete rather than an actual grade. His rookie season was nearly lost in its entirety due to a season-ending concussion. Speights role ideally is a special teams contributor and I still think he has yet to make his mark there. Spaight filled in admirably when he saw playing time due to Will Compton’s injury(ies). Most of his action came in the Green Bay victory where he picked off Brett Hundley on 4th down in the 4th quarter and also later in the season in both the Carolina and Chicago games.

Spaight has to continue to grow but I think his biggest hurdle thus far has been being available because of injury. Losing most of your rookie season is very tough for a player’s development. I think Spaight still has the skills to be a good depth/special teams player. He’s just in effect a year behind in his development. I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground in hopes that we hear about his progress in training camp and hopefully in the preseason.

I still hold out a bit of hope because Spaight has the physical tools to play inside but more closely related to his situation to cover kickoffs and punts. Outside of Zach Brown maybe he is the best athlete on the team at the ILB position. He also is seemingly one of the most passionate players on the team as described by his teammates and as witnessed with his pregame speeches. I love late round players like this because you know they have the will and are willing to work. Though he has yet to consistently show off playmaking skills and that he understands the nuances of the position he did fill in decently in a pinch when Compton was out. I wouldn't count on Spaight to be anything more than a backup player but he could still prove to be a great contributor.

A few interesting players were taken after Spaight in the 5th round, they include:

Adrian Amos, S (Chicago),
Bobby McCain, CB (Miami),
Stefon Diggs, WR (Minnesota),
Jay Ajayi, RB (Miami),
David Parry, DT (Indianapolis),
Kyle Emmanuel, LB (San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers)

Would you rather have had any of these players or another instead of Spaight? Let me know in the comments!