Can We Grade The 2015 Redskins Draft Now? Kyshoen Jarrett 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.

Kyshoen Jarrett was taken with the 181st pick of the draft. He blew away Redskins fans expectations and likely the coaches as well. Jarrett did light up the stat sheet but in a woeful Redskins secondary, he shined like a beam of light when fans were looking for production and potential from the safety group. Jarrett wasn't just relegated to playing safety though. In his rookie year, he played safety, corner, and linebacker. He showed great passion and decent instincts for all those positions as he racked up several impressive tackles and was capable in coverage as well. Jarrett even started 5 games his rookie year with his most fruitful games coming against the Patriots, Eagles, and Jets.

Jarrett looked like he was becoming an important piece of the defense as he carved out a larger role for himself over the season. What is most impressive about Jarrett was his fearlessness and his effort. He was not the best athlete or the guy with the highest football IQ on the field but he worked to get himself a little bit better each week. He was everything you could want from a late round pick.

In a cruel twist of fate Jarrett's life was changed in the last game of the regular season against Dallas when he attempted to tackle Darren McFadden. Jarrett sustained a severe nerve injury to his arm which at the time of this writing has effectively ended his career and to my knowledge has still not yet healed to proper functionality. Jarrett’s injury was/is no doubt devastating to him personally but it also was devastating to his teammates and Redskins fans.

Who knows the kind of player Jarrett would be if he were still healthy? What is known is that he exceeded all expectations and put up impressive production for a 6th round defensive back in his rookie year. It wouldn't be fair to call this pick a gem without more evidence but it also wouldn't be fair to call it a miss.

Its unfulfilled potential at no fault of the player or staff.