Some Washington Football Team Draft Talk - For Entertainment Purposes Only...

Let’s not kid ourselves - even if we happened to win the abysmal NFC East this year, we would get absolutely demolished in the playoffs. Regardless of the situation that is 2020, this Washington team is not a playoff team - that, I believe, we can all agree on.

What we don’t always agree on is draft talk - mainly the timing of it, on this site.

Unfortunately, that’s not stopping this article.

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Currently Washington sits at 2-7, with seven games remaining, and holds the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Of our remaining seven games, I see two possible wins(Bengals and Cowboys), but it’s just as likely we go 0-7 and finish in the top 3.

Bengals

Cowboys

Steelers

49ers

Seahawks

Panthers

Eagles

For the sake of this exercise, let’s say we do indeed win two more games, and finish with a record of 4-12, and select fourth overall in the 2021 NFL draft.

Projected top 10:

Jets -

Jaguars -

Chargers -

Washington -

Cowboys -

Bengals -

Eagles -

Dolphins(via Texans) -

Broncos -

Falcons -

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Jets: Trevor Lawrence QB Clemson - There shouldn’t be much suspense here, as the Jets take the Clemson star to lead them into the future with new head coach Eric Bieniemy.

Jaguars: Justin Fields QB Ohio St. - The Jaguars have a roster barren of talent, so they could literally go in any direction here, but they need a franchise quarterback, and gladly take Fields.

Chargers: Penei Sewell OT Oregon - This may be one of the easiest pick the Chargers will ever make. They have their franchise quarterback, not they get elite protection for him.

So now Washington is on the clock...

This pick could go in a multitude of directions, and it could be heavily influenced by what the team does in the offseason. For this exercise, let’s assume that Alex Smith has retired. Dwayne Haskins was traded for a later round draft pick, and the team did nothing more than sign a veteran journeyman backup in the offseason. We were able to land Chris Godwin to pair opposite Terry McLaurin at wide receiver, and former Broncos free safety Justin Simmons as two major free agent acquisitions.

We re-signed two of our own in guard Brandon Scherff and center Chase Roullier.

The Football Team currently holds four top 100 draft picks.

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Top Team Needs:

QB

OT

LB

TE

Draft Mindset:

The top two quarterbacks are off the board, and it would be a reach to try and secure either Trey Lance or Zach Wilson at this spot. The best offensive lineman was taken right before our pick, and it would be a reach to grab an offensive tackle at number four overall.

Seeing that we landed a premier young wide receiver in Godwin, and have Kelvin Harmon returning from injury, wide receiver is not a high need at pick five.

The team currently has major question marks at linebacker, as Reuben Foster is expected to return, but John Bostic, Thomas Davis(retired) and Kevin Pierre-Louis were not re-signed. There is also a hole at tight end, but number four overall is too high to take Kyle Pitts.

The Pick:

Micha Parsons LB Penn State - Parsons may be the best pure off-the-ball linebacker to enter the NFL draft since Luke Kuechly. At 6’3” 245 pounds, Parsons, who has 4.5 speed, can shoot the run gap, play sideline-to-sideline, drop into zone coverage or man-up a tight end, and he may be one of the better pass rushers in their entire draft class. To put it frankly - there is no weakness to his game.

Analysis: Quarterback and offensive weapons are greatly needed, but in this pick, the team went with the best player at a position of need. Parsons immediately impacts this defense both against the run and in the passing game, and paired with a healthy Foster and emerging Holcomb, gives this defense ridiculous speed.

He has All-Pro ability, and can be used in a variety of spots in this defense; including as a SAM in a 4-3 over look where he can blitz off the edge, or man up on a tight end.

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Given the scenario I laid out above, what do you feel the Washington Football Team should have done with the fourth overall pick? Do you like the selection of Parsons, or would you have went in a different direction?