The majority of the Redskins success last season was due to strong draft picks made by the organization in the past few seasons. Kirk Cousins, Jordan Reed, Matt Jones, and Jamison Crowder all made key contributions while starting at the offensive skill positions. On the defensive side, they have built through the draft with Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, linebacker, Preston Smith, and cornerback, Bashaud Breeland.
As the 2016 draft has come and gone, the Redskins hope their new acquisitions are just as impactful as in recent seasons. Let’s take a look at their Day Two decisions.
With the 53rd pick in the draft the Skins took Su’a Cravens, a linebacker – safety hybrid from The University of South Carolina. In the second round of the 2014 and 2015 drafts, The Skins also have taken linebackers; Trent Murphy and Preston Smith. Both players were big contributors to their success last year. Cravens will try to do the same and has the ability and skill set to defend top tight ends and running backs in coverage and also send pressure off the edges. He is versatile and can do many different things on the field just like Gruden wants. A Draymond Green type football player. USC head coach Steve Sarkisian had the luxury of using Cravens all over the field, just like Gruden envisions. From watching his film, the only weakness I could point out is his strength. He needs to get stronger so he does not have an issue shedding blocks when playing linebacker at the professional level.
Mr. Gruden was excited to land a highly targeted guy on their board. Gruden was full of excitement and and high praise for Cravens immediately after making the selection, “There’s not a lot of things he can’t do. He’s a playmaker. He’s got position flex, he’s a turnover machine, he can contribute on special teams, obviously, he can play in the box at linebacker, we think he might be able to play some safety. Once we get him in the building, we’ll figure out where to put him on the field.”
Joe Barry, Redskins defensive coordinator was the linebackers coach for USC back in 2010 and recruited Cravens out of high school. This relationship may have been an even more convincing reason to draft Su’a. Cravens also has football in his blood. The TE, Jordan Cameron on the Dolphins and the linebacker Manti Te’o on San Diego are both cousins of Su’a.
In the third round Washington addressed a glaring need as discussed above. They drafted Kendall Fuller, a CB from Virginia Tech. When people think of this guy the first thing that comes to their mind is “injuries.” The second thing would be “talent.” Even with his injury concerns, the Redskins could not pass up such a talented player at the cornerback scarce position. Fuller was a four-star recruit by ESPN.com and was ranked as the fifth best cornerback and 18th best player overall player in his class. He commited to Virginia Tech after turning down offers from top programs including Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, and Florida. As a true freshman he lived up to these expectations and had six interceptions and made 58 tackles on his was to being named the ACC defensive rookie of the year. Fuller was only able to play three games as a junior before choosing to have surgery on his meniscus which ended his season. Fuller is expected to miss rookie camp and OTAs but should be ready to participate in training camp.
Similarly to Cravens, Fuller has a great bloodline. He also has family members in the league. Corey and Kyle Fuller are still playing in the NFL while his oldest brother Vincent was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 draft by the Tennessee Titans. All four brothers played at Virginia Tech, but the Skins are hoping that Kendall ends up being the best Fuller brother in the NFL if he can recover successfully and get back on the field. Fuller will wear #38 like his brother Vincent.
