As we wait for the helmets to continue at this year’s modified training camp for the Washington soccer team, here is the latest simulation project from E $ PN’s Todd McShay.
Washington took a hiatus from Alabama player selection after taking 5 from 2017 to 2019. Four of them played defense, and two of them were defensive linemen in the 1st round. A position Washington hasn’t addressed with a first-round pick since Carlos Rogers in 2005 was CB, and that’s what McShay has in mind for them here.
Washington high school has plenty of questions to ask this year and beyond. The team made their biggest signing of the offseason bringing back Kendall Fuller after being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs two years ago. Last year’s Week 1 starters have either been posted (Josh Norman) or traded (Quinton Dunbar). Fabian Moreau is returning for the final year of his rookie contract, and the team have added Ronald Darby on a one-year free agency contract. They also have a handful of young, mostly inexperienced corners, like Jimmy Moreland, on the list to develop.
The only long-term solution is Fuller, with Moreland having the potential to stay. Should Washington use next year’s top spot in the top corner of the draft? This year will be very different due to the current COVID-19 crisis in the country. College football is unlikely to be played in the fall, and teams will get rid of what’s already on record.
Patrick Surtain II is considered the top corner of next year’s draft by many and has been described as a closed turn. McShay says he could be the best defensive player in the entire draft class, which, with this year’s pick (Chase Young), would be a huge boost for a defense that was abused last year. Surtain played two years at Alabama, and his father was a Pro Bowl corner. He has the skills and the pedigree to be drafted in the first round, but is it the right choice for Ron Rivera’s side?
# 2 Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
Washington has come out and got Kendall Fuller in free agency, but with Fabian Moreau and Ronald Darby set to be free agents next spring, this CB group needs a punch. And Surtain – the son of former Pro Bowl corner Patrick Surtain – is a real closed corner. I love his instinct, his ball skills and his ability to wrap up and tackle, but what stands out is how he diagnoses routes and gets receivers where he wants them to go. He could well become the best defensive player in the entire class of 2021, and with Chase Young, second overall pick of 2020, he would help revamp a Washington defense that was 27th in yards allowed per game in 2019 (though It would be tough for Washington to leave a guy like LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on the board with his problems at receiver).
More recent 2021 NFL drafts:
Touchdown wire – # 2 Justin fields, QB, Ohio State
With the first choice – # 2 Justin Fields, QB, State of Ohio
24/7 sports – # 2 Trey Lance, QB, State of North Dakota
Professional football network – # 2 Trey Lance, QB, State of North Dakota
The network project – # 2 According to Sewell, OT, Oregon
