The Washington Redskins’ head coach Mike Shanahan hasn’t had the smoothest of sailing during his tenure here in the nation’s capital. He has, however, done some things right… namely his efforts at the four drafts he has choreographed as the Redskins’ leader. In the process, he has made this team his own. He has weeded out guys that had been brought in by the previous regime and, in doing so, added youth and depth to a squad starving for both. The few guys still here in Washington that were signed by former VP of Football Operations, Vinny Cerrato, are the type of players that Shanahan probably would have signed anyway (think linebacker London Fletcher). He is a master at using the NFL draft to acquire quality players, especially in the later rounds (third through seventh) and he does it by trading up, back and it seems, even sideways.
While with the Denver Broncos (beginning in 1999), Shanahan had a mixed bag of successes and failures in the draft. Some of his notable successes were running back Mike Anderson (drafted in 2000, sixth-round, 1,487 yds. and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year that year), running back Clinton Portis (drafted in 2002, second-round, 1,508 yds., another AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, two Pro Bowls and six consecutive [2002 – 2008] 1,500+ yards-from-scrimmage rushing seasons), offensive guard Chris Meyers (2005, sixth-round, two-time Pro Bowler [2011, 2012] who has started every game, every year [except for one game last year] since being traded to Houston in 2008, and, who in 2011 was PFF First-Team All-Pro), defensive end Elvis Dumervil (2006, fourth-round, three-time Pro Bowler, one-time AP First-Team All-Pro) and running back Peyton Hillis (2008, seventh-round, 1,654 yards-from-scrimmage in 2010 for the Cleveland Browns).
Shanahan did acquire a few successful first-round picks like middle linebacker Al Wilson (1999, five-time Pro Bowler and one-time First-Team All-Pro), cornerback Deltha O’Neal (2000, two-time Pro Bowler and one-time First-Team All-Pro), linebacker D.J. Williams (2004, no awards but was a dependable player who’s started every year since he was drafted) , cornerback Darrent Williams (2005, showed real promise but was tragically killed in 2007 in an alleged Crips gang-member drive-by shooting), quarterback Jay Cutler (2006, one-time Pro Bowler) and offensive tackle Ryan Clady (2008, three-time Pro Bowler and two-time AP First-Team All-Pro).
What is so intriguing about the Redskins’ head coach is the way he wheels and deals his picks to get more and better players. As I researched the moves he’s made during the drafts as the Redskins head coach — especially in 2011 — honestly, the sheer numbers boggles the mind.
Although Shanahan’s first year here had its ups and downs, with regard to the draft the head coach was pretty smart with the team. That first year of his term, the Redskins arrived at New York City Radio Music Hall with a first, fifth, and seventh round picks. The second-round selection was involved in the trade for former Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb, the third was already gone because it had been traded when defensive end Jeremy Jarmon was selected in the 2009 Supplemental Draft. The sixth round pick had been traded along with a second round pick in 2009 to the Miami Dolphins for defensive end Jason Taylor. Current Redskin Adam Carriker was acquired by the Redskins by swapping draft picks in the fifth and seventh rounds with the St. Louis Rams.
But Shanahan came away with players by trading their fifth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for their sixth round (174th overall) and a seventh round (219th overall) pick. He traded his seventh-round pick (208th overall) to the New England Patriots for two of their seventh-round picks (the 229th and 231st overall). The players acquired as a result of this swap-fest were tight end Dennis Morris, wide out Terrence Austin; and offensive linemen Erik Cook and Selvish Capers. In the first round that year, Shanahan acquired left tackle Trent Williams and with the fourth-round pick, linebacker Perry Riley. Both Williams and Riley are still on the team as is Carriker and all are impact players.
Shanahan more than made up for a mediocre 2010 draft when, in 2011, he started with seven picks and came away with 12 football players.
That year Shanahan traded the team’s first round selection (10th overall) to the Jacksonville Jaguars for two picks: their first round selection (further back) and their second, the 16th and 49th overall picks overall. With the 16th pick, he grabbed linebacker Ryan Kerrigan. He then traded the 49th pick he had just acquired to the Indianapolis Colts for their 53rd (second round) and 152nd (fifth round) picks. With Shanahan’s original second round pick (41st overall) he nabbed defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins.
The team then traded that 53rd pick that they received from the Colts to the Chicago Bears for the 62nd (second round) and 127th (fourth round) picks and then traded that 62nd pick to the Miami Dolphins for the 79th (third), 146th (fifth), and 217th (seventh-round) picks. With the 79th pick, he drafted wide receiver Leonard Hankerson. Shanahan then took the 127th, 144th, and 152nd picks he had and traded them to the Houston Texans for picks 105 and 178.
With pick number 105 (fourth round), Shanahan drafted running back Roy Helu and with that number 146 (fifth round) from Miami, he selected safety D.J. Gomes. He still had numbers 155 (their original fifth-round pick), 177 (their sixth round) and 178 (from the Texans) and with these Shanahan drafted then wide receiver Niles Paul (now a tight end), running back Evan Royster and wide out Aldrick Robinson, respectively.
In the seventh round (213th overall), the Redskins selected defensive back Brandyn Thompson and with the pick they got from the Dolphins (217 overall), they drafted linebacker Markus White. Washington’s last pick was number 253 (also in the seventh round) and there they acquired nose tackle Chris Neild.
In the end, Shanahan started out in 2011 with a first, second, third, fifth, sixth and two seventh-round draft picks. He left Radio City Music Hall with 13 NFL football players (if you include the added seventh-round compensatory pick). That is some serious wheeling-and-dealing.
There was obviously a splash made by Shanahan in the 2012 draft… that is if you can call him trading two first-round picks and a second-round selection (he traded up from number six to number two in that year to get RGIII so he did not actually give away that pick) for one of the best quarterbacks of the age only a “splash.”
He started with six picks (first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh) but ended up with eleven players in the end. Shanahan traded the extra fourth-round pick they’d gotten when they traded quarterback Jason Campbell to the Oakland Raiders to the Pittsburgh Steelers; and traded his original sixth-round selection (#177 overall) plus defensive end Vonnie Holliday to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for running back Tim Hightower – who, by the way, I would not be surprised to see back in Redskins Park someday.
Through last season’s draft, the Redskins ended up with one of the best quarterbacks in the league (yes, Griffin), offensive guard Josh LeRibeus, quarterback Kirk Cousins, linebacker Keenan Robinson, offensive guard Adam Gettis, sensational running back Alfred Morris, offensive tackle Tom Compton, cornerback Richard Crawford and safety Jordan Bernstine. Every single one of these guys is on the roster right now.
In this past 2013 draft, Shanahan didn’t disappoint. While the team didn’t have a pick from the first round, they came away from the Big Apple with seven quality players – three of which will be competing (because that’s the Shanahan way) for roster spots in areas-of-need for the team: namely the secondary. To address it, Shanahan drafted two safeties and a cornerback as well as a tight end, two running backs and a linebacker. The defense in 2012 was lacking for much of the year and depth on that squad will be important.
RedskinsNation has suffered through years of previous regimes giving up draft picks for veterans that have already lived their glory days. But since Shanahan arrived in Washington, every time he has gone to a draft, he has come back from the weekend having selected more players than the amount of picks with which he started. He keeps many of the guys he drafts which means that he and his staff have accurately scouted the players they have chosen. This provides depth and youth.
This recently completed 2013 draft did not see a huge quantity of picks as we’ve seen from Shanahan, general manager Bruce Allen and their staff in the past. But with new advisor A.J. Smith (Senior Executive), Scott Campbell (Director of College Scouting, Morocco Brown (Director of Pro Personnel) and several other scouting professionals, they have done a masterful job of evaluating and then getting the players onto the team that they see as worthy.
There’s no reason to think that Mike Shanahan will not continue to work his magic on draft day in the future. From here on, it will be expected that, no matter how many selections the Redskins start the draft with, they will come away with more than that.
Hail.
Diane Chesebrough is Chief Editor, writer and photographer for SportsJourney Broadcast Network. Member Pro Football Writers of America. Accredited media with the NFL, she has been a feature writer for several national magazines/periodicals. Follower her on Twitter: @DiChesebrough