Washington traded away their first-round pick for this year and next in order to secure the rights to Robert Griffin III in last year's draft. It has paid off in the form of an early playoff run, but how will they now fix the holes that plagued them for much of the season, namely the secondary? Mike Shanahan will have to figure something out.
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As they must wait until near the end of the second round to make their first pick (unless they trade up again), the Skins will need to hope to find value picks later on to improve a pass defense ranked 30th in the NFL in yards allowed and a total defense ranked 28th. Washington was incredibly difficult to stop on the ground, and especially bad at stopping other teams from doing the same amount of scoring.
The Redskins scored 27.2 points per game, and allowed 24.2.
All of which led to a 10-6 record and the NFC East crown, but there will need to be more done to retain that title, including nailing their picks. Steve Shoup of fanspeak.com posted his Redskins mock draft at SBNation's own Hogs Haven and had Washington picking cornerback Jonathan Banks of Mississippi State for starters. Here is what he had to say:
Some people will try to knock Banks due to his 40 time, but this guy can play. He's got great size and length and will matchup well versus bigger receivers. He's very physical and strong both in blitzing and in run support. If he falls to the late second round he's a great pick here.
Banks could be considered a steal this late, but is plausible to slide for his speed. Also in that mock draft are safety DJ Swearinger in the third, corner Brandon McGree in the fifth, and safety Cooper Taylor in the seventh. Showing that most people agree on at least one thing: The Redskins secondary needs a lot of help.
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