As the 2011 NFL Draft approaches, the Mock Drafts around the Internet are starting to become a little bit more involved and (hopefully) informed. Today, we turn to WalterFootball.com who has some of the most in depth Mocks you'll find. They tackle all the rounds of the Draft, but we're going to focus on the first two for the Redskins for two reasons. First, it's even harder to guess picks in the later rounds than it is in the first, and second, the Redskins don't have any picks in rounds 3-5
In the first round, they have the Redskins taking Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones, which is starting to become a trend. Here is their rationale.
Jones makes a ton of sense for the Redskins; with Santana Moss hitting free agency, their top receiver is currently Anthony Armstrong. Something must be done about this. Also, Jones' run-blocking really has to intrigue Mike Shanahan, who will probably have to make do with Ryan Torain again next year.
I'll say about this pick what I've been saying all along - Jones makes sense, but I think there are players at positions that are a greater need that would make more sense. They continue to go offense in the second round with TCU qb Andy Dalton.
Mike Shanahan will draft a quarterback this April. There are rumors that he likes Jake Locker, but Shanahan is usually tight-lipped throughout the draft process. When he selected Jay Cutler, he had never even worked him out.
I'm glad they mentioned Locker, because I found it interesting that they have the Redskins taking Dalton while Locker is still on the board (he goes a few picks later to the Vikings). I think that if they can get Locker in the second round, it will definitely happen. It's dangerous to try and guess which quarterback a team will take based on smoke-screens and misinformation.
Both of these picks make sense, but I think that most Redskins fans would want them to go defense at least once in the first two rounds. And I would expect them to that as well. It would be surprising if they just went offensive skill positions (not even a lineman) in the first two rounds.