MKnight82 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 I’m going to grade the moves from this past offseason in an attempt to determine how good or poor the offseason as a whole was. Feel free to chime in with your own grades. General Moves 1. Decision to not re-sign Kirk Cousins – Grade B+ - I think not re-signing Cousins was probably the right move, he’s never shown the ability to win big games and was likely a success story from Sean McVay developing him. 2. Decision to not trade Kirk Cousins – Grade F (complete disaster) - Not getting anything for a starting QB is absolutely idiotic. They stalled the process to a point where they no longer had an leverage, and lost a prized trade commodity for nothing. 3. Trading for Alex Smith – Grade F - We traded a 3rd round pick and CB Kendall Fuller for 6 wins in a 7 win season. Smith’s injury could end his career, and his contract is a complete nightmare for the organization. This trade was idiotic. 4. Not re-signing CB Bashuad Breeland – Grade C - I think we all thought Breeland would get a big contract in FA that he wasn’t worth, but then he went through that weird foot injury fiasco and was out on the market for a long time. He ended up with Green Bay where he started 5 games for them. Considering Dunbar struggled with injuries all year, Josh Norman’s struggles, and the fact that we really had no one else decent on the outside, we probably could have used Breeland this year. Still, I don’t think he’s worth keeping around long term so this move gets a C. 5. Cutting DT Terrell McClain – Grade B+ - How do you grade fixing a mistake you made in the first place? McClain was awful, a terrible FA signing by Bruce. Cutting him was the right decision, he started 5 games for Atlanta this year but did practically nothing. 6. Not re-signing OLB Junior Galette – Grade B+ - Galette was terrible against the run and produced just 3 sacks last year. He’s currently out of the league. Not bringing him back was the right decision. 7. Not re-signing WR Ryan Grant – Grade C+ - This one is debatable, Grant’s only real value is his reliability. Grant had 573 receiving yards last year with the Redskins, which would have made him the Redskins top receiver in 2018. Still, he isn’t very talented, so moving on was probably the right move. The problem is we didn’t replace him with anyone better. 8. Not re-signing TE Niles Paul – Grade A - The Swiss army knife that sucked at everything, Niles Paul lasted way too long on the Redskins roster. He got picked up by the Jags in FA, then was cut midseason because surprisingly, he sucked. He’s currently out of football. 9. Retaining LG Shawn Lauvao – Grade C+ - Ok ok, I know he isn’t very good, but he’s solid when healthy (lol). The decision to retain Lauvao wasn’t a bad move in itself, it’s the fact that we didn’t bring anyone in to compete with him that was the real disaster. 10. Not signing or drafting a LG to compete for the starting role – Grade F (complete disaster) - This is a fire-able offense on its own IMO. What moron thought our LG position was so strong that we didn’t need any additions there (oh right)? 11. Re-signing Zach Brown – Grade D - For whatever reason this signing didn’t work. He’s looked pretty good for 2-3 years in a row now, but this year he looked out of position all the time. Looks like he has million dollar athleticism but a 10 cent brain. His cap hit jumps from $3 mil to $8.5 mil next year, hard to see him coming back. Free Agent Signings 1. WR Paul Richardson – Grade C- - Richardson is what he’s always been, a solid starter who can’t stay healthy. He played in 7 games, starting 4, and finished with only 262 receiving yards on the season. He counts $7.5 mil against our cap next season. Yay! 2. OLB Pernell McPhee – Grade F - McPhee was on the field for 203 defensive snaps this season, he finished with 11 tackles, 0 sacks, 2 pass defenses and 1 fumble recovery. That is pathetic. 3. HB Adrian Peterson – Grade A - After Guice went down he came in and gave us 1,000 yards on the ground. Can’t really ask for more. I think he struggled at times but that’s to be expected at his age. The Draft 1. Daron Payne, NT, First Round – Grade B- - Payne’s been as advertised, a legit run stuffer that opens up plays for other guys around him. Is that worth a first round pick though? Especially in a league where teams are throwing nearly 60% of the time? Debatable. In hindsight, there were better players on the board. Not a bad pick, they just didn’t maximize this pick. 2. Darius Guice, RB, Second Round – Incomplete - Missed the whole season, hard to grade at this point. 3. Geron Christian, OT, Third Round – Grade C - I’m not going to hate on them for taking a highly athletic long term project on the Oline. No he wasn’t a Guard, but with all the injuries we’ve had you can’t say OT wasn’t a need either. He got hurt, that happens. We will have to wait to see what his future holds. For now it was a solid selection. 4. Troy Apke, S, Fourth Round – Grade C - Another high upside player that got hurt. Too soon to tell. 5. Tim Settle, NT, Fifth Round – Grade B+ - Settle looks like a really good player. In fact, would anyone really be mad if he was our starting NT? That’s what hurts about the Payne pick, Settle could probably have held that position, and we could of acquired someone who made more of an impact in Round 1. 6. Shaun Dion Hamilton, MLB, Sixth Round – Grade B - They seem to think they found a new starter in the 6th round, benching Zach Brown in favor of this guy. I’m not entirely convinced, but finding anyone who can contribute in the 6th round is a positive. 7. Greg Stroman, CB, Seventh Round – Grade B - Stroman played special teams and got on the field once injuries piled up. He looks like a career backup but was a solid selection in the 7th. 8. Trey Quinn, WR, Seventh Round – Grade B - Injured for most of the year but showed flashes when healthy. Could become a solid contributor. 9. Adonis Alexander, CB, Supplemental – Incomplete - Alexander played 11 defensive snaps all season, in a year where we had a ton of injuries at CB. That is concerning, very concerning, but he was always viewed as a long term project. In conclusion, other than bringing in Adrian Peterson (which was a short term move in a lost season anyways) I don’t really see any great moves by this organization this past offseason. The draft looks like a mixed bag, but its too soon to tell there. It looks like we'll get mostly a group of Role Players and no stars from this draft though. Free Agency pretty much provided nothing, and the money we handed out in-house (Smith, Brown) appear to be complete failures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle28 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Hard to not agree with most of this, good job Mknight. The only thing I’d disagree with is Da’Ron Payne, I’d give that selection an A. Not only was he a run stuffer with 56 tackles, he had 5 sacks as a NT. That’s a great draft pick. So, in a league that passes 60% of the time, having a 320 lb NT who can sack the QB 5 times a year is important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaiphoon Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 I agree with @turtle28 here on Payne. He was a great pick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 19 minutes ago, Thaiphoon said: I agree with @turtle28 here on Payne. He was a great pick It’s the opportunity cost. I don’t know what that other poster said (I have him blocked), but I think you can get a lot of what Payne does out of Tim Settle. That first round pick could have been a WR, OLB or OLineman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT14 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Tend to agree with the lists but also agree with Thai and turtle. Payne is at least a B+ if not better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaiphoon Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 47 minutes ago, MKnight82 said: It’s the opportunity cost. I don’t know what that other poster said (I have him blocked), but I think you can get a lot of what Payne does out of Tim Settle. That first round pick could have been a WR, OLB or OLineman. Sure. But that's hindsight. We didn't know Settle would be there when we were making our Payne pick. I think both are great picks and it gives us leverage when they get at the end of their rookie contracts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 12 minutes ago, Thaiphoon said: Sure. But that's hindsight. We didn't know Settle would be there when we were making our Payne pick. I think both are great picks and it gives us leverage when they get at the end of their rookie contracts The thread is a review, therefore we use hindsight. I said it was a good pick, Im just saying in hindsight we probably could have maximized that pick better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle28 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Settle wouldn’t have pushed the pocket as well as Payne, and wouldn’t have gotten 5 sacks. Settle doesn’t have Payne’s athleticism or Quick first step as a pass rusher while Payne is also as strong or probably stronger than Settle. That’s the clear difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle28 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 26 minutes ago, Thaiphoon said: Sure. But that's hindsight. We didn't know Settle would be there when we were making our Payne pick. I think both are great picks and it gives us leverage when they get at the end of their rookie contracts Because of how well Payne played and Settle showed potential as a two down run stuffer, their selections could lead to a decision as soon as next year. If the contract demands for Ioannidis become near $10 mil a year in 2020 - which is possible - they could move on from him and have Settle as the starting NT in 2020 and start Payne at LDE with Brantley and other future draft picks rotating in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeezy Fanatic Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Payne has to be an A- for me, he was a bright spot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naptownskinsfan Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Fantastic post Mknight82, I don't have much to add. I just can't believe we only made two free agent signings. I guess we did bring back a lot of our own players though. I would also rank AD an A+ signing since it ticked off Bruce Allen, but other than that I can't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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