Coach Mike Shanahan this afternoon held his annual pre-draft meeting with reporters. He was vague and elusive, as expected, with little more than 24 hours until the draft starts. Secrecy is his thing, if you haven’t noticed by now.
Trying to glean any substantial information from today’s session is akin to trying to squeeze a drop of water out of a rock. However, that won’t stop us from trying to piece a few things together and read between some lines.
>>As rumors swirl about the Redskins’ desire to trade up from the No. 10 overall pick, Shanahan indicated that the Redskins’ lack of selections in the third and fourth round will make trading up difficult.
Asked if trading up is a luxury that Redskins can’t afford because they don’t have third- and fourth-round picks to deal, Shanahan agreed. “Yeah, that’s very possible, very realistic,” he said.
>>Trading down seems more likely—and more logical, considering the Redskins extensive roster needs.
“That could happen very easily, especially if we get good value,” Shanahan said. “It could be a wide receiver, defensive end, outside linebacker. If a team feels very good about their football team and has multiple draft picks, they could say, ‘Hey, we need that one guy or two guys that are going to be the difference in our football team,’ and a lot of times people move up and make that decision very quickly. If that happens, it’s the best for both teams.”
>>Shanahan addressed the possibility of trading down again. Perhaps he wants to make sure he gets this out there for teams around the league.
“We’ve gone through all different scenarios that if we got the right offer could we move back two picks, five picks, 10 picks, depending on what people are willing to give up,” he said. We go through all those scenarios.”
Hint, hint.
>>Shanahan believes this year’s quarterback class is “much deeper than what I’m accustomed to in the National Football League.”
If he’s telling the truth—and that’s a big if—why would the Redskins trade up from No. 10 to get a quarterback? If Shanahan is confident that he can get a quality passer after three or four are off the board, trading up from 10 makes no sense.
>>Shanahan would not say how important it is for the team to select a quarterback. “We do have a plan, though, and hopefully it works out for us that our guys are there when we have our pick,” he said.
>>Under terms of the lockout (let’s not get into the legality of it here), teams can’t negotiate with players. That applies to undrafted free agents, so the Redskins near the conclusion of the draft on Saturday will try to get verbal commitments from players they like but don’t plan to select.
“I think everybody is going to do that,” Shanahan said. “I think it’s part of the process. I think everybody is going to do their due diligence during the draft knowing that if somebody is a free agent that they’ve got a spot on your football team.”
>>When it comes to the challenges presented by not having free agency before the draft, Shanahan is relying on his NFL experience that pre-dated free agency.
“If you had hit free agency already and you filled a number of positions, your mindset would be where your needs were. Obviously if you haven’t had any free agency, you’re going to take the best player available who could help your football team win. I think every team has some depth at certain positions where they might not go that way in the first couple of rounds, but overall obviously you’re much more ready to delve into the whole draft.”
>>Shanahan believes the Redskins have sufficient depth at tight end and safety. Don’t expect them to use an early pick on those positions.
>>Here are some topics that Shanahan was asked about but did not answer substantively enough to note in more depth:
*Donovan McNabb’s status
*Whether an inaccurate college quarterback can improve his accuracy in the NFL
*How versatile the defensive end, “tweener” types in this draft class are
