An old player is the talk of the draft for Redskins fans.
Trent Williams is suddenly the biggest focus given Chase Young seems a certainty to be the second choice overall by Washington in Thursday’s NFL Draft. There’s no drama over trading the No. 2 pick, but there’s plenty involving the veteran left tackle.
Williams missed last season in a holdout/health scare/orneriness/whatever. Oh, he came by for five minutes and said the helmet didn’t fit to shave off one year of his contract, but new coach Ron Rivera’s not playing that game this time. If Williams wants to play anywhere, he either reports whenever NFL teams gather this summer or he misses another massive payday.
Williams played the offseason correctly, essentially telling Rivera he’s not marching in step with the new movement. After seeing Quinton Dunbar traded for the same reason, Williams figures he’s relocating.
Fine, it’s just the market for old, battered left tackles is not huge. That hasn’t stopped a smokescreen campaign designed to make Williams look more attractive. Former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan
recently said Williams was better than any tackle on the draft board.
Excuse me, but McCloughan's reputation took a big hit in his two seasons in Washington. His drafts were trash. Even picking Brandon Scherff as a tackle was a bust, though he has excelled as a guard. You don’t pick guards with the fifth overall pick, though.
Williams has some mileage, but some remaining value, too. The problem is teams don’t like holdouts so they’d need a new deal in place past the one season remaining. Not a lot of time left for that. That Williams wants a king's ransom to return after earning nearly $100 million overall is scary, not to mention he’ll turn 32 in July. Throw in Williams has only played 16 games twice in his career with frequent injuries, and that mythical first-round price tag may as well be for a unicorn.
Williams is worth a third-rounder, but the Redskins could get a second-rounder if they wait to be paid in 2021. There’s nothing wrong with that. Teams always pay a round higher when waiting a year.
If Washington
can get a decent tight end added to the deal, fine, but there are plenty of tight ends in the draft. It’s not worth dropping one round as part of the compensation.
The Redskins want more picks in the coming draft given their second and fifth rounders are gone to past trades. With another third rounder this season, they could package a deal to get into the second round. Maybe that’s where trading Williams can help.
Either way, be done with this drama. The juice hasn’t been worth the squeeze.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks
