Saturday, April 25, 2009

Brian Orakpo Makes This a Great Day For Redskins


Draft day for Redskins fans is always nerve racking. You just worry that Daniel Snyder, Vinny Cerato and Co. will find a way to overvalue something. The mere fact that the Skins' brass were apparently so enamored with USC QB Mark Sanchez, I fully expected them to trade seven picks to move up seven spots in the draft.

With all things considered, I entered this draft hoping that Washington would select DE Brian Orakpo or OT Michael Oher with the 13th pick. Both can immediately help the Skins and could be around for quite a while. Also, their names aren't "Mark Sanchez".

The lynchpin was when the Raiders selected WR Darrius Heyward-Bey in a shocker. That re-shuffled some decisions of people picking behind Oakland. Still, I was worried that either Buffalo or Denver (the two teams picking directly in front of Washington) would take Orakpo in a heartbeat.

Buffalo picked a defensive end, but it was Penn State's Aaron Maybin. Denver took RB Knowshon Moreno. By the time commissioner Roger Goodell walked off the stage after announcing the Redskins were on the clock, Washington made their pick. Orakpo.

Awesome pick. We haven't had a pass rushing defensive end in 20 years. Andre Carter has him moments, but I think this kid takes us back to the Dexter Manley/Charles Mann days. Ya know, the days when Washington played in big, big games.

With the depth of offensive linemen in this draft, I'm hopeful we can find something good in the 3rd round. It just pisses me off that we dealt away our 2nd rounder for that one unspectacular season from Jason Taylor.

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