The defensive line featured plenty of experienced veterans in 2015, but the youngest players (defensive ends Stephen Paea and Frank Kearse) were 27 years old. There will be some impressive defensive linemen available when the Redskins are on the clock. Should they use the pick on a defensive end or a nose tackle?

Washington will retain Paea, who was placed on injured reserve late in the season with turf toe, Chris Baker, who had the best year of his career, and Ricky Jean Francois — who served as a backup — at defensive end. Francois and Paea were both acquired as free agents last offseason. There are some solid pieces to work with at that position with room to groom a rookie in 2016 for depth.

AD

AD

Meanwhile, at nose tackle the Redskins currently have nobody. Terrance Knighton and Kedric Golston are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, leaving the team without anyone to plug the middle at the moment. Washington could use both a young and a veteran nose tackle next season on its two-deep depth chart.

The Redskins have some solid pass rushers to work with at outside linebacker in Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith. They could well use that first-round pick to shore up the inside with a long-term solution. Washington tried to fill the interior with Knighton, but it can find an upgrade in this draft.

The Redskins, along with the rest of the league, got a good look at Alabama’s Jarran Reed and Louisville’s Sheldon Rankins at the Senior Bowl two weeks ago. Both tackles posted solid performances during the open practices and should be around if the Redskins stay at No. 21. Reed has the flexibility to play anywhere along the defensive line with the size to hold his own at nose tackle, while Rankins is one of the better run-stuffing tackles in this draft. There’s also Ole Miss’s Robert Nkemdiche, who comes with off-the-field questions thanks to a marijuana possession arrest after falling out of a hotel window. As crazy as that story sounds, the former five-star prospect is an athletic freak that could pay dividends if he’s placed in the right situation.