Summary

Washington missed the playoffs last season after finishing the season 8-7-1. In a very competitive NFC East almost anything can happen in the coming years.

Kirk Cousins led the offense to the 12th most points in the league in 2016, averaging 24.8 points per game. He led the second best passing attack in the NFL that had 297.4 yards per game. He will be back on the Redskins under the Franchise Tag. The running game was below average and will need to be addressed in the draft.

Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon were lost to free agency, but Terrelle Pryor was signed to try to fill some of the void left at receiver. Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson will need to step up to give Cousins a lot of good targets to throw to. Cousins will have Jordan Reed, who is a great tight end when healthy. The offensive line is solid, but Shaun Lauvao will need to be upgraded at left guard.

The defense was one of the worst in the league in terms of yards per game and needs to be improved. Both the pass and rush defense were sub-par.

Some moves were already made to improve the defense. D.J. Swearinger is a good safety who was signed this offseason as a free agent and will play next to Su’a Cravens. Inside linebacker was addressed when Washington signed Zach Brown after his Pro Bowl Season in Buffalo. The Redskins need to get better in the trenches and draft some corners to be successful this season.

Picks and Needs

The Redskins have ten picks in this draft class, but the majority of them are in the later rounds. They will be hoping they can find some diamonds in the rough with those picks, but also capitalize on their early round picks.

First round: (1) No. 17

Second round: (1) No. 49

Third round: (1) No. 81

Fourth round: (2) No. 114, No. 124

Fifth round: (1) No. 154

Sixth round: (2) No. 201, No. 209

Seventh round: (2) No. 220, 235

These needs are in no particular order.