Here is what you need to know on this Sunday, April 9, 18 days before the April 27 NFL draft.

Timeline

Days until:



—Offseason workouts begin (4/17) 8

—Redskins rookie camp (5/12) 33

—Redskins OTAs start (5/24) 45

—First Sunday of 2017 season (9/10) 154

What position will the Redskins draft in the first round?

There are a lot of names the Redskins could draft with pick No. 17 but the position those players play is finite. Let’s break out the $100 in imaginary casino chips and spread them out among the five positions that look the be the most likely.

Running back, $30—If Christian McCaffrey is still on the board at No. 17 I don’t think that they bypass him. The offense needs a focal point who is going to be here in 2018 if Kirk Cousins is gone. And if Cousins ends up staying the offense could be nearly unstoppable. Taking a quarterback here is risky (although I’m not ruling it out entirely) so a versatile running back like McCaffrey could be the way to go.

Defensive line, $25—I agree with the masses that this would probably be the right move. But the Redskins could be staring at Malik McDowell being the best available D-lineman and he could well be a late first- or second-round talent. They may have him graded better than that and take him but it would seem like a reach. If they trade back the possibility of them going D-line will grow.

Inside linebacker, $20—This could be a matter of an inside linebacker being much better than anyone else on the board. That will definitely be the case of Reuben Foster slides to No. 17 and it could be the case if Hasson Reddick is there. Their top three inside LB's are all slated to be free agents in 2018 so the need is there.

Edge/Outside LB, $15—They have some pretty good players here but with Junior Galette and Trent Murphy set to be free agents and Preston Smith wildly inconsistent the only reliable edge rusher is Ryan Kerrigan. Derek Barnett, Taco Charlton or maybe T.J. Watt could be the pick here.

Interior O-line, $10—I can’t rule out Forrest Lamp going here as Shawn Lauvo’s replacement. But I don’t think it would be a good use of the pick and I don’t think that Jay Gruden would either.

Stay up to date on the Redskins. Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page Facebook.com/TandlerCSN and follow him on Twitter @Rich_TandlerCSN.

Tandler on Twitter

why is he doing this? pic.twitter.com/dpu2hWLpXV — John Keim (@john_keim) April 8, 2017

Keim has been waiting for this to happen ever since he moved out there. https://t.co/sNQ402F3wT — Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) April 8, 2017

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