There's still more than two months until the 2020 NFL Draft, yet nearly every draft expert believes the Redskins' No. 2 selection is a foregone conclusion: Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young.
It's a valid point; Young is widely seen as the best player in the draft class, and some believe he'll be better than Joey and Nick Bosa, each of whom won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. If chosen, Young would be the fifth former first-rounder on the Redskins' defensive front.
However, there's also the possibility the Redskins trade back to acquire more draft capital, and that's what Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball.com believes they will do.
In his latest mock draft released Monday, he has Miami trading with Washington to select Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Redskins taking Young's former teammate, cornerback Jeff Okudah, with the fifth pick.
"Sure, they lose out on Chase Young, but picking Young was problematic anyway because that means they'll have [five] first-round picks on the defensive line, which would make re-signing everyone impossible," Cherepinsky wrote. "We saw this a couple of years ago when the Browns passed on Bradley Chubb in favor of Denzel Ward for the same reason. Young is a better prospect, but if the Redskins can trade down, I think they'd do it."
Okudah was an unanimous first-team All-American in 2019 and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the best defensive back in college football. In 14 games, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound cornerback led Ohio State with three interceptions and nine pass breakups to go along with 35 total tackles and two forced fumbles.
Currently No. 1 at his position on most draft boards, Okudah is all but guaranteed to become the 11th Buckeyes cornerback selected in the first round in 1999.
"Okudah is a big, athletic, speedy cornerback with immense upside," Cherepinsky wrote. "He's a bit stiff, but that's commonplace from tall cornerbacks."
Cherepinsky admitted Okudah is not as good of a prospect as Young but said that Okudah fills a bigger need for the Redskins.
Quinton Dunbar and Josh Norman entered last season as the starting cornerbacks, and while Dunbar performed excellent when healthy -- Pro Football Focus graded him as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL -- Norman was mysteriously benched towards the end of the year. Behind them were Fabian Moreau, who played well on the outside in place of Norman, 2019 seventh-round pick Jimmy Moreland and a host of other midseason signings.
Under new head coach Ron Rivera, the Redskins will likely bolster their secondary through free agency and the draft. And depending on what they do with the No. 2 selection, Okudah could be in those plans.
