NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah has a personal draft philosophy: don't trade off premier players at premier positions. And aside from quarterbacks, he views pass rushers as the most important players on the field.
So when asked who the Redskins should draft with the No. 2 overall pick, Jeremiah did not even have to name the prospect. His previous statements made the answer clear: Ohio State defensive end Chase Young.
"You've got a premier player at the second-most important position on the field," Jeremiah told Redskins.com at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "Ungodly amount of picks it would take for me to trade off of someone like that."
If the Miami Dolphins gave up all three of their first-round selections -- fifth, 18th and 26th overall -- Jeremiah said he might consider trading down to immediately fill several needs.
"But I don't envision that happening."
Should the Redskins take Young -- which nearly every draft expert is expecting them to do -- Jeremiah said that would do wonders for 2019 first-round pick Montez Sweat because "he's never going to see a double team the rest of his life." Sweat, who finished second on the team with 7.5 sacks as a rookie, would be able to face off with right tackles 1-on-1, making the athletic freak even more dangerous for opposing quarterbacks.
Beyond the No. 2 selection, Jeremiah said the Redskins should focus on finding players to complement the speedy Terry McLaurin and help out second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr.
Jeremiah provided several pass-catching options the Redskins could target. At wideout, he mentioned Michael Pittman Jr. out of USC, John Hightower from Boise State and Van Jefferson of Florida. And while some expect all three players to be drafted in either the second or third rounds, Jeremiah said this wide receiver class goes "infinitely deep," which could push them down draft boards.
Some tight ends to watch include Notre Dame' Cole Kmet -- the 42nd-best overall prospect according to Jeremiah -- Dayton's Adam Trautman, Florida Atlantic's Harrison Bryant and Cincinncati's Josiah Deguara. On Wednesday, two writers of The Athletic projected the Redskins to select Trautman with their third-round pick (66th overall).
Defensively, Jeremiah suggested the Redskins go after dynamic playmakers in the secondary to pair with a talented front seven. That could mean pursuing a smaller corner such as TCU's Jeff Gladney, who excels in coverage and can play inside, or a bigger outside corner with elite ball skills like Alabama's Trevon Diggs.
"You need to get a couple of them, and I think they come in all shapes and sizes," Jeremiah said. "The days of just collecting all big guys is over because they're going to put you in bunch, they're going to force you to play off the ball and you're not going to be able to jam, so finding guys with a varied skillset."
Jeremiah does not know anyone in the Redskins’ personnel department personally, but he noted the people in place are respected across the NFL. Plus, Jeremiah believes new head coach Ron Rivera will have a "big-time impact" on the draft process.
As far as the roster goes, Jeremiah said there's some intriguing pieces but still a "long way to go."
"They've got a great opportunity at this point in time, in this draft," Jeremiah said. "If you look at all of the different teams in this draft, I don't know if anyone has a more pivotal draft right now for where they are at this point in time."
