Todd McShay, one of ESPN's draft analysts, took a couple of hours out of his media-filled day to chat with the media on conference call Wednesday morning.
McShay covered a lot of ground and a lot of teams in two hours and he had a few points to make about the Redskins.
First, he does not think Auburn's Cam Newton would be a good fit at quarterback for the Redskins, nor does he think Newton will be available when the Redskins choose – 10th overall – in the first round of the draft on April 28.
Second, he doesn't think that highly of either Newton or Blaine Gabbert of Missouri and said he wouldn't draft either in the top 10.
"I don't think Cam Newton is their guy, even if he's there," McShay said of the Redskins and the Heisman Trophy winner.
His latest mock draft puts Alabama receiver Julio Jones in burgundy and gold but McShay said he "wasn't in love" with making that selection. He said he thinks the Redskins need a quarterback and a nose tackle and won't be in the right spot, if they stay at 10, to get either in the first round.
The second-round pick, 41st overall, could be used for a quarterback. McShay seemed to like Christian Ponder of Florida State and Andy Dalton of TCU well enough, though he noted the "fail" rate of second-round quarterbacks over the years.
His top nose tackle, Baylor's Phil Taylor, probably will be gone by the end of the first round (my guess is to the New York Jets) and not available when the Redskins come up in round two. He said there was "a big drop" from Taylor to the rest of the class of nose tackles.
The Redskins could address other areas of concern – defensive end, outside linebacker – with their first pick and try for a quarterback in round two, McShay said.
He indicated the wide receiver class was deep enough that a player of some substance could be found as late as round five. The Redskins have no third- or fourth-round choices due to previous trades, which McShay termed "a tough situation."
As he's not enamored of Gabbert, McShay predicted the Carolina Panthers would take Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus with the draft's first pick.
"I'd rather be picking at three or four in this draft, rather than one or two," McShay said.
And in sending Dareus to the Panthers, he acknowledged the team has "got to upgrade their quarterback situation."
Larry Weisman, an award-winning journalist during 25 years with USA TODAY, writes for Redskins.com and appears nightly on Redskins Nation on Comcast SportsNet. Read his Redskinsblitz blog at Redskinsrule.com and follow him on Twitter.com/LarryWeisman.
