Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan said Sunday that he'd like to find a way to extend the team's 2016 draft picks from eight to 12.*

Last year, Scot McCloughan told reporters he'd like to find a way to turn the Redskins' seven draft picks into 10.

Two Draft Day trades later, the Redskins did just that, finding a way to pick 10 players in the 2015 NFL Draft.

In 2016, that self-described "greed" is back for McCloughan, now in his second season as Washington's general manager.

On Sunday, he told "Redskins Nation" host Larry Michael that if he gets his way, the Redskins will turn their eight 2016 NFL Draft picks into 12.

"The thing is, the more you kind of swing at it, the more chances you've got to hit," McCloughan said from the annual NFL Owners Meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. "And I think last year we had a solid draft – we got some guys that came in and helped us win a division – we're going to keep adding to it. And the more picks I can get, the more younger guys – the more healthier guys – I'm going that route."

In 2015, McCloughan used the help of Redskins team President Bruce Allen and Eric Schaffer, Washington's VP of Football Administration, to get the 10-player draft haul he wanted that helped establish the identity he needed to infuse into the roster.

In the process – and after trading their 2016 sixth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for safety Dashon Goldson and their 2016 seventh-round pick – the Redskins set themselves up with eight picks in this year's draft (one pick each in rounds one through six and two picks in round seven).

McCloughan's desire for additional draft picks only continues to push home his mission to bring in young, homegrown talent instead of spending big in free agency each year.

"I preach and preach and preach and I'll never change: you build through the draft," he said. "You identify your own – who can play, but not just from a talent standpoint, but from a personality standpoint, character standpoint, a passion standpoint, a competitive standpoint where you know, 'This guy fits what we're looking for. We can build on these guys.' And they teach younger guys how to do it."

Free agency certainly still plays an important part during the offseason, as it allows a team to address specific needs. Take this year's free agent class, for example: the Redskins have signed just three players – defensive end Kendall Reyes, safety David Bruton Jr. and linebacker Terence Garvin – who weren't on the team in 2015.

"Like I did last year, and I'm going to keep trying to do, especially in free agency, is bring guys from organizations that have won in defenses that have been very strong, very powerful – and offense, too – but it's just bringing guys in that have seen it," McCloughan said. "They know what it looks like. They know how to practice, they know how to take notes, they know how to lift weights – they understand, 'This is what we have to do to be successful.'"

But, again, developing your own players, McCloughan said, is the best route.

"You mold them. You draft them, you bring them into your building. You know, the first experience in the NFL is with the Washington Redskins," he said. "I think that's important because the coaches know them, they know how they learn, they know how to put them in a situation to be successful or not successful, they know how to make them become better football players."

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