The Redskins had a lot of holes to fill so they kept trading down and adding picks in last April’s NFL Draft.  OLB Ryan Kerrigan came to the Redskins in the first round and he’s the kind of pass rusher they really need.  DT Jarvis Jenkins calls himself a run stuffer so I’ll have to agree with him unless he proves otherwise.  Strong safety DeJon Gomes came to the Redskins in the 5th round and he could possibly start at some point for the Skins next year.  WRs Leonard Hankerson (3rd round), Niles Paul (5th round) and Aldrick Robinson (6th round) will try to add some zip to the Redskins’ passing game in 2011 and beyond.  RBs Roy Helu Jr. (4th round) and Evan Royster (6th round) will try to be the latest late round pick who excells in head coach Mike Shanahan’s running game.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Redskins picked DT Chris Neild out of West Virginia with the 253rd overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Neild is 6’2″, 319 pounds and he runs a 5.13 40.  Neild is a high motor player and that’s where his talent lies.  He’s not much of a pass rusher but he could be hard for opposing O-Lines to move due to his size and effort.  Neild played in 13 games for the West Virginia last year and he had 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks.  He played in 50 games in four years at West Virginia and he had 130 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks, he batted down 2 balls, had 1 forced fumble and he had 1 interception.

The Redskins picked OLB/DE Markus White out of Florida State with the 224th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  White is 6’4″, 266 pounds and he runs a 4.86 40.  The Redskins have illusions of moving White to OLB but it won’t work because he’s not a good player in space.  They should just let him play end and try to bulk him up a tad in the weight room.  White started 14 games for Florida State last year and he had 64 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks, he batted down 1 ball and he forced 1 fumble.  White played in 40 games in three years with the Seminoles and he had 131 tackles, 28.5 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, he batted down 3 balls, forced 3 fumbles and he had 1 interception (he returned it for a TD).

The Redskins have picked 23-year old G/T Maurice Hurt out of Florida with the 217th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Hurt is 6’3″, 319 pounds and he runs a 5.25 40.  Hurt has had a lot of injury issues in his college career that have cause him to miss a lot of games.  He will likely need coached up as his strengths are not what the Redskins do.  He struggles with hitting moving targets and that’s what he’s going to have to do to get on the field for the Redskins.  Hurt played in 12 games (11 starts) last year for Florida and he played in 41 games (17 starts) in his five years at Florida.

The Washington Redskins picked CB Brandyn Thompson out of Boise State with the 213th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Thompson is 5’9″, 189 pounds and he runs a 4.53 40.  Thompson is a gunslinger as he likes to take chances on the field, so the Redskins are going to need to help him over the top when he’s on the field.  That being said, he also makes his fair share of big plays because of his attitude.  Thompson started 13 games for Boise State last year and he had 31 tackles, he broke up 7 passes, had 3 interceptions, had 2 tackles for a loss and he forced 1 fumble.  Thompson played in 49 games in his four years in college and he had 146 tackles, he broke up 16 passes, had 13 interceptions (1 TD), had 7 tackles for a loss and he forced 1 fumble.

The Redskins picked WR Aldrick Robinson out of SMU with the 178th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Robinson is 5’10″, 178 pounds and he runs a 4.43 40.  Robinson harkens back to the days of the Smurfs in Washington.  He’s tiny but he can really fly like the wind.  Robinson played in 14 games for SMU last year and he caught 65 passes for 1,301 yards (20.0 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  He played in 46 games in his four years with the Mustangs and he caught 181 passes for 3,314 yards (18.3 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  Robinson also could possibly help out the Redskins on special teams as a return man.

The Redskins took 23-year old RB Evan Royster out of Penn State with the 177th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Royster is 5’11″, 218 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Royster is a perfect fit in Mike Shanahan’s offense as he does his best running between the tackles.  He’s Penn State’s all time leading rusher.  Royster also has nice hands catching the ball out of the backfield.  Royster played in 13 games (all starts) at Penn State last year and he carried the ball 208 times for 1,014 yards (4.9 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also caught 25 passes for 202 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Royster played in 50 games (38 starts) in his four years with the Nittany Lions and he carried the ball 686 times for 3,932 yards (5.7 ypc) with 29 TD runs.  He also caught 61 passes for 562 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs at Penn State.

The Redskins picked 22-year old WR Niles Paul out of Nebraska with the 155th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Paul is 6’0″, 225 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Paul is a big guy and he plays that was as he picks up gobs of yards after the catch.  He is also a solid run blocker and a good return man.  Paul played in 12 games (11 starts) for Nebraska last year and he caught 39 passes for 516 yards (13.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He played in 46 games (29 starts) in his four years with the Cornhuskers and he caught 103 passes for 1,532 yards (14.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Paul also returned 76 kickoffs for 1,879 yards (24.7 avg) with 2 TD returns and 60 punts for 647 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD return.  Paul is going to help the Redskins right away on special teams and maybe offense too.

The Redskins picked strong safety DeJon Gomes out of Nebraska with the 146th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Gomes is 6’0″, 200 pounds and he runs a 4.56 40.  Gomes appeared to be in the right place at the right time often last year for the Cornhuskers.  But, he’s not a very good cover man and he’s just average against the run.  Gomes played in 14 games last year for Nebraska and he had 99 tackles, broke up 7 passes, had 3 interceptions, 4 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 1 sack.  Gomes played in 27 games in his two years at Nebraska and he had 145 tackles, broke up 12 passes, had 7 interceptions, had 8 tackles for a loss, forced 5 fumbles and he had 1 sack.  Gomes will need help over the top when he’s on the field.  I do think he will help out the Skins right away on special teams.

The Washington Redskins picked 22-year old RB Roy Helu Jr. out of Nebraska with the 105th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Helu is 5’11″, 216 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Helu Jr. sometimes gets a bad rap of being an underachiever and a disinterested blocker.  That won’t fly with Mike Shanahan.  That being said, Helu’s style is a great fit for the type of running game the Redskins employ, as he can make one cut and get down the field with his speed.  Helu played in 14 games (12 starts) for Nebraska last year and he carried the ball 188 times for 1,245 yards (6.6 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg) last year.  Helu played in 48 games (28 starts) in his four years with the Cornhuskers and he carried the ball 578 times for 3,404 yards (5.9 ypc) with 28 TD runs.  He also caught 54 passes for 501 yards (9.3 avg) at Nebraska.  Helu is the kind of player that Mike Shanahan can turn into a star.