The Redskins finally decided to make some picks in a NFL Draft instead of trading them all away for veterans and they found some nice players for the future. Here is a look at how the rookie class did in 2011:

23-year old OLB Ryan Kerrigan was the Redskins’ first round pick last April. Kerrigan played in all 16 games for the Redskins last year and he had 63 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed and a interception that he returned for a TD. Kerrigan is going to be a beast on the Redskins’ D for a long, long time.

23-year old DE Jarvis Jenkins was a 2nd round pick last April. He was a beast in the pre-season before suffering a torn ACL and spending his rookie season on I.R. The Redskins hope he can stay healthy next season as he has a huge upside.

22-year old WR Leonard Hankerson was a 3rd round pick for the Redskins. He played in 4 games for the Redskins last year and he caught 13 passes for 163 yards (12.5 avg). His season was cut short due to injury, but the Redskins like what they saw out of him in 2011.

23-year old RB Roy Helu was picked in the 4th round by the Redskins. He played in 15 games for the Redskins last year and he carried the ball 151 times for 640 yards (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs. Helu also caught 49 passes for 379 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab. He looks like another steal for head coach Mike Shanahan, as he likes looking for RBs late in the draft.

22-year old safety Dejon Gomes was a 5th round pick by the Skins. He played in 15 games as a rookie for the Redskins last year and he had 35 tackles and 2 passes defensed. Gomes could be a starter down the road for the Redskins.

22-year old WR Niles Paul was also a 5th round pick by the Skins. He played in 13 games for the Redskins in 2011 in which he caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg) and carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards. Paul also returned 1 kickoff for 15 yards and 1 punt for 0 yards.

24-year old RB Evan Royster was picked in the 6th round by the Skins. He played in 6 games for the Redskins last year and he carried the ball 56 times for 328 yards (5.9 ypc). Royster also caught 10 passes for 76 yards (7.6 avg). He will likely battle it out with Roy Helu for the starting RB job in training camp.

23-year old WR Aldrick Robinson was picked in the sixth round by the Redskins. He didn’t play in any games in 2011.

22-year old CB Brandyn Thompson was picked in the 7th round. He played in 6 games for the Redskins last year and he had 2 tackles.

24-year old OG Maurice Hurt was picked in the 7th round by the Redskins. He played in 8 games (all starts) for the Redskins last year as he was a major steal for the Skins so late in the draft.

24-year old LB Markus White was picked in the 7th round by the Skins. He played in 2 games but didn’t make any tackles.

24-year old NT Chris Neild was a 7th round pick too. He played in all 16 games for the Redskins last year and he had 10 tackles and 2 sacks. He was a nice find so late in the draft.

GRADE FOR 2011: B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: A+

The Washington Redskins need to clear the deck and bring in some new QBs for the 2012 season.  31-year old Rex Grossman was 5-8 (38.5%) as the Redskins’ starting QB in 2011.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for the Redskins last year and he completed 265 of 458 passes (57.9%) for 3,151 yards with 16 TD passes and 20 INTs (72.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 11 yards (0.6 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Grossman has now played in 54 games (47 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 863 of 1,562 passes (55.2%) for 10,232 yards with 56 TD passes and 60 INTs (71.4 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 81 times for 106 yards (1.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his NFL career so far.  Grossman is now 25-22 (53.2%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.  I can see the Redskins bringing Grossman back as a backup in 2012, but they need a new starting QB.

30-year old John Beck was a bust for the Redskins as they were 0-3 in his starts.  Beck played in 4 games (3 starts) for the Redskins last year and he completed 80 of 132 passes (60.6%) for 858 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 INTs (72.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards (4.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs last year.  Beck has now played in 9 games (7 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 140 of 239 passes (58.6%) for 1,417 yards with 3 TD passes and 7 INTs (67.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 19 times for 55 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his NFL career.  Beck is now 0-7 as a starting QB in his NFL career.

The Redskins were in this game until the 4th quarter, when the Eagles scored the last 21 points of this game to pull away.  Rex Grossman wasn’t at his best in this game as he completed 22 of 45 passes for 256 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Evan Royster had another huge game with 113 yards on 20 carries (5.7 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 52 yards (10.4 avg).  FB Darrell Young got some work in with 1 carry for 12 yards and 3 grabs for 32 yards (10.7 avg) in this game.  Roy Helu only rushed for 5 yards on 4 carries (1.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 48 yards (24.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WRs Santana Moss (3 rec, 45 yards) and Jabar Gaffney (4 rec, 28 yards) led the way in the passing game.  The Redskins finished up with 130 yards rushing on 25 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 45 passes (48.9%) for 247 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:41.

The defense was good for three quarters in this game before they blew a gasket.  Safety Reed Doughty (6 tackles) and OLB Brian Orakpo (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Redskins on D in this game.  LB Perry Riley (3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery), safety O.J. Atogwe (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and CB DeAngelo Hall (3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Redskins on D in this game.  The Eagles finished up with 75 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 39 passes (61.5%) for 315 yards.  The Redskins finished the 2011 season with a 5-11 record.