The Washington Redskins selected QB Kirk Cousins out of Michigan State with the 102nd overall pick (4th round) of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Cousins is 6’2″, 209 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  Cousins doesn’t have an exceptional arm, but he is very solid on the shorter passes.  He is a dropback passer and he’s really smart.  Cousins played in 14 games (all starts) for Michigan State last year and he completed 267 of 419 passes (63.7%) for 3,316 yards with 25 TD passes and 10 INTs.  He played in 45 games (39 starts) in his four years with the Spartans and he completed 723 of 1,128 passes (64.1%) for 9,131 yards with 66 TD passes and 30 INTs.  Cousins has a nice upside, so he could be a starter in the near future….but not likely with the Redskins due to Robert Griffin III.  Cousins will likely be used as trade bait in the near future for the Redskins.  But, they might be smart to keep him as a backup due to Griffin’s style of play.  Cousins should have already been gone by Day #3 of the 2012 NFL Draft, so it’s hard to fault the Redskins for taking him.

The Washington Redskins selected G/C Josh LeRibeus out of SMU with the 71st overall pick (3rd round) of the 2012 NFL Draft.  LeRibeus is a big guy at 6’3″, 316 pounds.  He is a pretty good thumper in the running game.  But, he’s going to have a lot of work to due in training camp on his pass blocking as he has big time trouble with speedier pass rushers.  LeRibeus played in 13 games (all starts) for SMU last year.  He played in 36 games (28 starts) in his three years at SMU.  The Redskins probably reached a little too high in the draft, but I have a hard time blaming them for this pick, as they need bodyguards for new QB Robert Griffin III.

The Redskins have released 30-year old QB John Beck.  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 for the Skins last year.  Beck has now played in 9 games (7 starts) 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 also has carried the ball 19 times for 55 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  Beck was 0-3 as a starter for the Redskins and he is now 0-7 as a starting QB in his NFL career.  The Redskins won’t miss him at all going forward.

The Washington Redskins have selected QB Robert Griffin III out of Baylor with the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Griffin is 6’2″, 220 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40 as he is an excellent athlete.  Griffin played in 13 games (all starts) for Baylor last year and he completed 291 of 402 passes (72.4%) for 4,293 yards with 37 TD passes and only 6 interceptions.  Griffin played in 41 games (40 starts) in his four years at Baylor and he completed 800 of 1,192 passes (67.1%) for 10,366 yards with 78 TD passes and 17 INTs.  Griffin is a smart guy with off the charts athletic ability.  He throws a great deep ball and he is a outstanding runner as he can go the distance whenever he takes off running out of the pocket.  He tends to have happy feet in the pocket and he stares receivers down too much, but the Redskins could be able to fix those flaws with coaching.  This move was a bit risky as the price was high to move up and take Griffin, but the Redskins have not had a true franchise QB since Joe Theismann.

The Redskins have signed 35-year old kicker Neil Rackers to a 1-year deal.  Rackers played in all 16 games for the Houston Texans last year and he connected on 32 of 38 (84.2%) field goals and 39 of 40 extra points as he scored 135 points for the Texans.  Rackers has now played in 180 games in his first 12 years in the NFL and he has made 264 of 330 field goals (80%) and 372 of 378 extra points as he has now scored 1,164 points in this NFL career.  I would be very nervous if I were Graham Gano (the Redskins’ kicker from last season).

The Redskins have signed 29-year old OLB Chris Wilson.  Wilson did not play last year with the Eagles.  He did play from 2007-2010 with the Redskins.  Wilson has played in 64 games (all with the Redskins) in his first five years in the NFL and he has 65 tackles, 6 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss and 3 forced fumbles.  This was a solid move for the Redskins as Wilson can help them out with rushing the passer in 2012.

The Redskins have signed 27-year old linebacker Bryan Kehl.  Kehl played in 14 games for the St. Louis Rams last year in which he had 15 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  Kehl has now played in 59 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 110 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  This was a good pickup for the Redskins as Kehl is a special teams ace.

The Redskins traded up with the Rams and paid a big time ransom for the pick to select their hopefully franchise QB.  They will also look to surround him with some help in this draft.  Here is who I have the Redskins getting in my mock 2012 NFL Draft which can be found on bloglockers.com:

1. (2) Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor

3. (69) Kelechi Osemele, OG, Iowa State

4. (102) Michael Brewster, C, Ohio State

4. (109) Tank Carder, ILB, TCU

5. (141) Chris Rainey, RB, Florida

6. (173) Evan Rodriguez, FB, Temple

7. (213) Philip Blake, C, Baylor

The Redskins have re-signed 36-year old middle linebacker London Fletcher to a 1-year deal.  He is a tackling machine still despite his advancing age.  Fletcher played in all 16 games for the Redskins last year and he had 166 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and 8 passes defensed.  He has now played in 80 games in his first five years with the Redskins and he has 705 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 24 tackles for a loss, 8 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 41 passes defensed and 7 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  This was a great move for the Redskins as Fletcher is one of the leaders on the field.

The Redskins have signed 26-year old safety Tanard Jackson.  Jackson played in 10 games for the Buccaneers last year and he had 35 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 passes defensed, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  He has now played in 56 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 239 tackles, 10 interceptions (2 returned for TDs), 27 passes defensed, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 6 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries.  If Jackson can behave off the field (he missed a whole season due to a league suspension), the Redskins will have a steal here as he is a hard hitting playmaker when focused and motivated.