By now, it should be common knowledge the Washington Redskins left the 2019 NFL draft as one of its biggest winners.
The latest accolade? Landing second on the NFL draft class grades at NFL.com from Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr:
But the ‘Skins exhibited unexpected patience and just let Haskins come to them. Then Washington did make a move, vaulting up from No. 46 to No. 26 to land Sweat. Although the Redskins had to give up their 2020 second-rounder in order to make the 20-slot leap, it felt like a savvy decision. A few weeks ago, no one expected Sweat, the No. 5 overall player on Gil Brandt’s Hot 150, to be available in the 20s. But then news of a heart condition surfaced and Sweat’s stock came into question. Well, on draft day, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Sweat might have been misdiagnosed. By the end of Round 1, the Redskins had nabbed a pair of top-tier talents without using a top-10 pick or mortgaging the future to an absurd degree.
This latest honor follows on the heels of Mel Kiper Jr. loving the draft class, NFL Network saying the Redskins won the NFC East and the general theme of all grades offering unending praise.
Expectation plays a part in this. The Redskins were looking like a team that could be headed for a big mistake before landing Dwayne Haskins without moving, then pulling off the move for Montez Sweat.
In the later rounds, Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon can boost the wideout spot, Bryce Love is a dangerous running back and the front office also managed to hit offensive line twice in interesting ways.
So no, it isn’t hard to see why the Redskins are still making headlines for their performance.
