If you were to take the Washington Redskins haul of draft picks that have been made over the past three years and ranked them by value, it’s hard not to say that the selection of wide receiver Terry McLaurin was Washington’s top-rated pick from that time period. It just may have started a drafting hot-streak at the position, coming at the perfect time as we head into the 2020 NFL Draft — which has one of the deepest pass-catching groups in recent memory.
After being selected in the third round in 2019, McLaurin burst onto the scene — quite literally — with 125 yards and one touchdown in Week 1. Over the first five weeks of the season, the buzz surrounding this rookie out of Ohio State continued to grow, and his 408 yards and five touchdowns made him a name that many watched when it came to fantasy football, which is one of the biggest signs of relevance in today’s NFL.
When you look past McLaurin, the Redskins continued their solid 2019 draft by adding some promising depth to their wide receiver corps, picking up Kelvin Harmon in the 6th round, and adding Steven Sims as an undrafted free agent. Both of those players showed an ability to make plays in their rookie season, and both have high ceilings going forward. If you were to step back another year, you’d see the Redskins selection of Trey Quinn with the last pick in the 2018 draft as well — a player who may not be a game-breaker, but has had some solid production and can get you a first down when needed.
What’s the point of all this? It means that the Redskins are on a hot streak when drafting receivers, and finding a value that few other teams see, at that. As Washington enters the 2020 draft with a remaining need to add at least one more productive receiver, this hot streak has a great chance to continue, as the WR class in this year’s draft is as deep as we’ve seen in years. We already laid out a receiver that the Redskins could look to take in each round of the draft, and it was hard to narrow it down to only one per round, even in the seventh.
With their last handful of picks at the position, the Redskins have been able to find value and pick up a productive player, if not now then for the future. Here’s to hoping that they are able to do some going forward with the next WR draft pick as well.
