WATCH: In Need Of Defense, Redskins Go Offense At Top Of NFL Draft

John Matthews
WMAL.com

CHICAGO — (WMAL) In Scot we trust.

The Washington Redskins, known in 2015 for its prolific offense and porous defense, took a giant leap towards patching the latter this week when it signed All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman, and many figured it would continue to build on that repair job by taking a defensive lineman or safety on Thursday night.

Instead, on a team loaded with gifted offensive weapons including DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garçon, Jordan Reed, Ryan Grant and Jamison Crowder, General Manager Scot McCloughan doubled down with another wideout, taking Josh Doctson with the 22nd pick in the draft.

Doctson, a 6’2″ burner from Texas Christian, was considered by many scouts to be the best receiver in the draft. The team’s tallest current receiver, Garçon, is a full two inches shorter.

“He’s got height,” said Redskins coach Jay Gruden Thursday night. “He’s got the mad leaping skills, which is very appealing, especially in the red zone obviously, and he’s another gut who’s going to bring great athleticism to this offense.”

Doctson was a consensus first team All-American in 2015 and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top college wide receiver.

But Doctson is not going to be rushing the quarterback, stopping the run or defensing passes – all talents the Redskins sorely need. So why take him?

In Scot we trust.

The Redskins burned up nearly all of their salary cap space in signing Norman this week, and choosing a rookie receiver gives the team more options in terms of pay for players.

Both Garçon and Jackson are entering the final year of their contracts and both are due to earn close to $10 million dollars each in 2016. The team could choose to cut one of them now to open up more cap room, or choose not to pursue one or both at the end of the season. Either way, they’ll have Doctson available as a much cheaper price to take over when the time is right.

The Redskins – as several other teams with obvious defensive needs – took a shot with an offensive player at the top of the draft in part because the pool is considered to be especially deep with defensive players, and the team is confident it can find playmakers over the next two days.

“We’ll address other positions obviously later,” said Gruden. “It is a very deep draft at a lot of positions, and we feel we can add to this roster in the second, third, fourth, fifth rounds.”

Day two of the draft will include the second and third rounds. McCloughan has said repeatedly he would like to accumulate more draft picks, so don’t be surprised if the Redskins look to move down, as the team did Thursday night. The Texans took the Redskins 21st pick in exchange for pick number 22, as well as Houston’s sixth round selection in next year’s draft.

As it stands now, the Redskins have the 55th and 84th picks to be taken today.

In Scot we trust.