Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504260024
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
That's not just because any team that finished 3-13 following a 4-12 year has plenty of needs. It's also because the Redskins certainly can use - and start - any of the top four projected picks.
If Washington manages to trade up with Carolina and get the No.1 pick, the choice will be Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter. An offense that produced its fewest rushing yards since 1968 (1,415 last season) needs him.
If not? Well, no matter the picks by Jacksonville and Houston at Nos.2 and 3, a player the Redskins like - and need - will be available.
The Jaguars are expected to take Southern Cal offensive tackle Tony Boselli. The next two choices, by the Oilers and 'Skins in whatever order, likely will be Colorado receiver Michael Westbrook and Florida defensive end Kevin Carter.
Actually, it's what the Redskins do with their other six draft picks - two fifth-rounders, but none in the seventh and last round - that might determine how quickly the franchise returns to its accustomed success.
During the Joe Gibbs glory years, Washington prospered with lower draft picks that stuck. The Redskins' only first-round pick in a decade was cornerback - turned cornerstone - Darrell Green in 1983. The others had been dealt away.
However, general manager Bobby Beathard and his scouting staff filled Gibbs' rosters with lesser picks who became the Hogs or developed into a Mark Rypien or Kurt Gouveia.
It hasn't been the same since Charley Casserly succeeded Beathard as the club's GM, although Casserly was part of that same system. There was some surprise when Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke brought Casserly back after a second straight poor season.
However, to have canned Casserly this year would have brought a third straight winter of reorganization to a club that changed head coaches the previous two off-seasons.
Cooke also liked what he saw late last season, when last year's No.1 pick, Heath Shuler, began to look like the quarterback of the future that Casserly and coach Norv Turner promised the Tennessee product would be.
After several drafts that barely scratch the surface of the Redskins' roster now, Washington has improved its picking in the last two years. Of course, it also can be argued it's easier for a rookie to survive in a rebuilding franchise than a Super Bowl contender or champion.
The Redskins' roster includes five players from last year's draft, and six remain from a 1993 Washington draft led by Notre Dame alumni Tom Carter and Reggie Brooks.
However, from the six prior drafts (1987-92), only five Redskins remain - Chip Lohmiller ('88), A.J. Johnson ('89), Brian Mitchell ('90), and Bobby Wilson and Ricky Ervins ('91).
Casserly needs another strong draft not just to survive, but to assure that the Redskins do not again become too old and stick too long with veterans, as occurred at the end of the Gibbs era.
In this winter's free agent grab, the Redskins signed four starters in safeties James Washington (Dallas) and Stanley Richard (San Diego), and linebackers Rod Stephens (Seattle) and Marvcus Patton (Buffalo).
The defense needed help. The 412 points allowed last season were the most in the NFL and second-highest total in franchise history (432 in 1954). Up front, where Turner used eight different starters last season, improvement is crucial.
That's why if the Redskins don't get a Carter at No.1, they'll be happy to get a different player at No.4. Not only did the Redskins run for just five touchdowns (only the '77 Redskins had fewer in club history), they also didn't generate much of a pass rush for the second straight year.
Washington also could use a cornerback to learn a future spot from the veteran Green. Offensive line depth - decimated when Raleigh McKenzie and Schlereth left as free agents - is another need. Four of this year's five starters will be at least nine-year veterans.
The good news for the Redskins is the forecast that offensive line is rated the deepest position in the draft, although more teams are expected to take defensive linemen in the first round because of need and the prohibitive cost of free-agent pass rushers.
It's a strong draft at corner, too, as well as at tight end, where Ethan Horton and James Jenkins played just well enough to have Turner chasing Dallas' free agent Jay Novacek all winter before Novacek re-signed with the NFC East champions.
With 1992 top pick Desmond Howard history, the Redskins need immediate help at receiver also, although it's a far from deep draft at that spot.
On the club's minicamp roster, the only punter is recent free-agent signee Matt Turk of Wisconsin-Whitewater, although Casserly said he expects to bring another free agent in to the Redskins' first Frostburg State training camp.
Washington used six of its seven draft picks for offensive players last season. So, it figures the Redskins might opt for defensive help this time, right?
Not necessarily. The club isn't yet good enough to simply try to plug a hole and figure to reach the playoffs. The Redskins' first must increase the number of what Turner calls ``elite'' players on the roster.
What Washington cannot afford is to look back at this draft three years from now - as the Redskins do at 1992 - and not see any names they called on draft day.
The Redskins still need plenty of help at plenty of positions. Among their needs, only the receiver spot in this draft doesn't provide much help beyond the third round.
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