Rookie class needs maturing

Scot McCloughan is considered a football genius. A throwback. He wants “football players.

- Chris Russell

” He doesn't necessarily care about a tenth of a second in speed. Whether a player can wear opponents down physically is McCloughan’s style.

McCloughan took over a team in early January 2015 desperate in need of direction, a steady and smart hand and a lot of talent.

Plenty has changed since then and a lot has gone right. Sure, some have gone wrong, but McCloughan and the college scouting staff, led by Scott Campbell, keeps chopping wood.

In 2016, the Redskins were able to draft more for the future as opposed to pure need. Hence, the selections of Josh Doctson in the first round, Kendall Fuller in the third round, Nate Sudfeld in the sixth and to a lesser degree Matt Ioannidis in the fifth round.

That philosophy was lauded and criticized at the same time. How could the Redskins not take a defensive lineman in the first four plus rounds? Why do they need another corner if they just spent $75 million on Josh Norman? Why take a situational player in the second round?

The more reasonable side of the argument is good teams and organizations try to layer depth and do not just draft for need.