I'm guilty as charged.
Guilty of talking a good game when it comes to posts on the Redskins' draft but coming up very small when it comes to actual content.
I throw myself on the mercy of the court.
I could talk about how rough things have been at work, how we've had a constant stream of contractors moving through the house, how my unkempt yard has screamed out for attention as the weather has turned warmer and so on and so forth. And all of that would be true.
However, the main reason that I don't write much about the prospects out there is that I just don't know enough about them to write about them with any authority. I love college football but I don't get to watch nearly enough of it to see enough of the players to form a firm opinion of their potential as pros.
As you know, that doesn't stop many bloggers, media types, and message board posters from spewing out millions of words about fluid hips and shuttle times. You surely recognize that about 98% of them have barely the vaguest clue as to what they're talking about and they're just parroting what they read elsewhere.
That's not my style.
That doesn't mean, however, that I haven't formed some opinions about some players and what the Redskins should do. Last week I discussed the possibility of them trading this year's first round pick for someone's first next year plus a couple of other top 100 picks. Either a deal like that or a normal trade down, sliding down into, say, early in the second round and picking up more selections that way would be fine by me. This team needs an injection of youth and adding relatively high picks would be the best way to make that happen.
However the wheeling and dealing might shake out, if any takes place, there is a player who has caught my eye. He is Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed. Here is the case for him in video format.
What I like about him—and this is about as sophisticated as I'll get in an analysis—is that he passes the eyeball test. Limas Sweed looks like an NFL receiver. He's a man among boys at times playing in the Big 12, often going up and over a pair of hapless defenders to haul in a pass. At 6-5, 220 he has excellent size and his 4.5 time in the 40 demonstrates that he has more than adequate speed.
As there is with almost any player who will be available at pick #21, there is some downside with Sweed. The primary concern is a wrist injury that cost him most of his senior season for the Longhorns.
If he had shredded his ACL or broken an ankle I would be more concerned. There is every indication that the wrist will not be an issue going forward.
There are those who will tell you that Limas Sweed would be a reach at #21, that there is no way that he will be the best player on the board when the Redskins pick. There are others who think that he would be a good fit both in terms of the draft slot and in terms of the Redskins' needs.
There is only one player ranking list that matters, of course, and that is the one compiled by Vinny Cerrato and company. We don't know how they have Sweed rated. They could have him in their top 15; he might not even be in their top 30. On draft day they could be giving each other high fives as their pick approaches and he remains available or they could be completely disinterested in his status.
I don't know where the Redskins stand on him and that puts me in the company of billions of other people on the planet, including virtually all of the draftnicks out there. I do know that he'd look pretty good in burgundy and gold and I'll be rooting for that to happen next Saturday.
I'll leave you with a couple of Sweed highlight reels. To be sure, they're not the complete picture—I have yet to see a dropped pass in any of them—but they do give you a glimpse of what his upside could be.
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