The Washington Redskins are looking to add some talent in the upcoming NFL Draft on Thursday, April 28th.  The Redskins had a surprisingly successful 2015 regular season in which they won the NFC East and ended up hosting a playoff game which resulted in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Redskins had an extremely successful draft in 2015 and the team hopes for nothing less in this year’s draft.  The team currently holds the 21st overall pick and have a total of eight picks in the entire draft.  General manager Scot McCloughan is known for focusing on the draft as he says “ The more picks, the better”.  This quote has led analysts and fans to assume that Scot would consider trading away the first round pick in order to gain more picks later in the draft.

However, If the Redskins choose not to trade the pick, the team would look at needs in the secondary and the defensive line.  Jaylon Smith, a linebacker from Notre Dame University has been one of the players on the Redskins radar.  Smith is recovering from a devastating knee injury in his last game in 2015 but his talent and potential is keeping him in the conversation to be a first round pick.  The team has also looked at cornerbacks, Eli apple out of The Ohio State University, or Mackensie Alexander from The University of Clemson.  Adding to the team’s secondary would be ideal as the team was ranked amongst the worst in the league for pass defense in 2015.

The team lost Terrance Knighton to the Patriots in free agency. the veteran defensive tackle will be missed as he played a major role for the Redskins defense in 2015.  That being said, Scot McCloughan may use the 21st overall pick to select a defensive tackle because it is an obvious soft spot on the team’s depth chart.  Defensive tackles, Robert Nkemdiche, from the University of Mississippi, Andrew billings, from Baylor University, and Sheldon Rankins, from the University of Louisville.

The 2016 offseason is in full-swing and the draft is right around the corner.  The NFL draft is where teams determine their future and each pick is extremely important.  The Redskins hit the Jackpot with Brandon Scherff(Guard), Preston Smith(Linebacker), Matt Jones(Running Back), and Jamison Crowder(Wide Receiver) in last year’s draft.  The Redskins need to have another successful draft in 2016 in order to eventually reach the super bowl aspirations that the organization and fans soon expect.