Mankins to be franchised, Guard still a need.

The Patriots have made it clear that they will place the franchise tag on Pro Bowl Guard Mankins. This means he will not enter free agency and the Redskins cannot sign him. That means we still have an awful interior line. Williams and Brown were solid, so I expect us to resign Brown.  Before going over my plan, let's look at the needs.

QB-- McNabb is simply not the future, and Grossman was nothing special. The Redskins need a franchise QB.
RB-- Who knows if Torrain is special, but he showed promise. No reason not to stick with him.
FB-- Sellers is getting older, but the staff likes Young and will have him split time with Sellers.
WR-- Moss' future is uncertain. He is scheduled to enter free agency and the Redskins have not shown what their plans are.
TE-- Cooley is not going anywhere.
OT-- As I said, Williams and Brown were solid.
OG-- The younger guys stepped up late in the season but they do not have the talent to be long-time starters.
C-- Rabach had a pretty bad season and is getting old.

NT-- The Redskins have nobody to play nose tackle. They are pursuing Shaun Rogers, but so is half the league.
DE-- There are fill-ins but no sure starter at this position.
OLB-- We all know Orakpo is a monster but the Redskins need another pass-rusher on the other side. Chris Wilson could be the answer, but coaches have not shown confidence in him.
ILB-- Fletcher is getting old. McIntosh had a decent year (he switched from outside in the 4-3 to inside in the 3-4) but is scheduled to become a free agent.
CB-- Hall is coming off a Pro Bowl year and Rogers is scheduled for free agency. His future with the Redskins seems dependent on if the coaches believe he can stay healthy.
FS-- Kareem Moore played below expectations, but still has the trust of the coaches.
SS-- Landry was set to start in the Pro Bowl but couldn't because of injury. Before the injury, he was in the Defensive Player of the Year talk.

With the 10th overall pick, the Redskins could select a QB. But at #10, the talent would not be worthy of the pick. With 10, the Redskins could take a pass rusher, a DL, or WR. I suggest trading back for mid-late 1st and 2nd rounders.  This will allow the Redskins to take an interior lineman (perhaps Pounce). Then, with the 2nd rounders, they can take a QB, then a DL. The QB would be Colin Kaepernick. Many people question whether he can be an NFL QB, but I see excellence. He is exceptional at timing routes, which is key in a West Coast offense. He just needs to learn how to move within the pocket and not immediately try to scramble. There are many worthy DT's in the draft, but not many NT's. So grabbing one of these will improve our line and ensure that a defense with so much talent will not put up such pathetic numbers. Later in the draft I see the Redskins grabbing DB's and possibly WR's and ILB's.

On another note, congrats to Jerry Gray! He was recently hired as the Titans' Defensive Coordinator. Gray used to be the DB coach in D.C. He's a great guy and an excellent coach.