FanHouse VinnyCerrato

So, why did a team who ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense draft a defensive player in the first round?

Because Brian Orakpo fell to the 13th pick, was one of the most versatile defensive players in the draft, and improves an area where the Redskins were lacking. Defensive coordinator Greg Blache doesn't blitz, but that doesn't mean the Redskins couldn't use some pressure on the quarterback. That's (presumably, though we can't really be sure with Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder at the helm) why they coughed up a second-round draft pick for Jason Taylor. With injuries hampering Taylor, the Redskins managed only a paltry 24 sacks.

Enter Orakpo.

After 10 seasons and 123 NFL starts, right tackle Jon Jansen has been shown the door by the Washington Redskins. Jansen, a 6-foot-6 305-pound 33-year-old, was drafted in the second round of the 1999 draft by the Redskins out of Michigan. He became an immediate starter and put together a solid career in Washington.

Via press release from owner Dan Snyder Friday, the Redskins notified the media that they will move on. The full press release follows:

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

When I anointed Brian Orakpo as the ideal pick for the Washington Redskins in the first round of the draft, I sort of assumed they'd do something about the offensive line later in the draft. You see, heading into the offseason, the Redskins really had one glaring issue: The sack ratio. They allowed 38 -- in a division full of pass-rushing fiends -- and only accrued 24 themselves. I'm aware that Greg Blache's defensive scheme doesn't chase the passer, but pressuring him with a front four means that's less time the coverage has to do their job. Orakpo helps take care of that with his outside push.

After enduring weeks of speculation about the Redskins' affinity for Mark Sanchez, Jason Campbell is still the Redskins' starting quarterback. General manager Vinny Cerrato admitted they tried to trade up for Sanchez, which is a blatant slap in the face to Campbell, who is entering the final year of his contract.

Campbell, at least for the time being, is looking to be the antithesis of Jay Cutler. If his recent statements are an indication of how he'll treat things in the future, he's showing great maturity and taking everything in stride.

Despite weeks of pre-draft speculation and misdirection, the Redskins stayed put at No. 13 and addressed one of their biggest offseason needs -- landing a pass-rush specialist -- instead of chasing after their next franchise quarterback.

Brian Orakpo and common sense won out over Mark Sanchez and man crushes. Sort of. As it turns out, the Redskins did try to trade up for Sanchez but were outbid by the Jets.

"We made a couple of calls, but it was too expensive," Redskins Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato said Saturday night. Which confirms what most of us already knew: the 'Skins don't think Jason Campbell is the long-term answer. Their run at Jay Cutler last month, and Sanchez last week, confirms as much,

Everybody has a tipping point, and for Jason Campbell it came yesterday: he'll reportedly demand a trade if the Redskins draft Mark Sanchez. The most shocking thing to come of this: that it took him this long to publicly state what was obvious the moment owner Dan Snyder decided he wanted Jay Cutler.

Even though Snyder, actor/radio personality/GM (in that order) Vinny Cerrato and head coach Jim Zorn had a post-Cutler-infatuation meet-and-greet with Campbell to reassure him of his importance to the organization, the Sanchez speculation began just a few weeks later. But this is the season for smokescreening and all that goes with it.

Jason Campbell was pretty cool about the whole "we're gonna get Jay Cutler!" business that the Redskins pulled a few weeks ago. He didn't make a stink about the possibility of being demoted and/or traded. And he didn't cry when the 'Skins publicly slapped him in the face.

But things will be different if Washington -- rumored to be interested by the way -- makes a play for Mark Sanchez, according to Steve Wyche at NFL.com: this time around, Campbell will reportedly demand that the team trade him if they go looking around for another signal caller.

On Monday, Matt Snyder wondered if the Redskins' interest in quarterback Mark Sanchez was just shrewd maneuvering, an attempt to hide their true intentions as they plot their weekend draft strategy.

Dan Snyder (no relation to Matt, at least to hear Matt tell it) and Vinny Cerrato have a spotty record when it comes to personnel decisions, although most mistakes have come via big-money free-agent signings. (Recent, obvious examples: Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archuleta.) In recent years, the 'Skins have been low-key on draft weekend. Depending on who you believe, that may or may not change this time around.

On Wednesday, word leaked that the Redskins were actively pursuing Jay Cutler. The Bears (the Bears!?) would eventually land him, which meant that a) Washington, perhaps for the first time in the Dan Snyder era, didn't outbid another team for a player's services, and b) the organization had some fence-mending to do with the guy caught in the middle of all this: incumbent quarterback Jason Campbell.

Yesterday I called Campbell the new Cutler because in publicly lusting after the Cutler, the Redskins would have to move Campbell to avoid the situation the Broncos found themselves after word leaked that they were interested in Matt Cassel.

Unless you're Vinny Cerrato, who appears to have the best job in sports (radio host, teevee personality, part-time executive vice president for an NFL team!), working for Redskins owner Dan Snyder must be an agonizing experience. He's forever overspending for big-name talent, is incapable of letting scouts and coaches do their jobs, and, ultimately, micromanages the team right into the ground. Every year.

So it should come as no surprise that Snyder is very interested in Jay Cutler, even though he currently has Jason Campbell -- the guy the 'Skins traded into the first round to draft in 2005 -- still under contract. I'll admit: Cutler is an upgrade over Campbell, but when considering all the factors -- the cost (two first-rounders, it sounds like), learning a new offense, playing in a new conference, etc. -- it hardly seems worth it.