Washington Redskins: How Josh Norman alters draft plans

It came in late April, but the Washington Redskins have made possibly the biggest splash in free agency this offseason.

Hail to this Redskin. General manager Scot McCloughan signed All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman to a five-year deal (via ESPN). While his addtion will undoubtedly shore up an average-at-best secondary, how does it affect other elements of the Washington Redskins organization?

One of the biggest differences could appear in the NFL draft. With Norman on board alongside Bashaud Breeland, Chris Culliver, Greg Toler, Will Blackmon, and Quinton Dunbar; will the Redskins find it necessary to draft another cornerback in the early-middle rounds? It’s also important to note that DeAngelo Hall and Kyshoen Jarrett lined up as cornerbacks from time-to-time last season.

The first thing we have to look at when evaluating the situation is the skill-level of the other cornerbacks and what their relationship with the team is.

Breeland was the Redskins obvious number one corner in 2015, and at the age of 24 he’s only going to get better. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

While Culliver is a solid cornerback, there is a possibility he is released so the Redskins can free up some cap space (courtesy of Zac Boyer of the Washington Times).

Toler just signed and Blackmon re-signed with the team this offseason, so there’s very little reason to believe either of them are going anywhere.

Dunbar was the developmental achievement of the year for the Redskins, and possibly the entire league in 2015. A quick storyline of his rookie campaign: Undrafted wide receiver, turned into a cornerback, cut from Redskins roster, sent to the Redskins practice squad, promoted to Redskins roster, intercepts Eli Manning, ends the season as one of the more reliable cornerbacks on the Washington roster.

You don’t give up on someone who developed so quickly, he stays.

It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where the Redskins end up removing multiple of these cornerbacks from their roster before the draft. Despite that, they might go into the draft with the idea that there very well could be moves before the start of the regular season.

So for now, let’s say the Redskins keep all six on the roster heading into the draft. How does this alter their draft plans? Honestly, the only difference I see is a bump from a possible third rounder to possibly a fifth rounder spent on a cornerback. A lot of people like to have a developmental cornerback on every roster, but the Redskins already have that in Dunbar, so that’s covered.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Thanks to Josh Norman, the Redskins have much bigger needs than cornerback at the moment. With picks expected to be used on the defensive line (possibly multiple times), the offensive line (specifically center), the safety position, and a running back, the Redskins will be running low on selections.

Then again, Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan has stated that he wants 12 draft picks, yes I said 12 (via Andrew Walker of Redskins.com). It all really depends on where those picks come from. As of right now, all we can do is guess, but maybe one of the Redskins cornerbacks (more than likely Culliver) would be packaged in a deal that would bring some picks over to the Redskins.

If that were to happen, all of a sudden an earlier pick on a cornerback wouldn’t seem so insane.

More nfl spin zone: Washington Redskins: Evaluating Options at Pick No. 21

The way I see it, the Redskins won’t completely alter their plans because of Josh Norman. There are 53 active roster and 10 practice squad spots for each NFL team. The Redskins can afford to draft a cornerback or two and create a roster controversy in training camp. Besides, is it really Redskins training camp if there aren’t a few controversies?

Home/Washington Commanders