Redskins GM right to downplay No. 5 pick Scherff

It’s not every day when your general manager comes out and says his top-5 draft pick from four months ago isn’t the most talented player. (He did have complimentary things to say about Scherff, including his toughness and character, which you can read here.) And based on what we saw last year of Brandon Scherff, we couldn’t agree more with Washington GM Scot McCloughan.

Scherff was the No. 54 offensive tackle in our grading last season, and he rarely stood out in the way you’d expect a first-round pick to do so – especially against the level of opposition he regularly faced in the Big Ten. He struggled mightily against unheralded Wisconsin pass-rusher Joe Schobert in Week 13, a game that gave us serious reason to question his ceiling, and his 24 combined allowed sacks, hits and hurries were the 19^th-most of all draft-eligible tackles.

In some ways it’s refreshing to hear McCloughan talk about Scherff in these terms. When he calls him tough and speaks to the value he brings in being part of a unit, it’s clear that those are qualities to be valued in a player. Scherff didn’t miss a game despite having midseason surgery (which may very well have affected his performance), and he showed the kind of willingness in the running game to suggest he’d have perhaps more upside at guard (and teams love linemen who can play multiple spots).

But that’s where Scherff’s high draft position comes into play. Are all of those aforementioned qualities worth missing out on a potential difference-maker at No. 5 overall? Based on our data, it appears as though the upside on Scherff is only so high.