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Lots of stuff coming out of the first day of Washington Redskins OTAs, including the apparently scary, inadvertent sideline takedown of head coach Mike Shanahan by defensive back Brandyn Thompson. But as I was reading through the player quotes that the team's media relations staff sent out, I was particularly struck by this one from London Fletcher, when asked whether the trade-up to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III was part of what convinced him to re-sign with the Redskins:

"Obviously, them being able to get into that second pick was something huge for me. I'm a guy, I'm in my 15^th season, to go into another year with not having a quarterback was not very appealing to me, I'll tell you that. So, when they were able to make the trade, knowing we would be getting either Andrew Luck or him, that definitely made the situation a lot brighter as far as coming back here. So you know, I've had enough years of other stuff."

I guess he didn't add, "No offense, Rex Grossman, Donovan McNabb or Jason Campbell." But you have to love a guy who gives it to you straight, and the sense around the Redskins the past few years has indeed been one of, as Fletcher put it, "not having a quarterback." Now, they have Griffin, whom everyone loves and of whom great things are expected. Fletcher is impressed with the young man, per this quote:

"He's very humble, you know very respectful, you know not coming in feeling like he's entitled to anything. He's willing to work, he works hard, he's in here early, and he's in his playbook. There are some first-round draft picks, especially high guys, they come in and feel like things should be given to them. That's not the case with him. He has an aura about himself that people want to gravitate to him and just get to know him, talk to him, things like that. You can see why everybody spoke so highly about him."

The latest in a long line of glowing Griffin testimonials. The excited, enthusiastic Griffin honeymoon is in full swing in Washington, and right now Griffin can do no wrong. We're still four months away from games that count, and likely many more months away from Griffin doing anything that opens him up to grumbly criticism and concern.

The Redskins' 2012 quarterback may be a rookie, but it's clear he's got folks around the team feeling as though things are finally going to be okay at the most important position on the field, after a long time during which they've not been.

Donovan McNabb's been in the news this week. The former Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins quarterback has been working out and drumming up publicity in an effort to get a job with an NFL team and continue his career. Eagles coach Andy Reid said he'd recommend McNabb to other teams, which is tough to believe considering he traded him two years ago and needs a veteran backup quarterback and doesn't seem interested in signing McNabb himself. We still get plenty of McNabb questions on this blog because Eagles fans still care about him and for good reason. He was a great player for a long time in Philadelphia, and should be remembered fondly there.

But as Ashley Fox points out at the end of her latest column, sometimes the player is the last to know when his career is over. And for McNabb, it obviously appears that that time has come:

McNabb should walk away, head held high, knowing he impacted at least one franchise for the better. He is the Eagles' most accomplished quarterback of all time, with more attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdowns and games played than anyone else. In 11 years, McNabb played in 148 regular-season games and went to the playoffs seven times, including five NFC title games and one Super Bowl.

His legacy is set. He was an iconic player. He wasn't perfect, and there are indelible marks on his tenure -- he either did or didn't get sick in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, he didn't know the overtime rules in a 2008 game at Cincinnati, he either was or wasn't jealous of Terrell Owens, and on and on -- but McNabb is the best modern-day quarterback the franchise has had.

McNabb will be up for discussion for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but the last two seasons haven't helped him. There is no reason to add meaningless years to the journey and prolong the inevitable. McNabb should start the next phase of his life. He will make an insightful television analyst, and he might even find peace in being the one to critique and criticize, rather than being the one who is critiqued and criticized.

We've been saying this for a while here on this blog -- that McNabb is more likely to be working for the same company I do than playing quarterback for an NFL team in 2012. There simply isn't any evidence over the past two years to indicate that he can possibly be of use to any team in the league. He's not, as Ashley points out, interested in serving as a mentor/backup to a young quarterback, or that's what he'd have done last year in Minnesota. And since no team needs or wants him as a starter, he's got no real avenue for a return to the league. It may take him some time to realize this, but McNabb's done as an NFL quarterback, and I agree with Ashley: Continuing to deny it is only going to cost him pieces of his dignity. There's no need for that.

With the third pick in the sixth round of the NFL draft -- the pick they got from Minnesota last summer in return for quarterback Donovan McNabb -- the Redskins selected running back Alfred Morris from Florida Atlantic.

Morris is a strong, compact power runner who's only about 5-foot-9, and I have no idea how he'll factor into the Redskins' 2012 season because he's a sixth-round pick. But he's a different kind of back than the two they drafted last year -- Roy Helu and Evan Royster -- and he gets added to the offseason and training camp mix with them. The Redskins still want to bring back free agent Tim Hightower or, if he leaves, another veteran back or two because they believe it's important to have depth and they're not sold on Helu or Royster as a full-time starter at this point.

I just found it interesting because it was the McNabb pick. Couple of other notes of mild interest:

— With the seventh pick in this round, Arizona took cornerback Justin Bethel from Presbyterian. That was the pick the Redskins traded to Arizona, along with Vonnie Holliday, last summer for Hightower.

— The Redskins also hold the 23rd pick in this round (No. 194 overall) as a result of the trade with Pittsburgh that moved them down 10 spots in the fourth round earlier today.

Three weeks until the draft. Given the current state of fan agitation, I estimate our chances of surviving that long at around 21 percent. But they go up if we make sure and get our links.

Dallas Cowboys

In this clip from NFL 32, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten asks our NFL analysts who the Cowboys should take with the No. 14 pick in the draft. Todd McShay says that, if Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is still on the board, he's the guy they should take. On a related note, Calvin writes that Cox is headed to Valley Ranch for a pre-draft visit.

The Cowboys' official site takes a look at cornerback Mike Jenkins, who was one of the bright spots on the Cowboys' 2011 defense when various injuries weren't limiting his playing time or production. A healthy Jenkins would be an asset in 2012, and if he gets through the season fully healthy, he might be able to that new contract he's looking for.

New York Giants

Speaking of Witten, he has good things to say about former teammate Martellus Bennett and Bennett's chances for success with the Giants.

Travis Beckum, one of two Giants tight ends to tear an ACL in the Super Bowl, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he got great news from his doctors and that there's a "very good chance" he could be ready by the start of the season. If that turns out to be true, it lessens the Giants' need to look for a tight end in the draft.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sheil Kapadia looks at the number of different players on the Eagles' roster who will be affected by the performance of Demetress "Don't Call Me Demetrius" Bell, who's the new left tackle after signing Wednesday to replace the injured Jason Peters. The numbers on how often and how successfully the Eagles ran to the left side in 2011 are eye-opening.

Nnamdi Asomugha, a California guy at heart, has been bicoastal this offseason, showing up in Philadelphia to work out with teammates in preparation for what he and the Eagles hope is a much better second season than his first.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan told the Washington Post that he'd rather "take the high road" than respond to the sour-grape foolishness Donovan McNabb was spouting on First Take last week.

Mark Maske looks at the complicated questions at the heart of the Redskins' and Cowboys' grievance against the NFL and the NFLPA over the salary cap sanctions that were imposed just before free agency.

So I have this idea, since everybody loves draft talk and speculation so much, to go through each team's picks and the history of players taken at those spots. It doesn't mean much, since there's no way to know if the guy your team takes in the sixth round is going to become anything or not, but I thought it'd be fun, so I'm going to do it for each of our division's four teams. We'll go in first-round order, so we'll start with the Redskins, who have seven picks.

The Redskins have the No. 2 pick in the draft, which as you might expect has produced a number of great players, including 13 Hall of Famers. But in doing this exercise, I learned that the Redskins this year also have the pick (No. 102) that produced both Johnny Unitas and Nick Buoniconti. The Redskins' second pick in this year's draft is No. 69, which is noteworthy because the Redskins likely made the best No. 69 pick of all time when they drafted Hall of Famer Russ Grimm in 1981. Enjoy.

PICK 2 (second pick of first round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Von Miller, LB, Broncos

2010 -- Ndamukong Suh, DT, Lions

2009 -- Jason Smith, T, Rams

2008 -- Chris Long, DE, Rams

2007 -- Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions

Redskins' history of No. 2 picks


2000 -- LaVar Arrington

1962 -- Norm Snead

1953 -- Jack Scarbath

Hall of Famers picked No. 2

Marshall Faulk (1994), Eric Dickerson (1983), Lawrence Taylor (1981), Tony Dorsett (1977), Randy White (1975), Tom Mack (1966), Joe Namath (1965, AFL), Bob Brown (1964), Merlin Olsen (1962), Les Richter (1952), Y.A. Tittle (1951), George McAfee (1940), Sid Luckman (1939)

Other notables

Reggie Bush (2006), Julius Peppers (2002), Ryan Leaf (1998), Tony Mandarich (1989), Cornelius Bennett (1987), Archie Manning (1971)

Last quarterback taken No. 2


1999 -- Donovan McNabb, Eagles

PICK 69 (sixth pick, third round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Rob Housler, TE, Cardinals

2010 -- Jared Veldheer, T, Raiders

2009 -- Jason Williams, LB, Cowboys

2008 -- Jacob Hester, FB, Chargers

2007 -- Buster Davis, LB, Cardinals

Redskins' history of No. 69 pick

1998 -- Skip Hicks

1981 -- Russ Grimm

Hall of Famers picked No. 69

Russ Grimm (1981), Jack Christiansen (1951)

PICK 102 (seventh pick, fourth round)

Last five players taken

2011 --Jordan Cameron, TE, Browns

2010 -- Darryl Sharpton, LB, Texans

2009 -- Donald Washington, DB, Chiefs

2008 -- Jeremy Thompson, DE, Packers

2007 -- Brian Robison, DE, Vikings

Redskins history of No. 102 pick

1996 -- Stephen Davis

1984 -- Jimmy Smith

Hall of Famers taken N0. 102

Nick Buoniconti (1962), Johnny Unitas (1955)

PICK 109 (14th pick, fourth round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Colin McCarthy, LB, Titans

2010 -- Corey Wootton, DE, Bears

2009 -- T.J. Lang, T, Packers

2008 -- Mike McGlynn, G, Eagles

2007 -- Stephen Nicholas, LB, Falcons

Redskins history of No. 109 pick


2001 -- Sage Rosenfels

1990 -- Rico Labbe

1988 -- Jamie Morris

Hall of Famers taken No. 109

Don Maynard (1957)

PICK 141 (sixth pick, fifth round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- D.J. Williams, TE, Packers

2010 -- Joshua Moore, DB, Bears

2009 -- Kenny McKinley, WR, Broncos

2008 -- Gary Barnidge, TE, Panthers

2007 -- Greg Peterson, DT, Buccaneers

Redskins history of No. 141 pick

1971 -- Conway Hayman

Hall of Famers taken No. 141

None

PICK 173 (third pick, sixth round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Byron Maxwell, DB, Seahawks

2010 -- Anthony Dixon, RB, 49ers

2009 -- Javon Ringer, RB, Titans

2008 -- Dominique Barber, S, Texans

2007 -- Michael Coe, CB, Colts

Redskins history of No. 173 pick

2006 -- Reed Doughty

1970 -- Roland Merritt

1969 -- John Didion

Hall of Famers picked No. 173

None

PICK 213 (sixth pick, seventh round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Brandyn Thompson, DB, Redskins

2010 -- Willie Young, DE, Lions

2009 -- Paul Fanaika, G, Eagles

2008 --Chauncey Washington, RB Jaguars

2007 -- Chase Pittman, DE, Browns

Redskins history of No. 213 pick

2011 -- Brandyn Thompson

1986 -- Kurt Gouveia

Hall of Famers picked No. 213

None

It's Saturday, which makes it the day I have to take my kids to swim lessons, which makes it the day I understand why some people drink alcoholic beverages before noon.

It also makes it mailbag day.

Andrew from New York, N.Y., admits he's a Philadelphia Eagles fan and therefore likely biased, but he says this to me: "I simply don't understand how you can report what Redskins sources say as the final word on McNabb's work ethic."

Dan Graziano: I didn't, Andrew. I presented and acknowledged both sides. Which Donovan McNabb pointedly did not, even leaving himself and his own win-loss record off his list of failed post-Elway Mike Shanahan quarterbacks. I would welcome a chance to discuss it with McNabb, and I let the producers of First Take know this, but they were not interested in having me on.

Dale from Novato, Calif., asks whether, if the Dallas Cowboys drafted a first-round cornerback, that would mean they're planning to part ways with Mike Jenkins after this season.

DG: Dale, I don't think it would automatically mean that, but as you point out, Jenkins does come with some injury questions. They love the way he played last year when healthy, but he wasn't healthy nearly enough. So if they were to draft a cornerback in the first round this year, they'd obviously be sending a message to Jenkins as well as covering themselves in case he can't get through the year healthy and they decide the best thing is to move on to other options. Better to address this now by thinking ahead then wait until next year when they have a clear problem/need at the position. And in this day and age, there's really no such thing as too many defensive backs.

Chris from Charleston, S.C., tells me that the reason Victor Cruz crushed Brian Orakpo in the Madden 13 cover vote was that Washington Redskins fans were voting against Orakpo because of the "Madden Curse." Chris is of the belief that I've not heard of this "Curse."

DG: Chris, I have heard of the Madden Curse, and of the idea that fans are voting against, rather than for, their favorite players in an effort to avoid having them land on the cover and end up "cursed." I just think it's foolish, and didn't see the need to acknowledge it in my post on the subject. We've reached an odd place in sports-fan history if this is really something about which people feel that strongly.

Tony G from Hamilton, Ontario, wants to know why the Arizona Cardinals are drafting ahead of the Dallas Cowboys when they had identical records and the Cardinals won the head-to-head matchup.

DG: Tony G, head-to-head result is not the tiebreaker for determining draft position. They use relative strength of schedule, and Arizona's was weaker, so their 8-8 record is deemed, for purposes of the draft, to be worse than Dallas' 8-8 record.

Ian from ODU wants to know if I think the Eagles would take Courtney Upshaw, the Alabama LB/DE, with their first-round pick (No. 15 overall) in next month's draft.

DG: Ian, my sense is that Upshaw will be gone by then, making this a moot issue. But if he is there, I'm still not 100 percent sure they take him. Upshaw is being looked at as a pass-rusher, and unless they were going to use him at defensive end in their 4-3 (where they're pretty well stacked with Trent Cole and Jason Babin), he might not be a fit for them. He's probably better suited to a 3-4 team as an outside linebacker who can get after the quarterback. The linebackers in Philadelphia's system aren't responsible for the pass rush.

Paul from Indiana Harbour Beach, Fla., likes Stanford tight end Coby Fleener for the New York Giants when they pick at No. 32 in the first round.

DG: Could definitely happen, Paul, and I agree with you that someone of Fleener's talents could make magic with Eli Manning. But since they've already signed Martellus Bennett and they surely expect Jake Ballard, Travis Beckum or both back at the end of this season if not before, I'm not certain they're looking at tight end as a long-term need position. The Giants will take the best available player still on their board at that spot, and if it's Fleener, I don't think they'd hesitate to do it. But I wouldn't be surprised if the highest player on their board at that point plays offensive tackle or defensive line. They really need a tackle, and they really love to draft defensive linemen.

Ahsen from MD wants to know why the Redskins didn't receive any compensatory draft picks for losing Carlos Rogers in free agency last year.

DG: Ahsen, you only get compensatory picks if your total net loss in free agency is deemed to have exceeded your net gain. So while the Redskins lost Rogers and others last year in free agency, the players they signed -- Stephen Bowen, Barry Cofield, Josh Wilson, etc -- were deemed by the NFL's formula to have been worth more than the total value of the free agents they lost. Hence, no compensatory picks.

Teon Wilson from Richmond, Va., wants to know if it's realistic for the Cowboys to trade for Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel.

DG: A couple of people I spoke with in Palm Beach this week told me they wouldn't be surprised to see the Eagles trade Samuel within the division. Nevertheless, I would. I don't think their need to trade him is so pressing that they'd send him someplace where he'd play against them twice a year. He's still pretty good. My guess is the price for Dallas would be higher than it would be for, say, an AFC team.

Nick from Rutgers wants to know why the Giants aren't at the top of the Breakfast Links posts anymore.

DG: We went back to alphabetical order once the new league year started. New year, standings reset. But I liked doing the links in standings order, and plan to do so again beginning in Week 2 of the 2012 season.

And to answer some questions that came in numerous times from numerous sources:

• I don't know when the arbitrator will decide about the Redskins/Cowboys cap penalties.
• No, I am not crazy.
• Sorry, but unless you're a Redskins fan, I simply do not know which player your team will pick in the first round of the draft.

Enjoy your weekend.

Friday. Links. Etc.

Dallas Cowboys

Tim MacMahon thinks the best way for the Cowboys to go in the first round of the draft would be to take the best Alabama defensive player still available at No. 14. I do not think this is a bad idea.

For what it's worth, Nate Livings' former coach has nice things to say about him.

New York Giants

Giants guard Chris Snee had elbow surgery, and he talked about both that and the possibility of more changes this season on the Giants' offensive line.

Missed this Thursday, but Devin Thomas was a pretty valuable special teams contributor for the Giants, and will need to be replaced now that he's left for the Bears. There are several opportunities for Jerrel Jernigan this offseason if he'd like to seize them.

Philadelphia Eagles

Les Bowen doesn't think an Asante Samuel deal seems close. No real reason for the Eagles to do one now, anyway, with nearly four full weeks left until the draft.

A couple of quarterbacks are going to visit the Eagles for pre-draft visits, which reflects either Andy Reid's obsession with quarterbacks or the idea that the organization is thinking long-term about the position since its starter is 32 or both.

Washington Redskins

Jason Reid thinks Donovan McNabb may have had a point with his criticism of Mike and Kyle Shanahan on First Take on Thursday. I agree, as I wrote in my column on this subject. My only point was that McNabb conveniently overlooked his own role in the issues he had there.

Jammal Brown is taking yoga classes to help his troublesome hip heal. If the Redskins don't sign another tackle, they're going to be counting on Brown to finally be able to stay healthy for a full season.

If you saw Donovan McNabb on "First Take" today, you know what this is about. If you haven't, here's the clip. McNabb, the former Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins quarterback, was asked if he thinks Robert Griffin III is a good fit for the Redskins, who are likely to take him with the No. 2 pick in the draft four weeks from today. This was a perfectly teed-up Titleist of a question for McNabb, whose time in Washington was tumultuous to say the least, and he swung hard:

"No. I say that because a lot of times, ego gets too involved when it comes to being in Washington. Here's a guy coming out who's very talented, mobile, strong-armed. We've already heard he's intelligent. Football mind. Are you going to cater the offense around his talents and what he's able to do? Or are you going to bring the Houston offense with Matt Schaub over to him and have him kind of be embedded into that?"

The last part is a clear reference to Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and the idea that he tried to fit McNabb into the offensive system he brought with him from the Texans. But there's more:

"We talk so much about Mike Shanahan and the things that he was able to do in Denver. Well, I have a couple of names for you that Mike Shanahan, quarterbacks he's coached and the lack of success that he's had. We have John Beck, who as 0-4. Rex Grossman, 6-11. Jay Cutler, who was his prized possession, 17-20. Jake Plummer, a guy who had success, led them to the AFC Championship against Pittsburgh and then benched him the next year because he wouldn't do what he wanted him to do pretty much. Brian Griese, who was supposed to be the heir apparent to John Elway and hasn't had a lot of success."

To his credit, Skip Bayless asked McNabb if he had an ax to grind. And to his credit, the first two words of McNabb's response were accurate:

"I do but I don't. The whole deal about it is, we hear so much about players who move on somewhere, how the next year will be a lot better. Give him a chance to learn the offense and understand what we do. I never got that chance. And a lot of people haven't."

My inclination is to tread carefully here, since there's obviously a far greater chance that McNabb spends this next football season in those Bristol studios than on a football field. But the plain fact is, the guy needs a mirror.

McNabb makes some fair points about Mike Shanahan and the lack of success he's had as a head coach with quarterbacks other than Elway. He makes some fair points about egos, and I don't think there's anyone who doubts that Shanahan has a big one. He himself might even admit to that. He's a head football coach. The list of men who are those and don't have egos is a pretty short list.

But McNabb this morning was using a platform to grind his ax, plain and simple. My quickie evaluation of him on TV is that he'll be an excellent NFL analyst as long as he's talking about people he hates. His breakdown of the situation in Washington as it pertained to him ignores these elements:

• He was benched by Eagles coach Andy Reid in 2008 and traded by Reid after the 2009 season to a team that the Eagles play twice a year. Clearly, there were some issues with McNabb even before he got to Washington. You don't trade your starting quarterback to a division rival if you think the guy is still worth having.
• Three separate Redskins people who were with the team during McNabb's only season there have told me that the issue with McNabb was that he didn't want to put in the work during the week. Yes, the system in Washington was different from the one he was used to in Philadelphia, but that McNabb's response to that was to shut down and refuse to learn or practice it. One of those three people told me Shanahan was aware, before making the trade, that McNabb had developed the reputation over his final few seasons in Philadelphia of not wanting to put in the work during the week, but that Shanahan believed he could light a fire under McNabb.
• Shanahan was not able to light that fire, and McNabb lost his job to Rex Grossman during the 2010 season. Rex Grossman, folks. Didn't lose the job to Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana. Couldn't play or practice well enough to fend off a challenge from Rex Grossman.
• The Redskins traded McNabb prior to the 2011 season to the Minnesota Vikings for a sixth-round pick. McNabb must not have liked the egos or the system in Minnesota, either, since he played just six games there before losing the job to rookie Christian Ponder, then demanded his release later in the season after being demoted to the scout team.
• No one picked him up off waivers.
• No one has signed him so far this offseason.
• There has been not one report of any team being interested in signing him.

McNabb's career is almost certainly over, and he's clearly bitter about the way it ended. The Shanahans certainly made some mistakes in handling the McNabb situation and said some things that embarrassed a proud veteran and left him very angry. They are not blameless here. But neither is McNabb, and if he's going to sit there and say things like he said this morning on "First Take," he'd do himself and the rest of us a favor if he uttered maybe just one or two words about his own role in the way things turned out for him in Washington.

It's possible, after all, that Griffin will be excellent in Washington. There's nothing anyone's heard about the young man to indicate he's unwilling to work or learn anything new.

Back home in New Jersey after four lovely days in Palm Beach at the NFL owners meetings. Man, they had some good links there at the Breakers. But for today, these will have to do.

Dallas Cowboys

Even with free-agent Dan Connor in the fold, the Cowboys might not be done adding to their inside linebacker corps. But Jason Garrett did not make it sound as though free agents Bradie James or Keith Brooking are likely to re-sign.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will have a lap-band procedure to help him lose weight. Ryan's twin brother, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, had the same procedure done in 2010.

New York Giants

Ohm ponders what the Giants will do to replace Brandon Jacobs now that the longtime Giants running back has signed with the 49ers. I agree with Ohm that someone on the level of Carolina's Jonathan Stewart is not a realistic option and that they'll probably sign a cheap veteran running back to throw into the mix with Ahmad Bradshaw and the young guys they have.

Tom Coughlin says he doesn't care if Tim Tebow and the Jets are dominating the New York tabloid headlines, because he and the Giants won the Super Bowl, and he figures the folks reading those papers still remember that.

Philadelphia Eagles

Andy Reid was asked whether old pal Donovan McNabb would be an option for the Eagles at backup quarterback. He did not make it sound as though he would. Some people have asked me about McNabb, but I have no reason to believe he'll play again. For the Eagles or anyone else.

There's a report out there that the Tennessee Titans, who lost Cortland Finnegan to the Rams in free agency, might be one of the teams interested in trading for Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel. And there's a report out there that they're not. So we'll see. Won't be the last team connected to Samuel in this kind of report.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan isn't worried that the league might still penalize the Redskins over bounty programs that may or may not have been in place when Gregg Williams was their defensive coordinator. He's counting on Philip Daniels' recollection to carry the day.

Shanahan also said that left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Fred Davis would have to prove themselves to their teammates, in light of the drug suspensions that ended those players' seasons early.

After it was announced Monday which teams got compensatory draft picks, the NFL was able to establish its full official 2012 draft order. Here's a look at where the NFC East's teams are picking throughout the draft's seven rounds. Bookmark this baby, because we're going to refer to it a lot over the next month. Heck, print it out so you can bring it to your draft party, if you're into stuff like that. We're here to serve.

Dallas Cowboys (8 picks)


Round 1: Pick 14, overall pick 14

Round 2: Pick 13, overall pick 45

Round 3: Pick 19, overall pick 81

Round 4: Pick 18, overall pick 119

Round 4: Pick 40, overall pick 135 (compensatory -- cannot be traded)

Round 5: Pick 17, overall pick 152

Round 6: Pick 16, overall pick 186

Round 7: Pick 15, overall pick 222

New York Giants (8 picks)


Round 1: Pick 32, overall pick 32

Round 2: Pick 32, overall pick 63

Round 3: Pick 32, overall pick 94

Round 4: Pick 32, overall pick 127

Round 4: Pick 36, overall pick 131 (compensatory, cannot be traded)

Round 5: Pick 32, overall pick 167

Round 6: Pick 32, overall pick 201

Round 7: Pick 32, overall pick 239

Philadelphia Eagles (9 picks)


Round 1: Pick 15, overall pick 15

Round 2: Pick 14, overall pick 46

Round 2: Pick 19, overall pick 51 (from Arizona)

Round 3: Pick 26, overall pick 88 (from Houston)

Round 4: Pick 19, overall pick 114

Round 5: Pick 18, overall pick 153

Round 6: Pick 2, overall pick 172 (from Indianapolis)

Round 6: Pick 25, overall pick 194 (from Denver)

Round 6: Pick 31, overall pick 200 (from New England)

NOTES: The Eagles traded the 13th pick in the third round and the fourth pick in the fourth round to Houston in exchange for the 26th pick in the third round and linebacker DeMeco Ryans. The Eagles had acquired the fourth pick in the fourth round as part of a 2011 draft-day trade with Tampa Bay... The Eagles acquired the 19th pick in the second round from Arizona as part of last year's trade for Kevin Kolb... The Eagles acquired the second pick of the sixth round from the Colts in exchange for the 17th pick in the sixth round and tackle Winston Justice... The Eagles acquired the 25th pick of the sixth round and running back J.J. Arrington from the Broncos in exchange for linebacker Joe Mays in 2010... Also in 2010, the Eagles acquired the 31st pick in the sixth round from the Patriots in exchange for linebacker Tracy White and their 2012 seventh-round pick.

Washington Redskins (7 picks)


Round 1: Pick 2, overall pick 2 (from St. Louis)

Round 3: Pick 6, overall pick 69

Round 4: Pick 7, overall pick 102

Round 4: Pick 14, overall pick 109 (from Oakland)

Round 5: Pick 6, overall pick 141

Round 6: Pick 3, overall pick 173 (from Minnesota)

Round 7: Pick 6, overall pick 213

NOTES: The Redskins acquired the No. 2 pick in the first round from the Rams in exchange for the No. 6 pick in the first round, the No. 7 pick in the second round and first-round picks in 2013 and 2014... The Redskins acquired the 14th pick in the fourth round from the Raiders in exchange for quarterback Jason Campbell in 2010... The Redskins acquired the third pick in the sixth round from the Vikings in exchange for quarterback Donovan McNabb in 2011... The Redskins traded the seventh pick in the sixth round to Arizona in exchange for running back Tim Hightower in 2011.

All that's been on anyone's mind this week is free agency and college basketball. We'll skip the hoops questions in this week's mailbag and try and stick to that first thing. If you don't mind.

Barry from DC is concerned that he hasn't heard more about the Washington Redskins trying to sign offensive linemen.

Dan Graziano: Clearly, Barry, wide receiver was their first priority (after quarterback, of course, which is fixed through the draft). Then they got to work on the secondary. But I agree with you that right tackle and left guard remain areas of concern. Reports out of Washington say they had tackle Demetrius Bell in for a visit Friday, and everything I'm told indicates they're interested in tackle Eric Winston (though he spent a lot of time with the Chiefs this week). They weren't in the mix seriously for Carl Nicks or Ben Grubbs at guard. They may not land any big O-line names, but I know they're looking to add, and they're targeting guys they think can work well in their zone-blocking run game schemes.

Like a lot of people, Jason from Bryn Mawr, PA gives the Dallas Cowboys a lot of credit for the moves they've made so far in free agency. He wonders if the focused, targeted approach they're taking reflects coach Jason Garrett's influence on personnel decisions.

DG: I do, Jason. I think you saw that begin last year, when the Cowboys cut players like Roy Williams and Marion Barber in order to go with more sensible options. I think you saw it this year with the overhaul of the coaching staff that got rid of some long-timers and replaced them with fresh faces. I believe Jerry Jones really wants Garrett to succeed and is willing to let him run the team his way, and I believe that means Garrett has a great deal of say in the kinds of players the team is pursuing. Things are making more sense in Dallas than Jones' old reputation usually leads people to believe they are.

George from Lexington, VA is watching the New York Giants sign free agents "to modest contracts so that they can fill specific roles in their system" and asks whether their approach is at all similar to the Billy Beane Oakland A's model that inspired the book and movie "Moneyball."

DG: I think it's an imperfect comparison, George. "Moneyball" is the story of a low-revenue team trying to find a way to compete in a game that has no salary cap and was at the time heavily tilted in favor of the high-revenue teams. The NFL's salary cap eliminates this problem by effectively eliminating the concept of low-revenue teams. All NFL teams are rolling in money, and those that don't spend as much as the others do so by choice. The Giants have been right up against the cap the last two years as a result of some big contracts that would make Billy Beane pass out, so part of the reason they haven't made big free-agent moves is because they're unable to. But I think the main reason the Giants are so comfortable with their simple moves is their belief in their coaching staff and the veteran-inspired environment in their locker room. They really believe they can find most of their solutions internally, because they believe their program develops prospects into good players. And they've been proven right a lot in recent years.

Now, when I do the mailbag, I like to make sure all four teams are represented. But man, was it hard to find a Philadelphia Eagles question this week. I scrolled back and scrolled back through Redskins question after Redskins question, and the first Eagles questions I found were from March 11! Thomas Hanson from D.C. asking if the Eagles would bring back Kevin Kolb as Michael Vick's backup if the Cardinals let Kolb go and gwh from Downingtown, PA asking if Donovan McNabb would be open to coming back as Vick's backup and if the Eagles would consider that.

DG: Obviously, since these questions came in, Arizona has decided to stick with Kolb, so that's out. And I guess, if there is an NFL team out there that would consider giving McNabb a job (and we have no proof that there is at this point), the Eagles would be a leading candidate. I thought the two best backup quarterback options were Jason Campbell and Kyle Orton, but they got snatched up right away by the Bears and Cowboys. The Eagles make that position a priority, as you know, and they're surely looking around for better options than Mike Kafka and Trent Edwards. But the list of the remaining candidates isn't awe-inspiring. David Garrard may be the best of a bunch that includes Rex Grossman, Shaun Hill, Jake Delhomme, Dennis Dixon and old friend Jeff Garcia.

Anyway, Eagles fans, come on! Where are the questions?

Today's "Get off my lawn!" moment is brought to us by Reuben Frank of CNSPhilly.com. Reuben has apparently heard some of the same chatter I've heard in the past few days from Philadelphia Eagles fans and some Dallas Cowboys fans who are worried that the Washington Redskins' big trade up in the draft to get (presumably) Robert Griffin III threatens to move their teams further down in the standings. Reuben believes this to be hogwash, and has written a piece throwing cold water on the notion that the Redskins will win next year's Super Bowl because they draft this particular quarterback:

Only two quarterbacks drafted with one of the first three picks since 1990 have won at least one playoff game before their fourth year in the league. You might recognize their names.

Michael Vick. And Donovan McNabb.

So if you're worried that the Redskins have somehow tipped the competitive balance of the NFC East by acquiring the pick that they'll use to draft RG3, think again.

Even Peyton Manning didn't win a playoff game until his sixth NFL season, and Eli didn't win one until his fourth year. Vick and McNabb both won one in their second season, but McNabb didn't get to the Super Bowl until his sixth year in the league and Vick still hasn't been to one.

All a top-three pick gets you is a remote chance of landing a stud. And a far, far greater chance of landing a dud.

We do love the occasional injection of perspective and context, especially as it pertains to draft and free-agency season. I go back a couple of weeks, to when Jerry Jones said of course he wouldn't trade Tony Romo to move up and get Griffin or Andrew Luck. Jones was being reasonable, because the fact is, if Griffin or Luck turns out to be half as good as Romo already is, they'll be ecstatic and so will the Colts and Redskins.

There is no reason to doubt that Griffin can someday be a successful star quarterback in the NFL. There's no reason for Redskins fans to be anything but excited that their team made the bold move to trade up and get him. But for fans of the Cowboys and Eagles, there's no reason to despair and worry that the move suddenly makes your team inferior to the one that finished last in the division this past year. We believe Griffin can be great. We already know that Romo and Vick are. That difference is significant, and it's worth remembering at times like these, when overreaction comes so swiftly and easily.

Dallas Cowboys

Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram writes that there's a prior connection between Stanford guard David DeCastro and new Cowboys offensive line coach Bill Callahan.

Not so fast, writes CBSSports.com's Pat Kirwan, who argued DeCastro is not worth such a premium pick.

Executive Stephen Jones admits the Cowboys don't have "good enough talent" on defense, the Star-Telegram's Clarence Hill Jr. wrote.

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Tony Fiammetta is the only restricted free agent the Cowboys plan to tender.

Former Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens is reportedly facing foreclosure on two homes he owns in Dallas.

New York Giants

Brandon Jacobs will have to take a significant pay cut if he wants to return to play with the Giants, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.

Tight end is a position of need for New York, and Giants101.com lists the five best options on the free-agent market.

Philadelphia Eagles

Robert Griffin III is going to be an elite player in the NFL, but Dave King of InsidetheIggles.com says the Eagles "can’t draft him. They shouldn’t, and they probably won’t, for a number of reasons."

The best player available when the Eagles draft No. 15 overall, says Philadelphia Daily News' Les Bowen, will likely be a defensive tackle. Is Devon Still in the Eagles' crosshairs?

Washington Redskins

The Redskins have re-signed backup defensive end Darrion Scott, The Washington Post reports.

Donovan McNabb is no longer a Redskin, and he says he sure doesn't see Peyton Manning as one, either.

Adam Carriker tells Jake Russell of TheHogs.net that he feels he's finally coming into his own as a defensive end and he should be compensated fairly by the Redskins or some other team.

I get it, Washington Redskins fans. You've been hurt. You've been burned too many times by big March headlines you thought would bring lasting happiness but instead brought heartache, and now it's difficult for you to trust. You don't want to be hurt again.

How else to explain the horrified reaction by a quarterback-starved fan base to the idea of signing Peyton Manning? Judging by the reactions from the folks in our comments section all the way up to the mayor of Washington, D.C., you'd think we were talking about handing the starting quarterback's job to Dan Snyder's teenage nephew. This is what Mayor Vincent Gray had to say on the topic to a D.C. television station last week:

"You know, I think it depends on what role he would play, Bruce," Gray said. "But I really think the Redskins need a quarterback that they can build with for the future. You know, Andrew Luck is probably going to go to the Colts, but there's Robert Griffin III, and there's a couple other promising quarterbacks that are out there. We've kind of been down this pathway with quarterbacks who've been great but maybe are in the back end of their career, and even if he comes in and plays a year or two, where do we go from there?"

Well, jeez, Mr. Mayor. At that point, you go with the guy you drafted in 2013 because you weren't able to trade up and get Griffin in 2012. Or you go with a young guy you picked later in that draft who's been apprenticing for a year or two under Peyton Manning, for goodness' sake. What Gray and many other Redskins fans seem to be missing here is that Mike Shanahan can't just go to the "franchise quarterback" aisle at the Wegman's down the road from the team's Ashburn, Va., training facility and pick one. Only one team's going to get Griffin, and if the Redskins aren't that team, they need to have a good Plan B. If Manning is fully healthy and shows he can throw the ball the way he was throwing it two years ago before his neck injury, he's the greatest Plan B in alphabetically themed planning history.

Redskins fans, the mayor included, are looking at this whole thing through the disappointing prism of free-agent signing periods past. I'm hearing names such as Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Albert Haynesworth and yeah, Donovan McNabb -- a list of big-name, star players the Redskins brought in to great fanfare and who flopped for one reason or another. Because of this, the chorus moans, Manning isn't the way to go. The Redskins have done the big-name/big-contract thing before and it just never works out. They need to stop doing business this way.

Well, guess what? They kind of already have. Yeah, McNabb was a mistake -- a flyer Shanahan took thinking he could re-light a spark that had gone out in Philadelphia and maybe sneak into the playoffs in his first year in Washington. He acknowledges it was a risk that didn't work out. But (a) Manning is not McNabb, who was no longer driven to excel by the time the Redskins got him and (b) the McNabb acquisition is an outlier among the moves Shanahan and Bruce Allen have made since taking over personnel decisions two years ago. Everything else they've done in the draft and free agency has been focused, sober and competent, and they deserve the benefit of the doubt, even from Redskins fans scarred by the mistakes of past administrations.

Snyder doesn't pull these strings anymore. Part of the agreement Shanahan signed when he took the job was that Snyder would let him build the team, as he puts it, "the right way." Last year's draft was an exercise in patience, as Shanahan refused to reach for quarterbacks he didn't think were the long-term answer simply because he had a need at that position. He traded back, trying to build depth, and picked up key future pieces such as Ryan Kerrigan, Roy Helu, Evan Royster, Jarvis Jenkins and Dejon Gomes. He has eight picks this year and will have to decide how many of them he's willing to sacrifice if he wants to move up to draft Griffin. Shanahan knows how many needs his team has, so he's not going to make that decision lightly.

In the meantime, there is free agency, and although the Redskins didn't make a big splash last summer, they did very well in free agency. Shanahan targeted specific players in the 27- to 29-year-old age group -- guys he believed were already established but still young and hungry enough to grow and develop with the team. He plans to use the same formula this year to address wide receiver, offensive line and the secondary. He's not after the biggest name out there. He's after the specific types of players he believes his team needs in order to build a consistent, year-to-year winner.

Which brings us back to Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Shanahan's not going to give Manning a big, five-year, huge-money deal. I don't think anyone is, given the health concerns, but if the market gets that crazy, I don't expect the Redskins to play in it. It just wouldn't be smart. Bringing Manning in on a one-year or two-year deal with incentives to allow him to prove he's healthy is smart, because if Manning is healthy, he's worth as much as any quarterback in the league.

That's the important thing to remember here, Redskins fans. Manning isn't a "fading star" who's past his prime. He was, before his neck injury, playing at as high a level as any quarterback in the league. He got hurt and missed a season. Now, it appears he'll be available again. And if he shows teams he can throw the ball the way he did in 2010, he's a smart short-term investment for a team that needs a quarterback answer now and for the future. The ideal solution would be both, but if that's not out there, the Redskins need to be smart about addressing the former while keeping their eye on the latter. So far, the Shanahan regime has shown that it doesn't do business like those "same old Redskins" who've hurt you so many times.

Football Outsiders is an Insider feature here on ESPN.com, which cracks me up every time, but if you have the Insider access you can check out Vince Verhei's piece on the biggest offseason needs for each team in the NFC East. If you don't have Insider access or you're too lazy to read Vince's whole piece, I have the Cliff's Notes for you.

Dallas Cowboys: Vince cops out! He says cornerback and guard. No fair. Got to pick one, says I. Vince lists both but spends the bulk of his analysis on cornerback. To wit:

So far in our charting data (which is incomplete for a handful of teams), we've found 80 cornerbacks who were targeted in pass coverage 40 or more times last season. Only 28 of those players had a success rate below 50 percent, and three of those players were on the Cowboys. Terence Newman was the worst of the bunch, ranking 72nd in success rate and last among those 80 cornerbacks in yards per play.

He goes on to explain that their historical comparisons to Newman indicate there's not much hope for a recovery, and concludes that it's time to move on. I agree. I'd say cornerback is the biggest need.

New York Giants: Offensive line. Fair enough. A lot depends on whether Will Beatty can come back and continue to develop, but with David Diehl getting up there in age and Kareem McKenzie looking like a free-agent casualty, the Giants need to start figuring out what their offensive line will look like in the future. I still think that if they target one position in free agency or the draft, however, it's more likely to be tight end.

Philadelphia Eagles: Linebacker. No doubt. The biggest thing the Eagles need is for the players they have at cornerback and safety to play better than they did in 2011. Assuming that happens, yes, they need better, quicker, stronger, surer-tackling linebackers than they had last year to support the "Wide 9" defensive line scheme and help them stop offenses that can find a way through their studs up front:

The stat pages at Football Outsiders make the holes in the Philadelphia defense very clear. First, the defensive line statistics, where we see Philadelphia ranked third in stuff rate but 29th in second-level yards and 22nd in open-field yards. In plain English, that means the defensive line was very good at hitting runners in the backfield, but when those runners made it across the line of scrimmage, they usually went for big gains.

This isn't a position 4-3 teams tend to prioritize, and it remains to be seen whether the Eagles will do so. But given their relative strength and depth at other positions, there's no reason for them not to make this the focus of their offseason.

Washington Redskins: Quarterback. Everyone agrees on this. The question is what to do about it. It'd be easy if they were picking No. 2 in the draft. They'd just take Robert Griffin III and get on with it. But they're not, and they may not be able to get Griffin without completely ignoring their many other needs, so they need to consider other options, which they are. One of those is Peyton Manning, whom Vince describes (as others have) as "a fading star." I don't know why this keeps bothering me so much. Manning has not done any "fading" whatsoever. He was a superstar in his prime two years ago and missed this past year due to injury. If he proves he can throw the way he did in 2010, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and quarterback-needy teams should climb all over each other trying to get him. If he can't, he'll probably retire, which would bring an abrupt end to a brilliant career. But no matter what happens, the guy is not "fading." He's either his old, great self or he's done. If he's done, no one will sign him. If he's not, the Redskins would be foolish to rule it out just because they got Donovan McNabb when he was "fading." These simplistic comparisons are bugging me. Anyway, quarterback, as everyone knows. Sorry. Rant over.