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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Redskins in 2012.

Dream scenario (9-7): This would mean Washington's first winning season since 2007, Joe Gibbs' final year as head coach. What has to happen to make it a reality? Well, lots, frankly. Robert Griffin III will need to be very good right away at taking care of the ball and limiting the kinds of mistakes it's reasonable to expect from rookie quarterbacks. Most important, the Redskins' offense must play very well around him. They'll need health from Tim Hightower and continued development from promising fellow running backs Roy Helu and Evan Royster. They'll need Pierre Garcon to play like the potential No. 1 wideout his free-agent price tag says they believe he can be. They'll need the offensive line to stay healthy and play well, with left tackle Trent Williams as its anchor. The Redskins' dream scenario sees Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan cementing their place among the league's top pass-rushing duos, DeAngelo Hall harnessing his ability and playing like a top corner, and something emerging from the muddle they take to training camp at safety. The defense looked like a young defense on the rise last year, and if the Redskins are to threaten or possibly exceed .500, it will have to continue that rise.

Nightmare scenario (5-11): And that would mean the same record as last year, and one game worse than the year before, and drop Mike Shanahan's three-year record as the team's head coach to a rather uninspiring 16-32. That would be what's called, in official NFL terms, "not good." In the Redskins' nightmare scenario, Griffin struggles with the transition, the wide receiver group is as uninspiring as Washington's free-agency critics believe it is and the offensive line falls apart due to injury for the second year in a row. In the nightmare scenario, the secondary remains a big-time weakness of the defense and costs the Redskins dearly in division games against the likes of Eli Manning, Tony Romo and Michael Vick. If all of this happens, the Redskins would enter the 2013 offseason with far more to fix than they currently believe they do, and with questions about Shanahan's future as coach. I don't think there's much that can happen to wreck the Griffin honeymoon between now and January, but if the rest of the team plays well around him and he commits too many turnovers, that particular nightmare scenario could make Redskins fans nervous about the new franchise quarterback going into next season.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Rams in 2012:

Dream scenario (8-8): Sam Bradford takes every snap on offense for the second time in three seasons as the Rams protect their franchise quarterback with sensible play calling. It's the sixth time a Jeff Fisher-coached team finishes 8-8, but no one is complaining after the Rams' 15-65 run over the previous five seasons. Trusting offensive line coach Paul Boudreau to salvage right tackle Jason Smith becomes one of the surprise success stories of the 2012 season, and a critical one for the Rams' efforts to re-establish Bradford.

Turns out the Rams were not fibbing when they suggested Brian Quick, the receiver they took in the second round, ranked up there with first-rounder Justin Blackmon on their board. The constant threat of Steven Jackson and Isaiah Pead out of the backfield creates favorable matchups for Quick and the Rams' underrated receivers. Bradford publicly downplays a Week 2 victory over Robert Griffin III and Washington, but it feels good to win at home against the player St. Louis could have selected second overall this year.

Watching Janoris Jenkins score on a fourth-quarter punt return in Patrick Peterson's house improbably stakes the Rams to a 6-5 record, stirring visions of the postseason. It's certainly sweet to finally win within the division again. The Rams lose to San Francisco the following week and ultimately finish the regular season with a respectable defeat at Seattle, but the season is a success by any measure.

Nightmare scenario (3-13): Road games against Detroit and Chicago in the first three weeks expose Bradford to significant punishment as Smith and the line struggle to find their bearings. Bradford doesn't want to talk about the ankle injury he aggravated at some point in the season's first month, but it's clearly a factor. Facing Cliff Avril, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Ndamukong Suh, Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan, Julius Peppers, Chris Clemons, Bruce Irvin, Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett, Cameron Wake and Clay Matthews in the first seven games leaves Bradford limping toward the bye week, his confidence shaken.

Steven Jackson continues to plug away, but we've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well for the Rams. The depth at receiver is indeed improved, but Bradford doesn't have any truly dynamic weapons. Quick understandably needs seasoning, but with Blackmon and Arizona's Michael Floyd challenging rookie receiving records, the Rams look bad for trading down. It's tough finding open receivers with Smith struggling at tackle, anyway.

First-round pick Michael Brockers and free-agent addition Kendall Langford upgrade the run defense, but life as an every-down defensive end is tough for Robert Quinn. The veteran outside linebackers signed as stopgaps represent only a minor upgrade from last season. Off-field issues dog Jenkins and the defense fails to meet expectations. Critics conveniently blame Gregg Williams' suspension, but the problems are more complex than that.

The Rams head into the offseason with another high draft choice, one they'll almost certainly have to invest in a playmaker of some sort.

Been getting a couple of complaints about this morning's post seeking input on the order for the Friday breakfast links. The sense among the complainers is that such a post is too frivolous and takes up time and space that could be devoted to more serious, on-field football issues.

To illustrate the way I feel about such complaints, I will now write a post about uniforms and Roman numerals.

If you've seen film from the Washington Redskins' offseason practices, you've no doubt noticed that rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III is wearing "GRIFFIN III" on the back of his jersey. You've likely not thought much about it, since that's what he wore on the back of his jersey in college. But Uni Watch tells us not only that Griffin will wear the name and numerals during the season, but that prior to this year, that would not have been permitted under NFL rules:

Near as Uni Watch can figure, this will mark the NFL's first instance of RNOB (that's short for "Roman numeral on back"; you can learn more about this and other uni-specific terms in the Uni Watch Glossary). In fact, as far as Uni Watch can tell, this will be the first case of RNOB in any of the Big Four professional leagues -- NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Yes, several college football and basketball players, including Griffin himself, have worn RNOB at the NCAA level, but never in the pros. So Griffin is breaking some serious new ground here.

Paul goes on to question whether Griffin's decision to wear the numerals has as much to do with the furthering of his personal brand as it does familial tribute, especially in light of his Adidas deal and the fact that their logo is three stripes. That's some serious Oliver Stone stuff right there, and kudos to Uni Watch for being willing to ask the tough uniform questions. I say could be, but one of the 17,000 Griffin stories to which I linked prior to the draft told of how Griffin started wearing the "III" on his jersey to honor his grandfather and that his father knew nothing about it until he saw him on the field with it on the back. So I'm not going to cast aspersions.

I also have a soft spot for these things. I've never used "Daniel Graziano III" as my byline even though that's my name, but I am proud of my numerals. They honor my father and help me remember my grandfather, and I think enough of the tradition that we named our first son Daniel IV. So I think it's cool that Griffin will wear them, and that the stodgy NFL will lighten up and allow him to.

In the same story, Paul reports that Redskins running back Roy Helu, Jr. will wear "HELU JR." on the back of his jersey this year, now that he's allowed to. I look forward to future updates on others taking advantage of this new rule.

Yeah, sorry about the Vokle chat. Sometimes our technology just doesn't do what we want it to do. There are plans in the works to try again. I hope you'll give us another shot if we try next week.

Anyway, back to the blog. As a twist on the usual Power Rankings, we had a panel of ESPN experts put together something called the NFL Future Power Rankings , basically projecting how the Power Rankings will look three years from now. It's Insider, so you have to pay to read it and I can't give it all away to you here. But if you are interested, the piece explaining how they came to their conclusions is available to everyone and is here.

Here's how the NFC East teams fared, and partial explanations for why:

3. New York Giants

Trailing only the Packers and the Patriots, the Giants got a score of 81.13 out of a possible 100, with coaching, front office and quarterback their highest-scoring categories. Here's Trent Dilfer on the quarterback in particular:

He has the baby-brother look, but Eli Manning turns 32 this season, and since his 1-6 record as a rookie, has started all 16 games in seven straight seasons. He has had his INT issues, but is an elite passer when he gets comfortable with his targets. He has many good years ahead.

7. Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback was the only place where the Eagles didn't score high, as uncertainty about Michael Vick's age (32) and future in Philly pushed them down to a 5.75 in that category. They had an overall score of 74 out of 100, buoyed but very high marks in front office, draft and coaching. Mel Kiper on their drafting:

A remarkably good draft in 2012 could shore up the defense and make the Eagles Super Bowl contenders. If Vick has any health issues, is Nick Foles the next guy in line? You never know what they'll do at that spot. But they have a system, draft very well and, at least based on my board, maintain a really strong sense of value and how to maneuver.

14. Dallas Cowboys

The highest score the Cowboys got was their 7 in quarterback, and their overall score was 62.06 out of 100. Their lowest marks were for draft and front office, and this is Gary Horton on their roster:

Age is a concern. And unless they do a good job in free agency and the draft, the talent level will drop off in the next couple of years. They should remain fairly young at WR and RB, and they seem to be rebuilding their offensive line. Defensively, they are not very young and their best playmaker of the future will be rookie CB Morris Claiborne, but a lot of replacements are needed.

20. Washington Redskins

An overall score of 56.38 out of 100, with the highest mark their 6.75 in coaching. They gave them a 6.25 for quarterback, which is generous since their current starter has never played an NFL game. But the assumption is that he'll fit in well and that he has the talent to be a franchise quarterback. Dragging the Redskins' score down the most is the 4.75 for the current roster. Here's Horton on that:

Obviously, this future will be built around rookie QB Robert Griffin III. The challenge will be to surround him with talent on both sides of the ball with limited high draft picks. Washington doesn't have a lot of young, talented guys at the offensive skill positions. The Redskins tried to upgrade the passing game in free agency and TE Fred Davis is a solid player. On defense, age is a real problem and with the exception of young edge rushers Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, upgrades will be needed.

So like I said, Insider if you want to read it all. And remember, no one's saying this is definitely how it'll all turn out -- just the way it looks to those experts' eyes from here.

Let's have a little debate, shall we? With nearly four months still to go before the games start, a good, old-fashioned quarterback debate may be just the thing to wake everybody up and get the blood going.

Now, for the purposes of this particular debate, I don't much care which quarterback you think is "better" than the other. Fact is we can't trust you guys to have an unbiased argument about that anyway. Which is fine. You're fans. You're not supposed to be unbiased. I just feel like we can turn this debate a couple of degrees and ask a different kind of question, namely:

Which quarterback is under more pressure to perform in 2012? Michael Vick or Tony Romo?

Yeah, the poll has all four listed, because that only seemed fair. But Eli Manning's a two-time Super Bowl MVP and Robert Griffin III is a rookie in charge of a rebuilding project, so I don't think either of those guys faces the same kind of pressure as Vick faces in title-starved Philadelphia or Romo faces in perpetually unsatisfied Dallas. Go ahead and vote for one of those guys if you really think he's the right answer, but in the context of 2012 only, with Manning coming off a Super Bowl win and Griffin learning the league, I think the answer to this question is between Vick and Romo.

And if you've been reading regularly, you know my pick is Vick. I don't think any quarterback in the NFL this year will be under more pressure than Vick will be. The Eagles are in a must-win situation after their high 2011 hopes flopped, and they can't afford to flop again. Not that the Cowboys can afford to flop, mind you, but I just think Vick is in a higher-pressure situation.

Vick was far more responsible for his team's 2011 flop than Romo was for his team's. Vick has not demonstrated the same kind of year-in, year-out production that Romo has, so he has less of a track record on which to stand. And fair or not, Vick is always going to be judged against his own brilliant 2010 season. A lot of the Eagles' plans last year were based on the idea that Vick could do many things no other quarterback could do, and that that gave them an edge against the other good teams in the league. He may not have to be as incredible as he was in 2010, but he's going to have to show some of that ability in order to make teams fear him and the Eagles.

Vick is in a fascinating situation. He obviously has to mature as a quarterback and a decision-maker in order for the Eagles to succeed. But he has to do so without sacrificing too much of what sets him apart, athletically, from the others who play his position. It may well be an impossible balance to strike. But Vick is being asked to do it anyway, and I think that puts him under a different kind of pressure than Romo or anyone else faces in 2012.

What do you guys think? Play nice!

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.

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Washington Redskins and why.

Trent Williams was the No. 4 pick in the 2010 NFL draft -- Mike Shanahan's first draft pick after he became the Redskins' coach. There were pre-draft questions about Williams' work ethic and focus, but the Redskins took him super-high because they saw a rare talent -- a franchise left tackle with enough athleticism, skill and technique to dominate at the position for years to come. Over the course of the 2010 season, they would see occasional flashes of brilliance, but Williams did not sustain those, and too often he struggled against the tough pass-rushers of the NFC East. In the early part of the 2011 season, he seemed to be developing greater consistency, and the Redskins began to think he would soon justify his draft position and their hopes for him.

Alas, there were injuries. And then that four-game drug suspension at the end of the year. And now Williams enters his third NFL season with a lot of those same old question marks yapping at his heels. Can he stay focused? Heck, can he stay clean? Can he take another leap forward toward or even into that elite level of which his team believes him capable? Can he project himself as a responsible leader on a young team that needs him to be among its best players? The Redskins spent four very high draft picks on Robert Griffin III as their quarterback of the future, and the protection of that investment against injury falls to Williams as much as it falls to anyone in the organization. Does Williams understand the magnitude of his responsibility?

If he gets busted for drugs again, the problems are probably not fixable. He'd be banned for a year without pay, forfeiting a tremendous amount of the money he got on a rookie deal in the final year before the implementation of the rookie wage scale. But assuming he's not going to make that same dumb mistake again, the Redskins still need more from Williams in 2012. It's not about potential anymore with Williams. It's time for him to play like one of the best in the league at his position. We've seen him do it for a game or two here and there. The Redskins need to see it for 16.

Your first reaction is "non-story." Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan came out Sunday and said top draft pick Robert Griffin III was his starting quarterback, and yeah, sure, we all already knew that. They traded three first-round picks and a second-round pick for him, and it's not as though they already had Dan Marino and Joe Montana on the roster if you know what I'm saying. So of course Griffin's the starter. They'd burn the place down if he started Rex Grossman in the opener, and Shanahan knows that.

So why is it a story? I mean, other than the fact that it's May 7? Here are three reasons I think there's value in Shanahan saying what he said Sunday:

1. The perpetual hunt for new customers. I know it's tough to imagine, but not everyone is as obsessed with sports as those of us who write about it for a living or spend huge chunks of our workdays reading NFL blogs on ESPN.com. There are people who haven't been living and dying with every RG3-related move over the past few weeks, and for whom the idea that the rookie is going to be the Redskins' starting quarterback wasn't obvious. Part of what Shanahan and the Redskins are trying to do right now, in addition to win more games and get back to the playoffs, is repair and rebuild a relationship with a fan base. There's a great deal of excitement right now in Washington about Griffin, and it makes sense to try to capitalize on that by finding ways to get the word out to potential buyers of tickets and jerseys who may have been busy paying attention to other things during the NFL offseason. Four months before the start of the season and six months before the presidential election, Shanahan grabbed himself part of a Washington, D.C., Monday morning news cycle. How many tickets will that sell? Well, it didn't cost him anything to say it, so if the answer is "one," then why not?

2. This Kirk Cousins "controversy" foolishness. Again, everyone who's been paying attention to the Redskins knows that Shanahan didn't draft Kirk Cousins in the fourth round to compete with Griffin for the starter's job. But a large part of the discussion about the Redskins last week was devoted to the idea of a potential controversy or competition involving those two players, and this was a chance for Shanahan to turn the conversation back in his preferred direction. Maybe somebody (heck, maybe Griffin!) heard all of the silly debate that went on last week about the Cousins pick and took it the wrong way. This was a chance to leave no doubt.

3. He's genuinely excited. Shanahan's famous for not revealing much, especially emotionally. But he's very much in love with his new young quarterback. And while I've preached on here many times that we're not supposed to take what these coaches and GMs say publicly at face value without asking serious questions about why they're saying it, I can promise you that Shanahan's excitement over Griffin is sincere. I believe he very much enjoyed having him on the practice field for the first time and imagining the impact Griffin's abilities can have on what he's hoping the Redskins are about to become. He was asked a question and he answered it, which is the simplest explanation for why he said what he said. But I think part of the deal is how fired up this coach is about this player.

Is Robert Griffin III's supporting cast good enough?

The Washington Redskins have made a big bet on the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Baylor, trading three first-round draft picks and a second-round pick for the right to draft him No. 2 overall last week. He has all of the makings of a star worthy of such a price, but if the Redskins want to make any real noise in the division race in 2012, he's going to need help. Washington spent big early in free agency on wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan, two dynamic young players they believe can grow and develop along with Griffin in Mike Shanahan's offense. But they didn't do much to make immediate improvements to the offensive line. And with Tim Hightower still unsigned, the running game looks a bit short. Griffin's short-term success could ride on the ability of a lot of returning Redskins players to take the next step in their own development.

There are good-looking pieces in place, to be sure. Left tackle Trent Williams, the No. 4 pick in the 2010 draft, returns from his drug suspension to reclaim his spot as the anchor of the line. The Redskins hope that he and tight end Fred Davis, who was the team's best receiver last year but lost those same final four games to a drug suspension as well, have learned their lesson and will be strengths of the offense (rather than ongoing concerns) from now on. Veteran receiver Santana Moss remains on the roster and should be a help to Garcon and Morgan as they work their way into the system. Even Rex Grossman, last year's 20-interception starting quarterback, should be an asset to Griffin, because Grossman understands the offense very well and will be an effective tutor for the rookie as long as Griffin tunes out the parts about throwing the ball to the wrong team.

The Redskins believed they had one of the league's better defenses in 2011, and up front they do appear to be very strong, especially if promising second-year lineman Jarvis Jenkins is recovered from the injury that cost him his rookie season and ageless linebacker London Fletcher continues to perform at his extremely high level. There are questions in the secondary -- both at cornerback and at safety -- that the Redskins hope quantity and competition sort out in training camp, but overall the defense should be solid. The questions are on offense, where a rookie quarterback for whom expectations are high will need his supporting cast to be reliable if the Redskins are to take a step forward and have an outside chance at a playoff spot. In all likelihood, this is another year in the rebuilding process, and what the Redskins and their fans want to see is a clear step in the right direction. For that to happen, the pieces around Griffin will have to do everything they can to make him look as good as possible.

The big news today in the NFL is, once again, out of New Orleans, where two current Saints defensive players and two former ones have been suspended for their alleged role in the Saints' bounty programs. Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the entire season and defensive lineman Will Smith has been suspended for the first four games. Former Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, who was in camp with the Philadelphia Eagles last year and is now with the Packers, is suspended for eight games, and former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita (now with the Browns) is suspended for three.

This all assumes that these suspensions hold up, and we have yet to hear from the NFLPA, which has been arguing for weeks that the league had insufficient evidence to support claims that the players were complicit in administering the bounty programs or that they acted on bounty offers during the games in question. But assuming Vilma and Smith are suspended at all, that's a nice little break for the Washington Redskins and rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who are scheduled to open the 2012 regular season against the Saints in New Orleans on Sept. 9. While a road game in New Orleans remains a difficult challenge for anyone, especially a rookie quarterback, the Saints' defense obviously becomes somewhat less fearsome if Vilma and Smith aren't on the field.

The other three teams in the NFC East also play the Saints this year, though all are scheduled to do so after Smith's suspension expires. The Eagles open their season Sept. 9 in Cleveland against the Browns, who will be without Fujita if his suspension is upheld.

When the 2012 NFL draft had ended, the St. Louis Rams had parlayed the second overall choice into six choices: the 14th, 39th, 50th and 150th picks this year, plus first-round selections in 2013 and 2014.

That was the net result of trades made before and during the draft.

These were good trades for the Rams, in my view. More on that in a bit. First, some details as a companion to the earlier item on the San Francisco 49ers' wheeling and dealing.

The Rams began by sending the second overall choice to Washington for the sixth and 39th picks, plus first-rounders in 2013 and 2014. They traded the sixth pick to Dallas for the 14th and 45th picks. St. Louis traded the 45th pick to Chicago for the 50th and 150th selections.

The Rams could wind up selecting six players, including three in the first round, for the price of the second overall pick, which Washington used for Robert Griffin III, a player St. Louis would not have drafted anyway.

That seems like a worthwhile exchange for the Rams, who already had a quarterback and needed help at lots of positions. I'd set aside what the Redskins think of the deal. Their motives were irrelevant to the Rams. Price won't matter to them if Griffin III becomes a franchise quarterback.

While the Redskins drafted Griffin second overall, the Rams used the Redskins' second-round choice for cornerback Janoris Jenkins (39th overall). The picks acquired from the Cowboys and Bears allowed St. Louis to draft defensive tackle Michael Brockers (14th overall), running back Isaiah Pead (50th) and guard Rokevious Watkins (150th).

The Rams still have the two future first-rounders, of course.

Using the draft-value chart, the Rams sent to the Redskins a pick worth 2,600 points. They ultimately received picks totaling 2,041.4 points this year, plus whatever the 2013 and 2014 first-rounders are worth. The draft-value chart says those picks were worth the difference between 2,600 and 2,041.4, which is 558.6 points, or roughly what the 34th overall choice was worth this year.

Would the Rams have agreed to trade the 34th pick for two future first-rounders? Of course they would have made that trade.

Given that St. Louis has its quarterback, a new head coach, multiple needs and a long-range outlook, the team would naturally value those two first-rounders in the future. The Rams wound up drafting six of the first 96 players selected this year, including three in the second round, so short-term needs were met as well.

The chart shows what the Rams traded and what they received in return. I've underlined the picks St. Louis owned originally and retained ultimately. Those picks account for the net exchange.

» NFC draft analysis: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South


The only NFC East team that didn't trade up in the first round is the one that just won the Super Bowl. That gives you a sense of how hungry the division's other three teams are to catch the New York Giants and take their shot at the Lombardi Trophy they were holding up in Indianapolis a few months ago.

The Washington Redskins made their trade-up a month early, dealing away three first-round picks and this year's second-rounder in order to secure the man they believe will be their franchise quarterback. The Dallas Cowboys made theirs Thursday night, when they decided it was worth spending their first- and second-round picks this year to secure the best defensive player in the draft. And the Eagles made theirs a short time later, when the defensive tackle they wanted, Fletcher Cox, fell further than they expected him to fall and the price to move up and get him became reasonable.

But after the top half of the first round, the NFC East teams' drafts went very different ways. The Cowboys, in need of 2012 help at various places on the roster, oddly began picking project players and unknown safeties. The Redskins made some head-scratchers in the middle rounds before getting workmanlike about their offensive line late. And the Eagles had one of those drafts where everything seemed to be falling their way. Time will tell, of course, and there's no way right now to know how any of these players will perform. But here are some thoughts on how it looks in the very early post-draft light.

BEST MOVE

Washington's trade to get quarterback Robert Griffin III and Dallas' trade to get Morris Claiborne were the headline-grabbers, and I believe that each team will be happy with its first-round pick. But the four high picks the Redskins gave up and the two high picks the Cowboys gave up keep me from labeling either of these the division's "best move" from this year's draft. Washington doesn't have another first-rounder until 2015. And Dallas, which needed help at multiple positions, spent its first two picks on a position they'd already addressed at great cost in free agency. Not enough value in either deal for it to be called a shrewd move.

So I'm giving this to the Eagles' deal to move up and get Cox. Philadelphia arrived at the draft Thursday convinced Cox was the player they wanted, and they believed they might have to move up to No. 6 or 7 to get him. To do that, they likely would have had to surrender at least one of their second-round picks, and they didn't want to pay either of those or their third. Once Cox fell to No. 12, the Eagles were able to move up by surrendering their first-rounder, a fourth-rounder and a seventh-rounder, securing the player they felt was their top target without giving up the picks they wanted to preserve. So while, yes, of course, I consider Griffin and Claiborne better players, I think the Eagles made the best first-round move of any NFC East team -- getting a player who can make a difference for them in the short-term as well as the long-term without handicapping themselves for the draft's second night.

On Friday, the Eagles converted their two second-round picks into a speedy outside linebacker (Mychal Kendricks) and a pass-rushing defensive end (Vinny Curry) and took the quarterback prospect they wanted (Nick Foles) in the third round. That Day 2 haul, compared with what the Cowboys and Redskins were able to get with their Day 2 picks, is what made the Eagles' trade-up the best overall move of the draft in the NFC East.

RISKIEST MOVE

This is a close contest between the two moves that lost out in the first category. It'd be easy to say Griffin, because he cost so much more. But I'm giving this to the Cowboys' trade-up to get Claiborne. It's a tough call, because I think Claiborne may be the best player any NFC East team got in this draft (barely, if at all, ahead of Griffin) and he cost less than Griffin did. But I'm basing this call on the circumstances specific to each team.

The Redskins are taking a big risk, sure, by picking a kid to be their franchise quarterback and telling him they don't have a first-round pick in either of the next two years with which to build around him. But the Redskins had no choice. Their need for Griffin was overwhelming, and they were right to let it overwhelm their priority list for this draft and the next two. Washington hasn't had a franchise quarterback in 20 years, and once they were convinced Griffin could be one, this was a risk worth taking for them.

I do not think, however, that Dallas' need for Claiborne was nearly as great as Washington's need for Griffin. Yes, the Cowboys' secondary was the obvious weak spot of their team last year -- the main reason they fell one game short of the Giants in the division race. But they'd already spent their big free-agent bucks on Brandon Carr and had Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick at cornerback. Does Claiborne have a good chance to be better than any of them? Yes. Could that happen as early as this year? You betcha. But with needs at safety, linebacker, defensive line and offensive line, the Cowboys should have conserved their picks to address multiple needs. They weren't one great cornerback away from being a championship team in 2012, and by trading their top two picks for Claiborne, and then picking project players and reaches the rest of the way, they decided to operate as though that were the case. It's a big risk, and if lingering weaknesses at those other spots do them in this season, they could regret it.

MOST SURPRISING MOVE

Without a doubt, it was the Redskins' selection of Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins with the seventh pick of the fourth round Saturday. It was Washington's third pick of the draft and the second that had been used on a quarterback. Their reasoning is that quarterback is a vitally important position at which it's impossible to be too deep, and as long as they make it clear to the players involved and to their fan base that Griffin is the starter and Cousins is the backup, it can work. They can develop Cousins in the backup role, have a player they like in reserve in case Griffin gets hurt and perhaps eventually trade him for something of great value in a league in which quarterbacks are the most prized commodities.

FILE IT AWAY

Nobody in this division does the draft better than the Giants, and it'll be worth remembering that the wide receiver (LSU's Rueben Randle) they picked at the end of the second round was a player they considered taking at the end of the first. Randle is a dynamic talent who now gets a chance to develop behind brilliant and selfless starting wideouts Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz and with the help of quarterback Eli Manning, who has an outstanding record of getting the best out of his receiving targets. Randle could not have been drafted into a better spot for his own development, and he could potentially be an immediate asset for the Giants in the passing game, because he can play the outside spot vacated by free-agent defector Mario Manningham and allow Cruz to stay in the slot position from which he exploded onto the scene in 2011. The Giants managed to combine need picks and value picks at almost every turn in this draft, and their second-rounder may turn out to be their biggest prize.

Once the Washington Redskins used two of their first four picks in this year's NFL draft on quarterbacks, you had to figure ol' John Beck was in trouble, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Beck has indeed been released.

Beck was a competitor for the Redskins' starting quarterback job last summer in training camp, losing out to Rex Grossman. He started three games in the middle of the 2011 season due to Grossman's interception problems, but the Redskins lost those three games by a combined score of 75-31, and Beck lost the job to Grossman once again.

With Grossman re-signed to a one-year contract and the Redskins having drafted Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins so far in this draft, there was no more room for Beck, a nice guy who didn't have what it took and likely will live as a sad punchline in the memory of Redskins fans.

Offensive line is where the Washington Redskins' focus needs to be at this point, and with the sixth pick in the fifth round of the draft (No. 141 overall), they just took Iowa guard Adam Gettis, who fits in very nicely with what they look for on the offensive line.

Gettis' issue (i.e., the thing that drops him into the fifth round) is size. He's 6-foot-2 and 293 pounds, and he played at around 280 in 2010 at Iowa before bulking up last year and prior to the combine. But he's extremely quick, fast and athletic, with the kind of nimble feet and sound on-the-move blocking technique the Redskins need for their zone-blocking run scheme.

If Kory Lichtensteiger isn't fully recovered from last year's injury, and if Gettis picks up the offense and its terminology quickly, there's a chance he could emerge as a challenger for a starting guard spot in 2012. If not, he could pick up playing time as the year goes on and certainly beyond this year as a blocker for new quarterback Robert Griffin III. The Redskins' ideal offensive guard would be a guy who's exactly like Gettis but a little bit bigger.