After the 2014 season the Washington Redskins chose not to re-sign outside linebacker Brian Orakpo. So moving forward they needed to ensure that they had an adequate replacement for him opposite Ryan Kerrigan.
They already had second-year man Trent Murphy on the roster and they also signed Junior Galette as a free agent. However general manager Scot McCloughan had to make sure that he had more than adequate pass rushing on the team for the 2015 season.
In the 2015 NFL draft he took outside linebacker Preston Smith in the second round.