Who are the Redskins picking?
We are in the middle of this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, and things will change after it’s over. The QBs, WRs, and TEs are working out today, and things always change after the Underwear Olympics. All three positions will be needs for the Redskins this year.
Duke QB Daniel Jones remains the current favorite from this year’s underwhelming class. There is also some Drew Lock, and Kyler Murray love in this week’s roundup including a trade up to #5 for Lock. And DraftTek has the the Redskins trading their second round pick and a 2020 pick to the Cardinals for QB Josh Rosen and Arizona taking Murray #1 overall.
Should the Redskins draft a QB in the 1st round? Should they even consider trading up for any of this year’s QBs? Which non-QB will help the Redskins most this year?
Daniel Jones, QB, Duke
One should never underestimate Washington head coach Jay Gruden’s ability to take mediocre quarterbacks and coach them up to their best level of performance, but with Alex Smith most likely missing a large chunk (if not all) of the 2019 season due to injury, a full season of Colt McCoy isn’t going to cut it. Perhaps the team will test the waters on a mid-level free agent, but the best path would be to select a young quarterback for the future. Jones isn’t yet a perfect passer, but he shows a lot of potential as a ball-distributor in a West Coast-style offense, which is exactly where Gruden situates.
Same as last week. The Redskins have needs at every offensive skill position but with Alex Smith still recovering from a broken leg and backup Colt McCoy with a year left on his deal, addressing depth at quarterback is paramount. Jones is a David Cutcliffe product, and he looks the part. There are questions about his accuracy but he played behind a suspect offensive line at Duke and didn’t have the downfield playmakers of, say, Haskins, Lock and Murray.
Washington has pretty much nothing at quarterback right now thanks to the devastating injury Alex Smith suffered last season, so the franchise takes a chance on Jones becoming its quarterback of the future. Jay Gruden did strong work with Smith and Kirk Cousins, and can hopefully do the same with Jones.
The Washington Redskins have a lot of issues when it comes to the roster, but no bigger issue than the one they have at quarterback. Prior to the 2018 NFL season, the team traded with the Kansas City Chiefs for Alex Smith, who was deemed expendable due to the fact the Chiefs wanted to roll with second-year signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.
Smith did well to start the season for the Redskins, leading them to first place in the NFC East, before disaster struck against the Houston Texans. The Texans pretty much mangled Smith’s leg, tearing his knee up, and not only sidelining him for the rest of the 2018 NFL season, but at least the 2019 season as well.
Heading into next season, the Redskins have to figure out what they are going to do with the quarterback position, and they may want to replace Smith via the NFL Draft. There are a handful of quarterbacks that should hear their name called in the first round, and Daniel Jones from Duke certainly has the arm, and size you look for in a franchise quarterback.
Washington has some solid talent on both sides of the ball, but as we saw last season, they cannot win consistent games without a solid player under center. Jones is a guy who come right in and start at the NFL level, because if the Redskins have to trot out guys like Josh Johnson and Mark Sanchez again in 2019, it is going to be a long year.
The Washington Redskins have a lot of issues when it comes to the roster, but no bigger issue than the one they have at quarterback. Prior to the 2018 NFL season, the team traded with the Kansas City Chiefs for Alex Smith, who was deemed expendable due to the fact the Chiefs wanted to roll with second-year signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.
Smith did well to start the season for the Redskins, leading them to first place in the NFC East, before disaster struck against the Houston Texans. The Texans pretty much mangled Smith’s leg, tearing his knee up, and not only sidelining him for the rest of the 2018 NFL season, but at least the 2019 season as well.
Heading into next season, the Redskins have to figure out what they are going to do with the quarterback position, and they may want to replace Smith via the NFL Draft. There are a handful of quarterbacks that should hear their name called in the first round, and Daniel Jones from Duke certainly has the arm, and size you look for in a franchise quarterback.
Washington has some solid talent on both sides of the ball, but as we saw last season, they cannot win consistent games without a solid player under center. Jones is a guy who come right in and start at the NFL level, because if the Redskins have to trot out guys like Josh Johnson and Mark Sanchez again in 2019, it is going to be a long year.
The Redskins apparently expect Alex Smith to miss the 2019 season. Jones should grade well in team interviews. Throwing well during workouts could cement his spot in the first round.
Round 2: N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizoa State
Harry has as much to gain from a strong combine as any player in the class. Even if he doesn’t run well, though, his size and strong hands should make him a regular threat at the next level.
Round 3: Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia
Thornhill is an experienced and versatile player who could step into a starting free safety role for Washington.
Ben Powers, G, Oklahoma
Powers could step into the left guard spot if multiple veteran free-agent linemen go elsewhere in the spring.
Offseason needs: Quarterback, wide receiver, safety, guard
This is probably too high for Jones, but desperate teams reach for quarterbacks. Jones is a solid player in the same way that someone like Kirk Cousins is. Nothing about his game is flashy, but he’s dependable.
Round 2: A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss
Round 3: Michael Deiter, OL, Wisconsin
Mike Bell, S, Fresno State
It’s hard to imagine Alex Smith being ready to play at any point in 2019, and there’s nothing currently on the roster that screams starting-caliber NFL quarterback. If they can manage to land a raw but promising passer like Jones without sacrificing additional picks to trade up for him, it would be a huge win.
Round 2: Riley Ridley, WR, Georgia
Round 3: Michael Jackson, CB, Miami (FL)
Khalil Hodge, LB, Buffalo
Everyone saw what happened after the Alex Smith injury...yikes.
Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
The Redskins are a team -- with a front office and coaching staff -- in dire need of an infusion of excitement. The Murray-Robert Griffin III comparisons would represent the low-hanging fruit here, but Murray is a more polished pocket passer than RG3 was, and he can work underneath routes in Jay Gruden’s West Coast Offense. I think the Murray hype train goes full steam ahead after the combine.
I kept him in this spot from my first mock because they have to address quarterback. Why not take a chance on an electrifying young player?
Kyler Murray is a sure-fire, can’t-miss quarterback prospect.
As long as you ignore the fact that he will be the shortest and smallest quarterback drafted since Pro Football Reference started collecting combine results.
And the fact that he was locked into playing major league baseball less than two months ago.
And the fact that he mumbled and stalled like Shoegaze Hamlet when asked whether he would play baseball or football during what should have been a triumphant Radio Row speaking tour.
And the loud murmurs that his father is going full V-22 Ospery helicopter parent, talk which was backed up by Murray’s mumblecore behavior.
And the fact that he was a one-year starter in the playground-like Big-12, the perfect environment for making a speedy guy with a good fastball look great despite significant (ahem) shortcomings.
Murray is fun to pound the table for in internet arguments, because folks like us don’t lose money or our jobs if he turns into a bust, injury case or outfielder. But it takes a special kind of general manager to invest first-round resources in an outlier like Murray, one that’s either willing to slalom through lots of yellow flags on the courage of his conviction or blithely play a hunch because he needs a quarterback and knows he can blame his mistakes on someone else.
Enter Washington’s Bruce Allen, who thinks he’s the courage-of-convictions guy but is really the play-the-hunch guy.
Assuming Murray measures out to be at least as big as your typical middle school small forward and can look GMs in the eye and say “I’m passionate about football” without needing cue cards this week, he has the on-field tools to develop into a cross between Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson. And Washington certainly needs a quarterback with Alex Smith’s professional future in doubt.
Yep, Murray could make just as big a splash in Washington as undersized Big-12 megastar Robert Griffin III did in 2012.
Try not to think about how that turned out.
Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
Redskins get No. 5 for No. 15, 97, 2020 2nd
If Washington isn’t able to give Nick Foles what he wants, they’ll have to do something else about the QB position. Here, they package the best of their four compensatory picks with a future second-rounder to move up 10 spots and grab Lock, who could wind up being the best QB in this class if he lives up to his potential.
Jon Gruden had Lock on his team in the Senior Bowl for a week, but I’d think the fit in Washington with Jon’s brother, Jay, might be an even better one. Offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, senior offensive assistant Matt Cavanaugh, Gruden, and offensive line coach Bill Callahan would all be tremendous assets for a young quarterback. With the team’s future unknown at the position, scooping up a talented thrower like Lock this late in the first round could be a major score.
Montez Sweat, EDGE, Miss. State
They’d love a quarterback, but with the big three off the board already, they look to add another capable pass rusher to pair with Ryan Kerrigan. With 22.5 sacks over the past two seasons, Sweat can be that guy.
Washington receives Josh Rosen from Arizona in exchange for their 2019 RD2 pick, and a pick in 2020.
Round 3: Darnell Savage, JR, S, Maryland
Tre Lamar, ILB, Clemson
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