NFL Draft 2012: 3 Reasons Washington Redskins Must Trade Up for RGIII

The Washington Redskins will be looking to address the quarterback position during the 2012 NFL Draft. How they address it will reveal a lot about the franchise.

After Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III is widely considered to be the best available quarterback prospect. His versatility and play-making ability will be sought by a number of teams.

Realistically, the Redskins have two options to obtain him. They can sit patiently with the sixth overall pick and hope that no one selects the Heisman-winning quarterback, or they can package that selection and move up on the draft board.

Here are three reasons why they should move up.

Divisional Competition

There are four Pro-Bowl quarterbacks in the NFC East: Tony Romo, Vince Young, Michael Vick, and Eli Manning. The Redskins are the only team in that division without one.

To give themselves a shot to compete, the Redskins need a new leader. Robert Griffin III should be that leader.

The Heisman Trophy winner led Baylor to back-to-back winning seasons. For his career, he threw for 10,366 yards and 78 passing touchdowns. He completed  67 percent of his passes and threw only 17 interceptions.

The way Griffin takes care of the ball is something current Washington quarterbacks should learn to emulate.

RG III finished college with a 4.58:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while Rex Grossman and John Beck both finished their seasons with more interceptions than touchdowns.

In the Alamo Bowl, the last game of his career, the Baylor product proved the type of player he truly is.

In a game that featured 123 points and 1,397 yards of offense, Griffin accounted for only one passing touchdown and one rushing score. However, his ability to lead the offense and maintain drives were on full display.

In a game with that kind of scoring pace, it’s important to focus on composure and discipline.

By not turning the ball over, Griffin was able to match the offensive output of the Washington Huskies and secure a victory for his team.

Due to his gunslinger mentality, Grossman would struggle in this kind of atmosphere as he tries to separate his emotions from logic.

Stability

Head coach Mike Shanahan didn’t name Rex Grossman as the starting quarterback until the final week before the season opener.

If drafted, Griffin should start each season opener for the next decade.

This is crucial for an offense that battled injuries along the offensive line and lacks playmakers at the wide receiver position.

By holding an open competition for the position in training camp, the Redskins were forced to split reps between Beck and Grossman.

This means that the offensive line had to adjust to two cadences and the wide receivers had to establish timing with two quarterbacks.

After an already shortened offseason due to the lockout, this crippled the Redskins. The results were not pretty.

After finishing 9-for-22 for 143 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions in a Week 6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Shanahan decided to bench Grossman in favor of Beck.

Washington lost in all three of Beck’s starts —forcing Shanahan to make the switch back.

The combination of both quarterbacks led the Redskins to an average of 18 points per game, which ranked 26^th in the league, and their 28 touchdowns ranked 27^th.

While they’re not considered as dangerous through the air, Beck and Grossman don’t pose as threats on the ground either.

Ever since suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2007, Grossman has not possessed the same scrambling ability he once had—evident in this season’s 20 rush attempts that totaled 11 yards.

This is an element of Griffin’s game that cannot be taught.

With 1,334 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns in the past two seasons, Griffin adds a dimension to a rushing attack that averaged just more than 100 yards per game and ranked 25^th overall.

As the best dual-threat quarterback in this year’s draft, RG III has even received comparisons to Michael Vick.

The Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns find themselves in a situation that is comparable to the Redskins. However, they are in a better position to fix it.

In fact, they are two positions better.

In the AFC North, the Browns play six divisional games against quarterbacks with playoff experience. 

If Cleveland decides to let Peyton Hillis hit free agency, the team could look at Alabama running back Trent Richardson with the fourth overall pick.

If they bring Hillis back, RG III’s skill-set may be too good to pass up.

Although McCoy only has 21 games of experience and is still early in his development , if the Browns believe in Griffin, look for head coach Pat Shurmur to count his losses with McCoy and decide to pursue Griffin.

As a former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Shurmur has insight into what he wants in a franchise signal-caller.

With only an extra fourth-round draft pick, the Redskins cannot afford to risk another season at the hands of Grossman, Beck, or another rookie prospect.

Since it is unlikely that the St. Louis Rams or Minnesota Vikings will spend the second or third overall pick on a quarterback, Washington’s best chance is to play it safe and trade up to draft Griffin—who would start from day one.