2012 NFL Draft: How Robert Griffin III to the Redskins Would Shake Up the Draft

All along I have said the Browns have the most immediate ammunition for Robert Griffin III while the Redskins might be crazy enough offer a deal the Rams they could not refuse.

Now that the latter has come to frution--Washington has traded 2012, '13 and '14 first round picks along with this year's second rounder--the draft has a more distinct shape for the top quarterbacks.

In previous mock drafts I assumed that Cleveland would land RG3, sending Ryan Tannehill to the D.C. area with the sixth pick. With Washington trading up, Cleveland is left with the fourth and 22nd picks in the first round.

Would they be bold enough to pick Tannehill with the fourth pick? I do not believe so. 

Tannehill was already a bit of a reach with the sixth pick. Putting him in the top five puts the pressure on the Browns to start him straight away, and many believe the former Aggie needs some NFL seasoning before he is ready to start.

Cleveland General Manager Tom Heckert sounded like a guy who was not married to the idea of trading up for Griffin–perhaps he found out the kind of compensation the Rams were seeking and balked–nor did he want to get into the Peyton Manning or Matt Flynn sweepstakes.

In fact, he sounded very much like a guy who was interested in Brandon Weeden while sticking with Colt McCoy in the short term.

Assuming the Browns forgo drafting Ryan Tannehill with the fourth pick and there are no moves up to get him, that leaves him dropping to the Miami Dolphins at no. 8.

Is he a possibility for Miami there?

Whether or not the Dolphins strike gold in free agency with Manning or (potentially) fool's gold with Flynn, Tannehill became a distinct possibility for Miami the second Washington pulled the trigger for Griffin. 

If Miami signs Manning, Tannehill becomes his Padawan learner. If they sign Flynn, the Texas A&M product will be given every opportunity to win the job.

Should Miami not be interested in Tannehill, however, the other potential landing spots are with Kansas City at 11 or Seattle at 12. Both are heavily tied to the Manning free agency saga meaning both are interested at upgrading at quarterback.

The further Tannehill slides down, the more time he should have to develop, as those teams have NFL-capable quarterbacks to hold down the fort in Matt Cassel and Tarvaris Jackson respectively. Neither of those will win them a championship, but odds are neither would Tannehill.

If he should make it past those clubs, however unlikely, he could have a precipitous fall down the draft.

An interesting byproduct of all this is Brandon Weeden may have just jumped into the first round.

As I alluded to earlier, Heckert could be enamored with the former Oklahoma State quarterback. Some scouts say that he would be a top-15 pick were it not for his age–he will be turning 29 midseason. If Heckert really likes Weeden, he becomes a very real possibility for Cleveland with the 22nd pick.