2012 NFL Draft: Washington Redskins Make Big Mistake Snagging QB in Round 4

The Washington Redskins have had a stellar 2012 NFL Draft so far—considering they drafted Robert Griffin III out of Baylor with No. 2 overall—but they made a big mistake by drafting MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.

Was this really necessary?

The RGIII era of Redskins' football is undoubtedly going to be exciting. He's by far the best quarterback Washington has had in years, and some even feel that he'll be a better overall quarterback than No. 1 pick Andrew Luck.

Snagging Griffin III plus the free agent acquisitions of wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan makes this team significantly better offensively. The prognosis of the Redskins' chances of success are through the roof compared to last year. But, they still aren't in the position to make luxury picks.

Make no mistake about it, drafting a backup quarterback in the fourth round is a luxury pick for a team that is trying to build around a rookie quarterback.

Are the Redskins already good enough that they can take two quarterbacks in the same draft? This was just two Redskin picks apart from RGII mind you.

This leads us back to the old discussion about picking for need versus taking the best player available on your board. This was obviously a best player available pick by Washington.

Did they need a backup quarterback? The answer is a simple, logical no.

Consider that they already have Rex Grossman—a capable, veteran backup if anything—and I highly doubt they'll be bringing in Cousins to compete with RGIII for the starting job.

This was an instance where picking for need—yes they still have needs—over best player available would have been the smarter thing to do.

The Redskins made a mistake here. Hopefully it won't be that regrettable.