2015 Is the Wrong Year for Washington Redskins to Draft Another Quarterback
If the Marcus Mariota to Washington talk isn't going to go away, it's up to the Redskins to distance themselves from the idea of drafting another quarterback. This isn't the year for a franchise with a miserable recent record selecting signal-callers to draft another one.
First, there's the noise factor to consider. Specifically, there's just been too much noise surrounding the situation under center in D.C. It's been that way ever since Washington dipped into the vaults at Fort Knox to trade up and draft Robert Griffin III in 2012.
Since then, health updates, quarterback-coach relationships and scheme fits have dominated every offseason. Those questions have also dominated every regular season, for that matter.
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For once, it needs to be "oh so quiet" around the Redskins' quarterback depth chart. It's easy to believe that's what the team was going for when head coach Jay Gruden named Griffin his starter back in February, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post.
Zac Boyer of The Washington Times saw the move as a necessary, albeit perhaps temporary, olive branch from the coach: "Adding a highly regarded rookie quarterback, then, would disrupt the peace that Gruden has worked so hard to craft in recent months."
Surely that was a call designed to make sure the starting quarterback job wouldn't be a question that follows Gruden and new general manager Scot McCloughan around all offseason, through free agency and the draft.
But just for a moment, consider the volume of questions that would arise from Mariota's arrival at Redskins Park. Think of the column inches filled dissecting what it means for Griffin, for Gruden, for McCloughan, for the Burgundy and Gold's future.
As a writer who is compensated to analyze this team, let me say, please, please no.
Yet more important than driving a scribe or two out of their minds, the questions inherent in Mariota's potential arrival are deeply troubling. In particular, why take another read-option quarterback for a coach who doesn't like that system and wants to confine his passer of choice to the pocket?
That would simply be repeating bad history. Gruden was hired to turn around Griffin's game, even though that game depended on attributes the coach doesn't believe are vital or desired assets for a competent quarterback.
Did it really surprise anybody when tension and friction soon became obvious between coach and quarterback? The ugly public spat between the pair in 2014, most notable for the coach's ill-advised public evisceration of Griffin's skills or lack thereof, is just a drop in the ocean compared to the negative news cycle surrounding a Mariota-Griffin-Gruden triangle.
That triangle could soon morph into a fatal, four-pronged standoff involving the new GM. McCloughan may not account for, or even care, about Gruden's dislike of read-option quarterbacks if Mariota drops to him on draft day.
B/R Insider Jason Cole believes the interest from D.C. is real. So McCloughan making that call is a possibility that can't be ignored:
The highly regarded team-builder has already indicated he won't hesitate to go quarterback in Round 1 if the best available player on his board is at that position, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post:
"But, just because it’s a quarterback sitting there at 5, and say it is, and that’s the best available player, then we’re going with it. You can never have enough. I was in Green Bay where we had Brett Favre, who won three MVPs in a row, and every year, we drafted a Matt Hasselbeck, an Aaron Brooks, and not that early, but still took quarterbacks.
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Remember, it was McCloughan who drafted Alex Smith first overall in 2005 for the San Francisco 49ers, notably ahead of Aaron Rodgers (In Scot we trust). Sarcasm and the smugness of hindsight aside, Smith tellingly arrived with ample experience playing in a read-option, spread-style scheme from his days at Utah.
So McCloughan may not balk at the idea of drafting Mariota, a dual-threat quarterback who "took only five snaps under center this past season," per Boyer. That really would be a case of a GM picking the players he wants and ordering his coach to go coach.
Of course, at its most basic level, that's how the GM-coach relationship is supposed to work. But success comes from those that involve plenty of consultation between the two men building a roster, who hopefully find themselves on the same page more often than not.
That wouldn't be the case if McCloughan goes ahead and uses a top-five pick on Mariota. B/R's Mike Tanier recently wrote, in only semi-tongue-in-cheek terms: "Gruden should be forced to update his relationship status with Griffin twice per week during the offseason."
Imagine what the status updates would look like if they have to include not only Gruden and Griffin, but Gruden and McCloughan, as well as Griffin and Mariota.
There's been far too much attention on this team's quarterback situation already. So much so that every other aspect of the team becomes secondary, a very unhealthy imbalance.
It's almost as if regular-season games become annoying disruptions to the cycle of palace intrigue. But this is a football team trying to be a winner, not a gossip columnist's favorite friend.
Drafting a quarterback fifth overall should net Washington a sure thing, a guaranteed Day 1 starter, instead of someone merely competing with Griffin for starting reps.
But no sure thing is possible with Mariota, not when questions linger over his readiness for pro-style offenses. Gruden might not think that's a problem, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post:
"Obviously, he can run the spread offense and run the zone reads, but when you have a guy that’s that athletic and you try to taper your system to run some more zone reads, you want to protect him, too. Eventually, he’s going to have to be a pocket passer, and I think he can do that. he’s got a very accurate arm, a quick release, good fundamental footwork in the pocket, so I think he’s got a chance to do just about everything in the pocket.
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The key phrases there are "try to taper your system" and "eventually, he's going to be a pocket passer." Both imply inevitable growing pains as coach and quarterback adjust to one another.
The Redskins should have had enough of those by now. The fifth overall pick is too high a price to pay to ask a quarterback to change the way he's played all his life.
Doing that would be repeating the bad history that gave away the farm for Griffin. It would be reaching in the draft.
That's an issue under the spotlight as McCloughan prepares to make his first batch of picks for the Redskins. There's a division between those who believe in drafting for need and those who champion the "best player available" philosophy to ensure talent and avoid reaching for need.
McCloughan favors the latter approach, according to ESPN's John Keim. Perhaps that's understandable considering Washington's handling of the quarterback situation is a cautionary tale against reaching for need.
That's just what the Redskins did when they dealt away two first-round picks and a second-rounder to select Griffin in 2012. In fact, that's been the pattern of Washington's attempts to find the right man under center since 2000, per FootballPerspective.com's Chase Stuart (h/t Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler):
"The Lions have spent the most, 78.4 draft value points, followed by the Jaguars, Raiders, Falcons, and Redskins, who have spent 69.4 draft value points on quarterbacks since 2000. In return, Washington has obtained Todd Husak, Sage Rosenfels, Patrick Ramsey, Gibran Hamdan, Jason Campbell, Jordan Palmer, Colt Brennan, Kirk Cousins, and Robert Griffin III.
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Tandler also adds to Stuart's figures by referencing what Washington has given away in trades for various quarterbacks. Here's a breakdown:
| 2003 | Mark Brunell | 2004 third-round pick |
| 2005 | Jason Campbell | 2005 third-round pick, plus 2006 first- and fourth-round picks |
| 2010 | Donovan McNabb | 2010 second-round pick, plus 2010 fourth-round pick |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin III | 2012 sixth overall pick, 2012 second-round pick, 2013 first-round pick (22nd), 2014 first-round pick (2nd) |
Not all of those were obvious reaches, but the deals show the cost of pursuing a quarterback ahead of schedule. That's certainly what happened with Griffin.
He was a reach because the deal to land him set the ex-Baylor star up as the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle, the one and only difference between losing and sustained winning. At face value, that view was justified when Griffin led Washington to an NFC East title and the playoffs as a rookie.
Had he not suffered major leg injuries and fallen out with Mike and Kyle Shanahan, perhaps 2012's trade would be written about as one of football's greatest bold moves.
That's the surface view at least. But the reality is even though Griffin's read-option skills took the NFL by storm, the Redskins were far from just a quarterback short of being a truly consistent contender.
The offensive line, was still shaky, while every area of the defense was suspect, particularly the secondary. The more things change, the more they stay the same, apparently.
Mariota would enter a similar situation if he was taken off the board by McCloughan. This team still needs secondary help. It still needs improved blocking up front. It still needs more big plays defensively.
The smarter move is to wait a year and continuing building around the quarterback position in the meantime. That way, if the Redskins still need a quarterback a year from now, that triggerman would enter a team strong enough to support a rookie passer.
Gruden has experience with how quickly this formula can work. It's the same dynamic Andy Dalton entered when the Cincinnati Bengals snagged him in the second round in 2011.
The Bengals may have slipped to 4-12 in 2010, but they'd been AFC North champions in 2009. The basis of that team was still in place.
Namely, Cincy boasted a strong defense, a solid O-line and a powerful running game. They even put a go-to weapon in place for Dalton by drafting wide receiver A.J. Green one round earlier.
No wonder then that Dalton has taken the Bengals to the playoffs in each of his four pro seasons.
Gruden, who was Cincy's offensive coordinator at the time, got to work with a rookie on a team already solid at its key points, a team able to support a first-year signal-caller's growing pains.
That's the dynamic the Redskins should have ready and waiting before they draft another quarterback to start. It makes sense to give a defense, refreshed both schematically and in terms of personnel, the chance to prove itself.
It makes sense to let new line coach Bill Callahan work some magic with an offensive front hopefully fortified at some point during this draft. Then this team will be ready for a new quarterback.
The Redskins have given themselves a year's leeway by keeping Griffin and Kirk Cousins in the fold, along with bringing back Colt McCoy. One of that trio should be able to get Washington back to respectable parity, the necessary first step in this big a rebuilding job, provided McCloughan strengthens the other areas that need it.
Of course, drafting a quarterback this year doesn't just mean making a decision on Mariota. MMQB writers Andy Benoit and Andy Staples believe Washington could look for a backup to develop.
The former believes that may be necessary considering Cousins will be a free agent next year. Griffin could be too if the team opts against picking up his option.
That's a decision his play in 2015 will certainly influence. B/R NFL Analyst Chris Simms rightly stresses Griffin must earn the opportunity to stay on the team. But first he has to be given that chance:
Adding a fourth quarterback would hardly make it seem like the incumbents are going to get a fair shake. Staples has identified one prospect in this year's class who might intrigue Redskins brass:
"Washington might find their quarterback of the future in Colorado State’s Garrett Grayson early in the third round. Grayson played in a multifaceted offense under Jim McElwain that should allow him to transition more easily to the pro game than many of his classmates. It’s nearly impossible to predict how most quarterbacks will adjust to the NFL, but Grayson has the basic tools he needs to thrive.
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Yet while there's not much harm in a bit of future planning, adding even a backup prospect to a position already three strong on the depth chart seems frivolous. If Washington can't sell themselves on a starter in this class, why waste a pick on a project, particularly with so many other problems to fix?
The smarter move is to let Griffin, Cousins and McCoy engage in a relatively quiet competition for the job. Whoever wins should get the nod and be trusted to, at the very least, be a more than serviceable placeholder.
Finding a franchise quarterback is a decision that can't be rushed. The Redskins need only consider Griffin's so-far-stunted development as proof of the consequences of reaching at the position.
McCloughan needs to use his first year in town to put the right foundation in place for a quarterback to succeed. If it turns out that quarterback isn't on this roster, Washington will enter 2016 with all the information they need to find the right replacement.
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