Redskins need to get this as right as right can be
MIKE BURKE
Allegany Radio Corporation Sports
Head coach Ron Rivera let it be known at the NFL Scouting Combine that the Washington Redskins have interest in using their No. 2 pick in April’s NFL Draft on any player in the draft, depending on the Cincinnati Bengals’ choice at No. 1, and that includes LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young or Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Or maybe somebody else.
Any player, after all, means any player.
It has long been assumed the Redskins will select Young with the No 2 pick, as the former DeMatha star is said to be a generational pass rusher the likes of which #NFLTheTVShow hasn’t seen since one Lawrence Taylor, who was the difference maker in a great run of New York Giants football back in the 1980s, even though the Giants already had a Super Bowl quarterback in place in Phil Simms.
Rivera said, given that every player is currently available to the Redskins (only because Cincinnati has yet to pick), the Redskins will prepare to draft every player with the No. 2 pick. But just for spits and giggles, let’s say the Bengals select Heisman Trophy winner Burrow first, though God knows what the Bengals will do at any given juncture.
That leaves the Redskins with two very franchise-friendly options: use the No. 2 pick or trade the No. 2 pick in an effort to secure even more picks, which is what a team in such ghastly straits as the Redskins could surely use.
Why, though, would the Redskins consider drafting Tagovailoa, whose senior year at Alabama ended with such a gruesome hip injury, even if he is healthy and ready for the long haul? Didn’t the Redskins just trade up to No. 15 last year to select Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins?
Yes, but there remain three reasons as to why the Redskins would still consider drafting Tagovailoa:
1. Tagovailoa is better than Haskins. Matter of fact, there are coaches and scouts who believe Tagovailoa is better than Burrow.
2. Ron Rivera did not select Haskins; owner Dan Snyder did. Well, technically, Bruce Allen did, but Dan Snyder made him. And now that Ron Rivera is in charge of the Redskins, that means Ron Rivera is charge, because Dan Snyder said so (wink-wink).
3. Just because you did something last year doesn’t mean you don’t try to improve the circumstance, or make it better, this year now that you have people in charge who actually know that they’re doing.
Haskins wasn’t horrible once he got the chance to play; he was so-so, so this is not an indictment on his performance last year, because, really, with that team, who could tell anyway? However, a day or so after Rivera made the comment on his team’s intent, Haskins took to Twitter and posted a gif that indicated his feelings were hurt (and we’re being family friendly with that description). So, does this seem to be the type of person no-nonsense Ron Rivera wants driving the car?
Methinks two guys — one young, one not so much — are going to be having a little heart-to-heart when somebody gets back to town. If they haven’t already.
The truth is the Redskins will have so many options to consider before the draft is even a week away that it’s impossible to even speculate what they might be. And by putting it out there that everybody is in play, Rivera has created even more options for the team, particularly since the Miami Dolphins have three first-round selections, including No. 5, and are very much in want of a franchise quarterback.
Washington has so many needs right now, including trading left tackle Trent Williams in hopes of getting a second- or high third-round pick for him, because it doesn’t appear it’s going to work under the new regime either. So why not put it out there that all things are possible in an effort to improve your leverage and increase your options?
From most reporting it appears the Redskins absolutely love Chase Young and, all things being equal (or mock) are likely to select him. But they would be even more incompetent than they have been in the past (which would be saying something) to just state their intention or desire at this early stage because of the importance of this pick.
(Kind of like my never being able to figure out why I always seem to overpay for cars I tell salesmen I really, really, really want to buy as soon as I walk on to the lot … What’s the common denominator there?)
Look, nobody wants to have to go through a season that merits having the second selection in the NFL Draft, not even the Redskins. But the fact of the matter is they’ve just done that. The Redskins need this to be a once-in-a-blue moon draft pick, because, A.) they don’t want to have to earn drafting this high again and, B.) this is regarded to be a very talented and very deep draft.
Perhaps — actually, likely — the Redskins are intent on drafting Chase Young, as he seems as though he’ll be a can’t-miss wherever he lands. At the same time, if there is a way they are able to move down and still secure him with added picks coming from a team desperate for a quarterback, why not do some posturing?
The Redskins can’t afford to miss on this one, so it would behoove the owner to keep his little billionaire mitts off of any and all things that involve getting it right.
Not only is this important for the player, or players, they actually come away with from this draft to base their next foundation upon (see the Bobby Beathard drafts of the early 1980s), it will be of even more importance for the future of the franchise in discovering how truthful Daniel Snyder was being when he said the football decisions would be made by Ron Rivera.
Mike Burke writes about sports for Allegany Radio and Pikewood Digital. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s County Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984. He was the sports editor of the Times-News for nearly 30 years. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @MikeBurkeMDT
