Ron Rivera may prefer Tua Tagovailoa over Dwayne Haskins, so maybe the Washington Redskins quarterback falls to the wayside like Josh Rosen did last year?
What if Ron Rivera wants Tua Tagovailoa to be the Washington Redskins’ next quarterback?
We’ve seen crazier things happen in the NFL before, look no further than last offseason. After taking Josh Rosen No. 10 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals opted to go in a different direction at the position by drafting Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray No. 1 overall the following spring.
After one year in Arizona, Rosen was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2019.
Though it doesn’t seem likely, there is a chance a team could punt on its franchise quarterback after only one season.
We’re looking at you, Washington.
Do you have the stomach to do it or do want to play it safe and draft Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young with the No. 2 overall pick?
The consensus is the Cincinnati Bengals will take LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick, leaving the Washington with a difficult decision to make. Will the Redskins continue as is with Dwayne Haskins as their quarterback and take Young as we expect, or do they deal Haskins elsewhere and make Tagovailoa their first-round pick?
Despite having his junior season end because of a hip injury, Tagovailoa will be off the board by the No. 5 pick in the draft at the absolute latest. He’s not falling past the Dolphins picking at that spot. Odds are quarterback-desperate teams will be willing to trade up for him, possibly as high as the Redskins picking at No. 2. So how does Rivera navigate this tricky situation in the upcoming draft?
Because Young is the best pure prospect in this draft, he’s a sure thing if the Redskins were to go chalk and take him second. He projects as the Bosa Brothers did before him coming out of Columbus. Young is a can’t-miss prospect, one who should only be passed over for a top-tier franchise quarterback.
This is exactly what Tagovailoa is coming out of Alabama. He’s that good.
Trading out of the No. 2 spot does not guarantee Young will end up in Washington, so the Redskins have to consider this. What it really comes down to is if Rivera thinks he can win quickly with Haskins as his starting quarterback or not. Tagovailoa is still on the mend from his hip injury, but could be the NFL’s closest approximation to Drew Brees entering the league in the coming years.
Since Rivera is a defensive-minded coach, he’d probably rather draft his own version of Lawrence Taylor in Young. Should Haskins turn out to be a bust this time next year, Washington might be in position to draft Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson or Justin Fields out of Ohio State anyway.
So expect Haskins to play for Washington this season, but he could get the Rosen treatment for all we know. The precedent has been set and Rivera didn’t draft the guy out of Ohio State last year anyway.
Let’s keep an eye on this in the coming weeks leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft.