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Three thoughts on the Redskins hosting Mariota | ESPN Redskins blog
The Redskins have said they would consider drafting Mariota at No. 5 - both coach Jay Gruden and general manager Scot McCloughan said so at the owners meetings. Listen, if it's a ruse, then you have to keep it going. And if it's legitimate interest, then you have to do your homework. Considering the team still has concerns/doubts/whatever about Robert Griffin III, it's not hard to imagine the interest is real. For what it's worth, Scott Frost is Oregon's offensive coordinator; Redskins coach Jay Gruden was an offensive assistant in Tampa Bay when Frost played there in 2003.
Washington Redskins mailbag Part 2 | ESPN Redskins blog
John Keim: They were not a couple plays from being a good team. They lost nine games by 10 or more points; that's not good. By comparison, Tampa Bay, with the first overall pick, had five such games (Tennessee and Jacksonville also had nine; Oakland had seven). That followed a season in which the Redskins won only three games (with six losses by 10 or more points). Compare that to 2004 and Joe Gibbs' first season when they finished 6-10 -- they lost only two games by 10 or more points. They also won three of their last five games that season (and made the playoffs in 2005). I felt before last season that this offseason would require a major overhaul defensively just because of age in some cases and ability in others. In the NFL, every bad team can think they were a few plays away but sometimes you need to be honest with yourself. That's what the Redskins are being. They can improve this year, but they would not have done so without some rebuilding.
Redskins plan to host Mariota for a pre-draft visit | Washington Post
"If we think it's worth the risk to hit the ‘reset button,' if he's that good of a football player, if we decide in the building that he's that good of a football player and that we should do that, then we should do that, you know?" Gruden said. "But we'll see. It has not been determined yet, obviously. We still have some time to determine whether or not we want to go in that direction."
Need to know: Are their other draft trade back scenarios for the Redskins? | CSN Washington
It's always a possibility. In the last two drafts teams have traded into the top five to draft non-quarterbacks (Miami moved up to take Dion Jordan in 2013, the Bills jumped up for Sammy Watkins last year). White could draw some offers as could one of the edge rushers if a team believes that one is far superior to the others. And the other day I mentioned the possibility that the Redskins' pick could become a hot commodity if USC DT Leonard Williams slips to No. 5. So there are plenty of possibilities but four weeks out there are no reports that a certain team is interested in trading up for a certain player. Stay tuned.
Gruden more confident in his approach for 2015 | CSN Washington
Gruden said that offensive coordinator Sean McVay ended up having a lot of stuff rolling downhill to him and he wound up with too much on his plate. One of their first offseason moves this year was to hire quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh. That will help with the division of labor, freeing up McVay from some of his quarterback meetings duties and the like and allowing him to assist Gruden more directly with the offense.