FanPost

Moving on from Haskins not horrible based on his draft position?

I was ecstatic when Washington drafted Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick in the 2019 draft.

The only quarterback I truly believed would be a star from the 2019 draft was Kyler Murray. But I knew Washington would not be able to draft him at No. 15.

So the next 2 QBs on the board were Haskins and Daniel Jones. As a Virginia Tech fan, I saw Jones suck too much against the Hokies at Duke to consider him a first-round pick. And I thought the Giants were idiotic to draft Jones at No. 6.

So I thought it was a steal when Haskins fell to No. 15. On paper, he check most of the boxes. He had good size (around 6-3, 230 pounds), a rocket arm, and incredible final season (50 TDs, 8 INTs). I knew his wheels were not great. But I figured it was adequate if statues like Brady and Peyton Manning could make it.

But I may have liked his draft position (No. 15) more than the actual player. The reason is I believe there is a huge difference between a No. 15 and a top 1-5 pick. If Haskins had been taken in spots 1-5, I would be feeling miserable if Haskins did not pan out. It kind of would have reminded me when Washington took Heath Shuler at No. 2 in the 1990s.

A top 1-5 pick is hard to come by. A No. 15 comes with an 8-8 season. So moving on from Haskins at No. 15 would not be a big deal.

The big deal is WHEN they move on. The worst thing is to hold on to a draft bust especially at QB. Chicago has done this with Mitch Trubisky. They probably knew he did not have the goods after the 2nd season. But his high draft status meant they waited way too long before probably moving on this season.

At the beginning of the 2020 season, I figured 1 full season would be enough for Haskins. Quarterbacks are coming in much quicker ready to play. Just look at Lamar Jackson, Mahomes, Murray, even Russell Wilson back in the day. Haskins has to show in this season he is going to be above average.

What is wrong with Haskins? I believe there are 2 top needs in an NFL quarterback - 1. accuracy 2. decision making. Now, the caveat is they must have NFL caliber arm strength and mobility. Based on his 70 percent completion percentage in college, I thought Haskins was fairly accurate. He has not shown this.

Also, I did not look close enough about his decision and mental makeup. "The league done messed up" quote rubbed me the wrong way. It was not like Haskins had this meteoric slide like Aaron Rodgers. Getting drafted at No. 15 was probably about right. But honestly, Haskins seems to have a good work ethic. Just not sure he has good decision making.

Right now, Haskins should have a shorter leash. Many around the league feel like Haskins should be benched now. Haskins needs to play above average by the time of the bye week on Oct. 25. This will give him 7 games to show improvement. If not, it is time for another quarterback.

The other QB hopefully will be Alex Smith. But the odds he recovers from this leg injury to be an above average QB is unlikely. Kyle Allen seems like a pretty good backup. But I do not see him as the future. But at least Smith or Allen may be able to salvage a competition in the NFC Least.

And even if Washington takes a QB next draft, I would still want to keep Haskins. He is on a rookie deal. And again, they are only paying him No. 15 pick money.

I believe Haskins probably will be a very good backup one day. He could possibly become a below average starting quarterback like Tyrod Taylor. He has too much talent not to stick around the league.

But right now, it is not looking good for Haskins.