Buzz has slowly been growing around the Washington Redskins and what they play to do with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Many believe that it’s an easy choice for the Redskins to make; draft OSU’s Chase Young and go to sleep at night knowing that you have an elite edge-rusher for years to come, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. Others believe that Washington should take a quarterback instead — likely Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa — and pit him in a quarterback competition with Dwayne Haskins, who was the team’s first-round draft pick in 2019. ESPN’s Mel Kiper heralded this idea on Thursday at the NFL Combine.
Mel Kiper just now on ESPN:
"You can have all the Chase Young's you want, if you don't have the quarterback you're spinning your wheels… You take Tua at 2. No doubt about that… If Haskins turns out to be better than trade Tua. Let them battle it, see who the best man is."
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) February 27, 2020
It’s an interesting proposition, and one that could potentially have a huge upside for the Redskins should it work out perfectly. However, it’s too risky for my blood and has way too much opportunity for failure. Let’s break down why:
The Pro’s
It’s no secret that the Redskins aren’t completely sold on Haskins yet. Many thought that he was drafted too early last season when being selected with the No. 15 overall pick, and his constant struggles on the field were hard to watch for much of the season. Despite his ability to start piecing things together near the end of the year, the new coaching staff has been adamant about saying that they will not simply give him the QB1 spot without making him work for it, as they should. You could argue that Tagovailoa would be a great competitor for Haskins if the Redskins were to draft him this season, and watching the two battle it out over the next few months would be high entertainment.
If this were to happen, the Redskins would have two likely outcomes that could be very beneficial: either Tua wins the competition and is the real franchise quarterback that Washington has been dreaming of since the start of RG3’s tenure, or Haskins wins, and Tua is traded to another team that’s in need of a QB, bringing in a potential haul of picks for the Redskins.
Sounds like a great plan, right? If only it were that simple…
The Con’s
At face value, this proposition seems like a great idea that could potentially remake the identity of the franchise for years to come, but the risk factor is huge. For starters, know that if the Redskins were to pursue this, right off the bat they would miss out on the chance to draft Chase Young, who many believe is the best defensive prospect to come out of college in recent memory, and who some think will be a future Hall-of-Famer at the position. That alone is enough to make anyone question the deal.
On top of that, you have to consider Tua’s injury history. Tagovailoa was undoubtedly the top QB prospect going into the 2019 season, but a hip injury left him sidelined for the final part of the college season, and it has knocked him out of the No. 1 QB spot in this year’s draft class. His progression has reportedly been remarkable, and it’s believed that he will be ready to play by the time fall comes around. But what if he’s not?
Let’s say the Redskins draft Tua and plan to have him duel it out with Haskins in camp this summer, but he suffers a setback along the way? What happens then? Is Haskins given the QB1 job by default until Tua can get healthy enough to compete again? Do the Redskins trade Tua because he can’t get healthy? The upside may get them a couple of draft picks, but nothing that matches what they could have by trading the No. 2 pick, or drafting Young from the start. In a sense. should everything go wrong, the Redskins could potentially walk away from the 2020 draft with no Young, no Tua, and no first-round pick. That’s a TOUGH worst-case scenario.
This plan is also likely to rub Haskins the wrong way. After spending an entire season hearing about how bad he was, and how the team never wanted him in the first place, it can’t be a major confidence builder to see your team draft another QB in the first round, only to be given the starting job by default while the player they really want sits in the training room.
The Verdict
There are strong arguments on both sides of this coin, and it’s hard to disagree with whichever side you’re leaning. When you simply ask the question of who’s going to be a better quarterback over the next 10 years, Tua is going to be your answer nine times out of 10. That alone could be enough of a factor to convince you that drafting him is the right call to make, and it will best set up the franchise to succeed in the near future.
But know that if you are making that argument, you need to also weigh in the risks. Tua has struggled with injuries in his past, and while he possesses elite upside, taking a shot on him would disallow you from giving Chase Young a chance, which seems like a sure thing.
Taking Tua his a high-risk, high-reward solution to the Redskins turmoil. Sticking with Haskins and drafting Young is a low-risk, medium-to-high-reward solution. You choose which way the franchise should go.
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