Haskins has been labeled as one of the ‘losers’ from the 2020 offseason, though the Redskins have given him some solid offensive weapons.
The Washington Redskins used draft picks in the third and fourth rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft to directly help quarterback Dwayne Haskins. With the selections of RB Antonio Gibson, LT Saahdiq Charles, and WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, the Redskins added valuable pieces to either protect the QB’s blindside or give him some weapons of offense, two things that are of great importance in the NFL for a young passer.
However, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell released his column of Winner’s and Loser’s from the 2020 NFL offseason on Tuesday, and in it, he had Haskins labeled as the latter.
On the other hand, there’s a member of that 2019 quarterback class who might feel left out among all the additions. Washington did avoid the lure of using the second overall pick on a quarterback, but it did little to help its starting quarterback.
Haskins’ receiving corps beyond Terry McLaurin was lacking last season, and the most notable free agents his team imported to help out its young starter were Cody Latimer and Richard Rodgers. Washington used midround picks on hybrid back Antonio Gibson and wideout Antonio Gandy-Golden, but it also traded away star left tackle Trent Williams without adding a meaningful replacement.
On the surface, sure — those may not add up to a great offseason for Haskins and the Redskins, but any fan who knows the workings of those deals likely feels pretty good about all of those choices. Let’s break it down.
First of all, if you want to knock Washington for not drafting better offensive weapons, remember that they used their first-round pick on Chase Young — the best player in the draft — and their second-round pick was part of the deal that landed Montez Sweat in Washington last season. On top of that, AGG was rated by many to have a second- or third-round grade but fell only because of the depth at the position, and the coaching staff feels confident that they can plug Gibson into a Christain McCaffrey-type role in Scott Turner’s offense.
Then there’s the Trent Williams trade. To argue that getting rid of one of the best LT’s in the NFL is bad for a QB is not wrong, but when you consider that Williams had just sat out for the majority of the 2019 season, and was likely to do the same in 2020 had the Redskins not given him a new contract — which was unlikely — then holding onto that relationship would have been incredibly detrimental. Now, with Williams out of the building, the team is able to start fresh and focus on the players who do want to be there, rather than try to win the favor of those who don’t.
They may not have drafted the star tight end that everyone wanted, but they picked up a do-it-all running back, as well as a possession receiver who can offer an outlet in contentious situations, and a talented LT with hopes of him becoming a solid starter down the road. It may not be the most talented roster in the NFL, but the Redskins are doing what they can to surround Haskins with the talent that he needs to succeed. We’ll see if he can in 2020.
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