Getty A video board displays an image of Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State after he was chosen #15 overall by the Washington Redskins during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.
One of the bigger surprises of Day One at the 2019 NFL Draft was the Giants taking Duke’s Daniel Jones over Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins at the No. 6 overall pick. Many expected New York general manager Dave Gettleman to find a replacement for Eli Manning, but not the quarterback whose only other offer was Princeton.
Haskins ended up going to the Redskins at No. 15 overall, joining a team that plays only miles away from his former high school in Potomac (Md.). While he may have familiarity in Maryland and the nation’s capital, some analysts think he’s destined for failure with a “dysfunctional” franchise.
Colin Cowherd went as far to say the former Buckeye is “not talented enough to flourish” for the Redskins. Per the audio from The Herd and AM570 LA Sports:
After noting that certain players in sports (Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, etc.) would have succeeded anywhere, Cowherd thinks the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder needs a good fit to do well in the NFL.
“Dwayne Haskins for Ohio State is a good, solid “B” prospect,” Cowherd said. “I don’t think he’s transformative. I don’t think he’s that elusive. I think his arm is good, not spectacular, and I fear that Washington is a really bad fit.
“He’ll be on his second coaching staff by year two, Daniel Synder, it’s the convergence of many bad things. You have a compulsive owner. You have a local kid who’s going to be pushed into duty early. You have a very good division. You have no wide receiver help and a 34-year old running back.”
In his one year starting in Columbus, Haskins put up 4,831 passing yards, 50 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions. Compared that to Jones, who produced a solid, if unspectacular 2,674 yards, 22 scores and 9 picks.
He’s not particularly speedy (5.04 40-yard dash), but he also only got sacked 23 times last year on a very high volume of dropbacks. That wasn’t just his offensive line, as he knew when to step up in the pocket and deliver a strike.
Regarding his arm, Pro Football Focus calls him excellent on short to intermediate range throws, completing 63.8% of passes under 20 yards.
This is an important area to excel, as a big chunk of NFL throws occur in this range, and Haskins is right there with the top quarterbacks as far as timing and ball location, especially from a clean pocket.
The division will be tough, as the Eagles are looking for their 3rd straight postseason appearance and the Cowboys are coming off an NFC East title. Where Cowherd is spot-on is with the pieces surrounding Haskins. Only two receivers accumulated over 500 yards receiving last year, as Jordan Reed gained 558 and Josh Doctson gained 532.
Peterson was able to eclipse 1,000 yards for the 8th time in his 12-year career, as well as the 1st time since 2015 in Minnesota. He’s a freak of nature physically, but at his age, he might be closer to the back that gained only 601 yards combined the 2 seasons prior to last fall.
Haskins had a litany of wideouts and targets to utilize at Ohio State last year. The defenses he played in the Big Ten weren’t NFL caliber (except Michigan, where he torched the Wolverines for 6 touchdowns).
The question is whether or not he’ll adjust to the certain adversity coming in year one. If he survives, and eventually gets surrounded by better talent, he could come out on the other side as an effective NFL starter.