Washington Redskins‘ rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins is the next Josh Rosen. Both players were strong prospects in their respective drafts and were both set for failure. Haskins and Rosen were thrust into roles with weak supporting casts and ineffective coaching staff. Rosen was discarded by the Arizona Cardinals immediately following his rookie year. It’s still early in Haskins’ first season, but you can already start to see the warning signs for a repeat of Rosen’s brief stint in Arizona.
Dwayne Haskins Is The Next Josh Rosen
Strong Draft Year Production & Disappointing Draft Slot
Haskins tore it up in his sophomore season at Ohio State, completing 70 percent of his passes for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. While Rosen did not put up the same type of numbers, he still had a strong season in his junior year at UCLA, completing 63 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
At one point, both of these passers were considered the top two options at the position. However, as the draft season progressed, both players eventually fell down the draft boards. Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones went before Haskins while Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Josh Allen found NFL homes before Rosens. Washington selected Haskins with the 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft, while Arizona took Rosens 10th overall.
Internal Divisions
Les Carpenter of the Washington Post reports that Redskins’ head coach Jay Gruden did not want to draft Haskins, Dan Snyder forced the selection. This likely explains Gruden’s reluctance to play him, despite Case Keenum‘s struggles. The conflict will likely lead to Gruden’s deserved dismissal by the end of the season.
After a disastrous season that led to Wilks’ firing, the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury to take over the reins. Kingsbury preferred Murray as his franchise quarterback. Since the Cardinals owned the first overall pick, they selected Murray despite using a first-rounder on Rosen the previous year. Arizona proceeded to trade Rosen to the rebuilding Miami Dolphins for a second-round pick. Here’s where the parallels between the two situations really come to the forefront.
New Regime, Different Quarterback?
With a ton of injuries and a lack of weapons, Haskins will likely struggle in his first year as a pro, just like Rosen. The Redskins have a difficult schedule, and they’ll probably hold a top-three pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Gruden’s going to be fired by the end of the season, leaving the Redskins looking for a new head coach. The team will presumably pursue a young, offensive-minded head coach to help develop their franchise quarterback. However, this upcoming draft features two quarterback prospects who are more highly-regarded than Haskins: Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon’s Justin Herbert. The Redskins will likely be in a position to select one of those two promising passers.
What if the new head coach prefers one of these college passers, just like Kingsbury did in Arizona? Would Snyder start off his relationship with the new coach by overriding this decision due to the high investment in Haskins? If we assume that Haskins struggles, the decision to trade him and select a new quarterback is entirely possible and easily justifiable.
Alignment Between Coaching Staff and Dwayne Haskins, Josh Rosen
This situation magnifies the importance of aligning your coaching staff with the franchise quarterback. Front offices must resist the urge to draft a quarterback in the first round unless they have a head coach in place for the long-term. Rosen never had a chance in Arizona’s horrible situation. In the right environment with better play-calling, he could have succeeded with the Cardinals. The same thing is happening with Haskins now. Both situations exemplify the ineptitude in quarterback development that exists throughout the NFL. It’s unfair that both of these players had to go to franchises where they were unwanted. It would not be surprising to see Haskins playing for another team in 2020.
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