Let’s assume that the Cincinnati Bengals draft Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick, and the Washington Redskins are on the clock. Many fans and analysts assume Washington will select Chase Young, who is perhaps the best prospect in this draft class.
Former NFL linebacker and current analyst Ben Leber, however, doesn’t think Young-to-Washington is a lock.
“Don’t be surprised if Washington makes a play at Tua,” Leber said on The Zach Gelb Show. “Just because you have a quarterback in Dwayne Haskins from last year does not mean you still shouldn’t look at the future of your organization. If you feel like your future is not in very good hands with Dwayne, you’re not investing a ton of money like you used to. Maybe you could make a play at Tua. I actually think it makes a lot of sense. If you think that Tua is going to be better than Dwayne, take him.”
Haskins, 22, was the 15th overall pick in 2019. He was underwhelming as a rookie, completing 58.6 percent of his passes for 1,365 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine games.
Leber isn’t sold on Haskins as a franchise quarterback.
“I’m not,” he said. “I don’t think that he makes the best decisions. I feel like the game moves a little too fast for him. His football IQ is not exactly on par with some of the high-quality staters in the league. That’s a hard thing to overcome when there may be a ceiling on his mental capacity and his capacity to process.”
With Tua Tagovailoa on the mend, Washington could pull the trigger on the former Alabama star.
“Everybody is looking for franchise quarterbacks,” Leber said. “You can have great defensive players, you can have great running backs, you can have great receivers. But the guy that’s going to stir the drink for your team is the quarterback. It may not be the most popular choice with the fan base in Washington, but it’s a really easy argument when you sit down and look at it and say, ‘Hey, this is a guy that we think is going to be our franchise guy for the next 10 years, and we think he can win a Super Bowl.’”