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Redskins: What could have happened if the team had drafted Russell Wilson

By Jacob Camenker

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 08: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 08: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 08: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 08: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Kyle Shanahan recently rehashed a conversation that is now a couple of years old. The fact that the Redskins were planning on taking Russell Wilson in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

When the Washington Redskins selected Robert Griffin III in the 2012 NFL Draft, many expected that they wouldn’t select a second quarterback. They did indeed, and that man was Kirk Cousins. At the time, there was a great deal of surprise when the Redskins did select Cousins. It was widely assumed that after selecting Griffin, the team would roll with Rex Grossman as the backup and there would be no need to add another player at the position.

Instead, Cousins did come off the board, but he wasn’t the top player that the team was hoping to get in the fourth round. As Kyle Shanahan recently brought up, the Redskins were hoping to get RG3 in the first round and then draft Russell Wilson in the fourth round. Mike Shanahan has also confirmed this in the past, per Clare Farnsworth of Seahawks.com.

"Even in the third round, we were thinking about taking Russell Wilson just because we thought he presented the same problems as Robert. And if you could have a guy as your first- and second-team quarterback, both had the same type of athletic ability, you would give yourself a chance."

Of course, that never materialized because the Seahawks took Wilson in the third round.

Retrospectively, the Redskins could have benefited from taking Wilson before the Seahawks could get their hands on him. The Redskins had a third round pick in 2012 that they spent on Josh LeRibeus, an interior lineman out of SMU. LeRibeus never panned out for the Redskins though they tried him at both guard and center. Currently, he is a backup for the New Orleans Saints and that appears to be his ceiling.

There was no way of knowing this at the time, but the Redskins definitely made a mistake by taking LeRibeus. They would have been in much better shape if they had taken Wilson as he could have been the answer to the problems that they had at quarterback.

Still, it’s fun to imagine what the Redskins quarterback carousel would have looked like with both Wilson and RG3 on it. So here’s a look at what could have happened to the Griffin, Wilson, and Cousins had the team decided to draft Wilson in Round 3.

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