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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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CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 13: Jordan Reed #86 and Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins celebrate a touchdown during the first quarter at Soldier Field on December 13, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 13: Jordan Reed #86 and Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins celebrate a touchdown during the first quarter at Soldier Field on December 13, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Where might Kirk Cousins have ended up?

If Wilson landed in Washington, then it is certain that the team wouldn’t have drafted Cousins. That would have left the Michigan State product to be drafted by another team. Since there were only 11 quarterbacks drafted in 2012, and only three were selected after Cousins, it’s hard to find a perfect fit. But there were a couple of landing spots that would make sense.

The first, and most sensible, would have been the Arizona Cardinals. At the time, the Cardinals had Kevin Kolb and John Skelton as their quarterbacks. They lacked a strong candidate at the position to work with Larry Fitzgerald in his prime. In the post Kurt Warner days, the team floundered because of that weakness.

Cousins could have come in as a player with upside, and he would have been a better options than sixth round Pick Ryan Lindley. Lindley was limited as a pro because of issues with his accuracy. While there were concerns about that with Cousins, he had more upside and better arm strength, and he would have been a nice fit in the Arizona offense after he developed.

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Elsewhere, the Green Bay Packers would have been a potential landing spot for Cousins. They had just lost Matt Flynn to the Seahawks in free agency and their backup was Graham Harrell. The former Texas Tech product had upside, but the team could have used a third stringer with upside. They drafted project player B.J. Coleman in the seventh round that year, but Cousins would have been a better option earlier. That would have been an excellent situation for him to develop into a quality starter behind one of the game’s best in Aaron Rodgers.

Of course, it’s always possible that Cousins could have ended up in Seattle had Wilson not landed there. Pete Carroll had brought in Flynn to be the starter for the team and Cousins was a similar type of player. He would have had a chance to be a part of a ground and pound offense and that would give him a chance to develop slowly but surely, like Wilson did in his prime.

There’s no knowing where Cousins would have ended up if he didn’t land in Washington. But it’s fair to wonder how he would have progressed outside of the Redskins offense.

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