The Washington Redskins added two new faces to their quarterback room this offseason. One will take over as the starter while the other will challenge the incumbent for the backup quarterback spot.
Over the course of the past five months, the Washington Redskins quarterback room has drastically changed. Once occupied by Kirk Cousins and presumed to be his long-time home, Cousins and the Redskins couldn’t agree on a new contract heading into the 2018 offseason. With a potential gaping hole starting them down, the Redskins brass made a bold move and traded for a new quarterback.
That was Alex Smith. Late in January, the team surrendered star slot cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick to get the services of the veteran. Smith becoming the starter was a foregone conclusion, and he will certainly be suiting up for the team on opening day.
Behind him, the question is a bit murkier. After the trade for Smith, it was presumed that Colt McCoy would continue in his role as the primary backup. But, the Redskins threatened that assumption by swapping sixth-round picks with the Cleveland Browns to get Kevin Hogan. The former Stanford product has seen some action for the Browns after being a draft pick by the Chiefs, and he undoubtedly has some upside. But beating McCoy could be a tall order for him.
In the 2018 offseason, McCoy and Hogan will fight for the right to be the top backup to Smith. And while the battle could have little impact on the results of the season, it will certainly have an impact on the Redskins future.
The case for Colt McCoy
The top reason for having Colt McCoy serve as the backup quarterback is pretty obvious. He has a lot of experience in the Redskins system and also has a significant amount of experience at the NFL level.
During McCoy’s time in the league, he has played for three different teams. Since being a third-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, he has made 25 starts and thrown 842 passes. For that reason alone, he has the leg up on Hogan as the experienced option with the skill set needed to step in and serve as a spot starter when needed.
However, a deeper look at McCoy’s resume isn’t too appealing on the surface. He has a 7-18 record as a starter and only has completed 60 percent of his passes. That said, a bulk of his action as a starter came during his first two seasons with the Cleveland Browns. At the time, the Browns were completely devoid of talent and McCoy had trouble working with a mediocre receiving corps and playing behind a decent at best offensive line. So, that explains why he has so many losses.
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The rest of McCoy’s numbers are pretty solid. He’s racked up 5,586 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 23 picks during his career. They’re not superb numbers, but they are enough to get the job done. McCoy is a steady player who will give a team what he is expected to. And that’s what teams look for in backups.
Regarding McCoy’s skill set, he is a smart quarterback with good short to intermediate accuracy, solid mechanics, good footwork, and functional mobility. This allows him to find success as a pocket passer, and he is at his best when he is asked to hit receivers on shorter routes and throw them open to generate yards after the catch. And that’s why he’s a good fit in Washington’s scheme.
With Alex Smith as the starter, McCoy is an ideal backup candidate as he has a similar skill set. Smith’s deep ball accuracy is much better, but McCoy still has similar arm talent to Smith and can be a guy who throws receivers open. So, McCoy will be able to keep the team afloat if Smith needed to miss a game or two.
Also, it’s worth noting that McCoy has four years of experience with the Redskins. That’s four years of working with Jay Gruden, learning the offense, and serving as the top backup. That could come in handy with two new faces in the quarterback room. McCoy could even be a mentor to Smith and Hogan as they try to learn the intricacies of the offense.
And one final point: McCoy’s numbers with the Redskins have been better than his career totals. In seven appearances with four starts, McCoy completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,185 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. Sure, his 1-3 record isn’t that inspiring, but he was dealing with a beat-up defense that couldn’t stop anybody. He did enough to carry them to at least two victories, and the veteran experience he could provide would do a lot for the Redskins.
The case for Kevin Hogan
While McCoy’s case for the backup job is predicated on his performance with the Redskins and his wealth of experience in the NFL, Hogan’s case is based off one of the buzz words that floats around the NFL every offseason. Potential.
Hogan has a skill set that could make him an effective passer at the NFL level. The key word here is could. Hogan has a 6-foot-3 frame, is very intelligent, and has excellent mobility. He’s also six years younger that McCoy. What Hogan lacks is an elite arm, but other quarterbacks have gotten by without that. Provided that he has the accuracy and arm talent to make a variety of different types of throws, he will have a shot at making an NFL team.
Thus far, Hogan’s track record is a bit dubious. He was a fifth-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016, but he failed to make the team’s 53-man roster, losing the battle for the third string job to Tyler Bray. Following his release, he was signed to the Browns practice squad and was eventually called up to their active roster. He saw minimal action in 2016, but looked more like a project than anything else.
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In 2017, Hogan showed some growth. He continued to run the ball well, and completed 61 percent of his passes for 517 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. They weren’t great numbers by any means, but given that he only had one start and a couple of games of mop-up work, that’s decent. And more importantly, it showed growth from his 2016 performance.
Still, Hogan wasn’t exactly given a vote of confidence after new general manager John Dorsey moved him to the Redskins to move up 17 spots in the draft. That said, the Browns completely overhauled their quarterback room, so Hogan didn’t really have a fit their anymore. So, perhaps he was better off getting moved anyway.
So now, Hogan enters his third year in the NFL and he is with his third different organization. He has the makings of a journeyman, but if somebody can tap into the potential he has, he could become a quality backup. And Kevin O’Connell might be able to do it.
O’Connell, the team’s pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was a similar quarterback to Hogan during his brief NFL tenure. Both are mobile and like to move. That said, O’Connell could never showed enough passing talent to have a lasting impact in the league. Hogan is in danger of doing the same.
If O’Connell can get Hogan to become a hyper accurate short and intermediate passer, he could challenge McCoy for the backup spot. And if Hogan makes some strides, at the very least he will be locked into the No. 3 spot on the quarterback depth chart. It’s all about what improvements Hogan can make as a passer.
Hogan hails from a college system that ran a pro-style offense, has worked with Alex Smith in Kansas City, and got his feet wet as an NFL quarterback with the Cleveland Browns. He can’t be counted out from the competition, especially given his youth compared to McCoy. But Hogan will still have a tough time unseating the veteran.
Where the battle stands and implications on the future
Right now, the upper hand certainly belongs to McCoy. He has the experience needed to lead the offense in the event that Smith goes down. And while it’s possible that Hogan could eventually develop into a more talented player than McCoy, it’s unlikely that will happen during the course of the 2018 season.
But as always, there are a couple of alternate outcomes. The first is that Hogan could learn behind McCoy for a year and then eventually take over the starting job. McCoy’s contract is up following the 2018 campaign. In the event that the Redskins decide Hogan is the future at backup quarterback, they could let McCoy walk as his contract expires. So, that would render this season an important one for McCoy. He has to prove that he can win a backup role in case the Redskins decide to part ways with him in the near future.
Conversely, Hogan is a free agent after this season as well. So, it’s possible that the Redskins will look to carry him for the season and if he doesn’t show any development, they could look for a successor to Smith in the 2019 NFL Draft. In that case, they would likely want to re-sign McCoy and select a quarterback in the first two days of the draft.
There’s also the outcome where Hogan overtakes McCoy and the Skins have to figure out what to do with McCoy. This seems unlikely, but it’s probable that they would be able to land him for a conditional seventh rounder for a team needing a backup quarterback. The same cannot be said of Hogan, who would likely be cut and stashed on the practice squad if McCoy beats him out.
Next: Offensive expectations for the Redskins
It’s far too early to tell what will happen with this quarterback battle. Entering the offseason, McCoy will have the upper hand as he looks to lock down the backup position. But Hogan could be an underdog who surprises. We’ll keep you updated on how each player is progressing in the offseason, and during the preseason, we’ll get an excellent look at who will backup the Redskins franchise quarterback.