Redskins 7-round mock: What if they embraced the tank?

Round 5, Pick 2 – QB Easton Stick – North Dakota State

Ah, yes. The quarterback selection. It had to come somewhere for Washington in the 2019 NFL Draft. The only question was when.

Some view the Redskins as a quarterback-needy team that should prioritize the position in Round 1. In a weak class, however, this can lead to unintended, and lingering, consequences. With their team is such an inflexible position, cap wise, the Redskins can’t afford to whiff on their first-round selection in 2019. And with no can’t-miss quarterback prospects available at No. 15, it might simply be best to wait.

And so they waited, and got some talent at other positions. Now, in the fifth round, with the top-end players filtered out, it’s time to address the quarterback position. Easton Stick is the pick, and he brings a good amount of upside, but gives plenty of work to whoever the quarterbacks coach ends up being.

Stick’s athleticism immediately stands out when watching his play. He has the mobility that west coast teams look for in their signal callers, and his arm is subtly versatile. That said, Stick is a raw quarterback, in the sense that pinpoint accuracy is still inconsistent, as he doesn’t yet know how to control his arm, and his on-field progressions are very much a work in progress. His flashes are bright, but consistency yet eludes.

Stick would be the perfect addition for the Redskins in 2019: A relatively high-upside signal caller who can sit behind a stopgap starter for a year, then compete for the starting job in 2020, presumably with a first-round pick. There’s a saying that gets tossed around about quarterbacks; that you only draft starters and future starters. With the Redskins fragile situation, they can bend that rule a bit, as their priority is to simply add a healthy passer to the roster. But Stick offers some upside, and he could exceed expectations in the right situation.