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Why the Redskins don’t need to take a quarterback in Round 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft

By Conor Forrest

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins talks to quarterback Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Redskins against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at FedExField on September 16, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins talks to quarterback Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Redskins against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at FedExField on September 16, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins talks to quarterback Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Redskins against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at FedExField on September 16, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins talks to quarterback Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Redskins against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at FedExField on September 16, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

The Redskins have been tied to quarterbacks in the lead-up to the 2019 NFL Draft, but they don’t have to select one in Round 1.

With another Patriots Lombardi Trophy in the books, the league officially set its sight towards the NFL Draft on the not so distant horizon. There is plenty on the Redskins wish list, and it all begins at the quarterback position. But when the commissioner comes to the stage at pick 15 for Washington, do they really have to go with a quarterback? My answer is no.

As the Redskins took the field against Arizona in the 2018 season opener, the expectations were far from high. We knew they needed some more defensive secondary help, and the receiver corps on the outside was far from an All-Pro level. The left guard position was a question mark, and who really knew how Adrian Peterson would pan out at the age of 33?

Outside of Peterson, the Redskins enter 2019 with a very similar set of needs and questions. But, it was the injury to Alex Smith on Nov. 18 that changes the direction of the franchise and its needs for the next few years.

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It is all about who is behind center for the burgundy and gold moving forward.

In recent years, the Redskins have worked to rebuild the team from the inside out. In 2015, the Redskins took right guard Brandon Scherff with the fifth overall pick. In 2017 and 2018, it was the defensive pair of Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne from Alabama who, since arriving, continue to reshape the Redskins defensive line. The idea was based in the correct belief that the Redskins had to rebuild their identity and take the best players available through the draft.

But what do they do this year?

Alex Smith is out for the foreseeable future. That we know for sure. Do the Redskins pull the trigger on Drew Lock from Missouri? Or maybe Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray if he falls? Maybe. But the Redskins cannot go into the war room with the attitude that a quarterback at 15 is the best and only way to go.

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