The Washington Redskins are going to be tied to a lot of quarterbacks during the 2019 offseason. Daniel Jones will be one of them.
It seems almost certain that the Redskins are going to select a quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft. The debate about when they will select one tends to be more prevalent than the if they’ll select one debate. Some want a quarterback early while others prefer to wait until the mid to late rounds. But either way, the team will strongly consider all the options they have at the position.
Among the team’s options will be Duke quarterback Daniel Jones. The redshirt junior declared for the draft after a solid year at Duke. He has been consistently on the rise since his bowl game and during draft season, he will have even more of a chance to improve his stock.
Like every quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jones comes with his warts. But at the same time, he may be the most pro-ready prospect of the bunch. He seems to be a bit of a love/hate prospect among talent evaluators, but in a league starved for quarterback talent, a team will almost certainly take him in the first round.
The Redskins are going to be one of the teams that will strongly consider Jones with their first rounder. Here’s an assessment of Jones’ potential at the NFL level and his fit with Washington.
Scouting Daniel Jones
When watching Jones on tape, there’s one thing that stands out above all else. That’s his toughness. The Duke quarterback isn’t afraid to take hits anywhere on the field. He fights for extra yards as a scrambler and hangs in the pocket to absorb big hits while still completing passes. He will need to be a bit more careful at the NFL level, but the fact that he doesn’t fear contact and is poised when throwing and taking a hit is a plus for him.
Jones (6-5, 220 pounds) has generally solid accuracy and a high football I.Q. He reads the field very well and was consistently able to find open men in Duke’s offense. His numbers would have been better with a stronger supporting cast, as he was the victim of a number of drops and got pressured relentlessly at times.
Jones also is able to put good touch on his passes which leads him to have decent ball placement. His short to intermediate accuracy is very good, and he has showcased solid, albeit inconsistent, downfield accuracy. Additionally, he has good footwork — which is to be expected of a David Cutcliffe coached quarterback — that gives him nice mechanics for the next level. He’s also a very good scrambler. He will be able to execute RPOs and read-option plays with success at the NFL level.
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There are still some concerns with Jones that make him a bit of risk. Though Jones is accurate, he can be prone to hot-and-cold stretches. When his accuracy is off, he tends to overshoot them and miss high. More subtly, his ball placement can occasionally be slightly off and when that occurs, he throws behind his receiver a bit. NFL players will be able to make up for some of the misses Jones had on throws behind, but it could cost them a chance to run after the catch. Jones will have to work a bit on that at the NFL level to create more chunk plays as opposed to short to intermediate games.
The other major area for concern is his decision making. This is somewhat surprising given his good field vision, poise, and intelligence, but Jones had some questionable throws on tape. Sometimes, he threw ill-advised passes into good coverage. In his 2018 bowl game against Temple, he threw off his back foot into double coverage while under pressure.
While Jones had ups and downs against pressure, he still needs to work on not making rash decisions and looking for the open man. Instead of forcing plays at the NFL level, he will have to be willing to throw the ball away when he gets into trouble to avoid sacks and turnovers. At times, he tried to do too much with his mobility and arm talent, and he won’t get away with that playing professionally.
It’s notable that Jones did whatever was asked of him at Duke. He had a couple of pooch punts during the season and seemed comfortable doing that. He actually downed them deep in his opponent’s territory, so that could be a bit of a secret weapon for him. Any sort of versatility helps in the modern NFL.
Of all the quarterbacks in this class, Jones is probably the safest because of his experience in a pro-style system, his frame and mobility, and his overall arm talent. He has some work to do with decision making, ball placement, and working under pressure, but they are all fixable issues. His ceiling is as a Carson Wentz-type while his floor is similar to the skillset of Ryan Tannehill.
How Jones fits with the Redskins
The obvious answer to this is that the Redskins need a quarterback. But beyond that, there are a couple of reasons that Jones would be a sensible option for the Redskins.
First of all, Jones is arguably the most pro-ready quarterback in this draft. Yes, the 2019 quarterback class is fairly weak, but Jones comes from a pro-style system and won’t take long to integrate into an NFL system. Cutcliffe’s coaching will have him ready to play, and the only major concern for him will be improving his decision making.
Jones also happens to fit what Jay Gruden looks for in a quarterback pretty well, so that is a plus. Gruden could run a lot of the offensive concepts and RPOs that have been successful for him over the course of his career with the Bengals and Redskins. Jones should be able to execute that and probably would do so better than any other first-round quarterback in this draft.
In Washington, Jones would challenge Colt McCoy for a starting job right away. At the same time, he wouldn’t be forced to start if he wasn’t ready, as McCoy can hold the fort for a season if necessary. The team could also develop Jones behind the scenes in hopes of surrounding him with a better supporting cast in 2020, though that seems less likely than having him begin the 2019 season as a starter.
In short, Jones would add talent to one of the weaker positions on the Redskins. He has long-term upside but also provides a solid floor in the short-term. And that would help keep them competitive which, like it or not, is important for Gruden’s staff and the front office. He could be trusted as the team’s Week 1 starter if needed, and while there would be growing pains, he would still have a chance to produce and develop.
Should the Redskins pick Jones in Round 1?
If Jones is on the board at 15, the Redskins will have to strongly consider him. However, it’s not guaranteed that the Duke product will be there on draft night.
With several teams in front of the ‘Skins needing help at the quarterback position, Jones could be pushed up draft boards. The Giants, Jaguars, Broncos, Bengals, and Dolphins could all go with quarterbacks, so there’s no guarantee that Jones will be on the board.
In the event that the Redskins would have to trade up for Jones, that probably wouldn’t be worth it. Considering the strong crop of passers coming out in 2020, the team would probably be better served to pass on Jones and target the best available player while shoring up weaknesses on the offensive line and on the defensive edge. The team could still consider trading up for Jones, but it’s hard to justify the cost.
Jones would be a great fit at quarterback for the Redskins. If they end up taking a first-round quarterback, this analyst thinks that Jones would be the top pick. Of course, the Combine will tell us more about Jones and his stock, but for now, he should be considered one of the top quarterbacks to target in Round 1 — if the team elects to go in that direction.