It’s far, far too early to make a firm judgment on Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins has appeared in a couple of games for the Washington Redskins this season. While he hasn’t looked good so far, it’s far too early to make any sort of judgment on him.

Twenty-two passes. That’s all we’ve seen. Dwayne Haskins has thrown 22 passes so far during his NFL career. But already, some are willing to label him a bust.

Haskins, the No. 15 overall pick by the Washington Redskins in the 2019 NFL Draft, has entered two games this season for the Redskins. He didn’t start them, he entered them as a backup. In those games, he has completed 54.5 percent of his passes for 140 yards and four interceptions. Are those numbers good? No, not at all. But that sample size of 22 passes is absurdly small. And making any sort of judgment on him after that little action would be irresponsible.

When the Redskins drafted Haskins, they believed he needed time to develop. That’s why he hasn’t started a game so far this season. The team seemed content to keep him on the bench until they believe he’s ready to play. So far, they haven’t believed he’s ready. And so far, he has only played because of the injury issues the team has had at quarterback with Case Keenum and Colt McCoy being banged-up at various points.

Granted, even if they don’t believe Haskins is ready to hit the field, the coaching staff should be looking to do a better job of getting Haskins prepared to play if he is going to continue on as the team’s primary backup. He didn’t look ready on Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings and the team called an extremely conservative offense around him, only allowing him to throw five times in total. So, that aspect of his preparation needs to be improved.

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But still, given what Haskins has shown so far, perhaps letting him develop on the bench for the first half of the season was the right move. After all, the 2019 quarterback draft class was viewed as a weaker one, and even the top prospects included in it, like Haskins, were considered longer-term developmental prospects. Also, it’s worth noting that the two other first-round quarterbacks drafted have endured their share of struggles as well. Here’s a look at their stat lines so far:

• Kyler Murray: 3-3-1, 64.5 percent completion rate on 259 attempts, 1,768 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble
• Daniel Jones: 2-3, 61.1 percent completion rate on 175 passes, 1,144 yards, 6 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 6 fumbles

Haskins’ performance has been worse than both of those players statistically, but it’s worth noting that his only work has come in injury relief while the other two have made a combined 12 starts. So, perhaps as a starter, Haskins could find a bit more of a rhythm and put up some better numbers.

For that reason, the team should let Haskins start a game at some point in the near future and see exactly what he can do with a full week of starter reps and preparation under his belt.

Once we start to see a larger sample size from Haskins and once he actually gets a chance to make some starts, that will be when the picture becomes clearer. But until then, fans must wait and see what he can do before rushing to judgment. And he certainly can’t be called a bust after such limited action.

Even if he plays the rest of his rookie season and continues to struggle, the team shouldn’t necessarily give up on him. After all, Jared Goff went 0-7 as a rookie and posted terrible numbers before developing into a solid starter under Sean McVay. Sometimes it just takes time for players to develop at the NFL level. And while some players can be plug-and-play starters and upgrades at quarterback, not all are.

We’ll soon see what Haskins can do moving forward. If Keenum (concussion) can’t play in Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills, the Redskins are likely to start Haskins.