How did Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins grow in Week 11?

Mechanics

Every little thing matters when a quarterback throws the ball; where his feet are pointed, how his plant leg is situated, where his hips are pointed, what angle his elbow is launching from, the degree of tuck from his elbow to his torso. A quarterback must check most, if not all, of these mechanical boxes when throwing the football, and if one little thing is off, it can cause the pass to unravel with totality.

This is what we saw happen in the Vikings game, when Haskins threw a high pass that bounced off of Terry McLaurin’s outstretched hands, and was intercepted by Anthony Harris. Haskins’ elbow was low and tucked in toward his body as he threw, and as a result, his pass was higher than its intended target. A lower elbow leads to this tendency to loft balls. In college, this was one of Haskins’ biggest flaws; his elbow position was often concave, which caused him to miss high. This is an upper body issue, but it can be caused by lower body inconsistencies as well.

There are still instances where Haskins will revert back to his habit of elbow tucking, but in the Jets game, he showed a bit more control over his arm angles, and his overall fundamentals in general. While adverse circumstances may have caused his mechanics to deteriorate earlier in the season, it appears as though Haskins is starting to turn a corner in this department as well.

Let’s take a look at Haskins’ completion to Kelvin Harmon again, this time shared by The Athletic’s Mark Bullock, who will have a comprehensive film review out soon.

Watch Haskins’ hips and shoulders throughout his pre-pass process. The entire time, through his pocket manipulation and progressions, his hips and shoulders are squared to the sideline. This allows Haskins to generate as much torque as possible with his hip rotation as he throws, and it allows him to glean as much throw power from his lower body as he can, making it easier to extend his elbow and generate maximum velocity organically with his arm.

When Haskins’ feet aren’t separated, when his shoulders aren’t squared, and when his elbow is tucked, he can’t generate maximum velocity on his throws, and as a result, weaker, looser passes may occur. This pass to Kelvin Harmon is promising because Haskins maintains mechanical soundness, even while under pressure. He did the same in the earlier touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin; on the run, he kept his shoulders square, so that when he did throw, he generated as much torque as possible, allowing the ball to reach his target with both pace and precision.

Playing quarterback is a complex, intricate puzzle, and slowly, Haskins is putting the pieces together, in spite of his unsavory situation. He grew with reps at Ohio State, and he’s showing that same trend with the Redskins. Once he gains enough comfort with the process, and once his separate, subjugated quarterback tasks mend together as one fluid progression, he can fully apply his physical traits, and reach his ultimate potential.