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Why the Washington Football Team shouldn’t go all in on the Taylor Heinicke hype

By Jonathan Eig

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 27: Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team scrambles with the ball away from the tackle of Efe Obada #94 of the Carolina Panthers during the third quarter at FedExField on December 27, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 27: Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team scrambles with the ball away from the tackle of Efe Obada #94 of the Carolina Panthers during the third quarter at FedExField on December 27, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 9: Quarterback Warren Moon #1 of the Houston Oilers sets up to pass against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium on September 9, 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons defeated the Oilers 47-27. (Photo by Gin Ellis/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 9: Quarterback Warren Moon #1 of the Houston Oilers sets up to pass against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium on September 9, 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons defeated the Oilers 47-27. (Photo by Gin Ellis/Getty Images) /

How Taylor Heinicke compares to other unheralded QBs

The realistic ceiling for Heinicke is “pretty good backup.” If he turns into Colt McCoy, who seems to me to be a reasonably good comparison, that’s a good outcome. But you never wanted McCoy as your everyday starter, did you?

Heinicke was a very productive small school college QB who went undrafted. He kicked around the league for a while, never impressing any team enough to hold onto him. The Washington Football Team turned to him in desperation late last season and he came through big time. He rode that performance and the confidence that undoubtedly came with it into a new contract.

Suddenly, a small battalion of fans began seeing a latter-day Kurt Warner.

More from Riggo's Rag

Taylor Heinicke is not Kurt Warner. He is not Warren Moon. He is not Tony Romo. Those are the undrafted miracles who inspire every D2 QB to dream of NFL stardom.

They were all bigger than Heinicke. They all had better arms. Maybe most importantly, they all achieved significant success a lot earlier than Heinicke.

Within a year of graduating from college, Moon was a standout for the team now known as the Edmonton Elks of the CFL. In his first five years in the CFL, he won five Grey Cups.

Warner failed in his initial stint with an NFL team, but a year later he was dominating the Arena Football League to such a degree that he forced his way back into the league. A couple of years later, he was going to the Super Bowl.

In his first three years, Romo seemed destined for life as a career backup in Dallas. By the end of his fourth year, he was playing in the Pro Bowl.

As late as 2020, six years after leaving college, Taylor Heinicke was backing up Jordan Ta’amu for the St Louis Battlehawks of the XFL.

We all want to believe in the scrappy underdog. We all want to believe that somehow a kid fell through the cracks, only to be discovered, and then revered. I’m no psychologist, but I figure this speaks to our own desire to uncover untapped greatness within ourselves. There’s a reason why the Harry Potter series was such a phenomenon.

And it can happen, as witnessed by the Moons and Warners and Romos of the world.

But Taylor Heinicke played one great game. In six years. I’ll give you the half he played against Carolina if you insist. So he played one-and-a-half great games.

Instead of comparing him to Moon or Warner, he might more realistically slot somewhere between the Packers’ Don Majkowski (who had one magical season) and the Cowboys’ Clint Longley (who had one magical half).

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