profusion

You could get away with it back then because there was no salary cap and modern free agency hadn't been implemented yet. Bobby Beathard essentially kept in place the "trade picks for players" mentality that George Allen had implemented from '71-77. It worked because JKC was willing to pay as much as it took to have a great team every year. In '93, it was a confluence of events: the Gibbs core got old, many of them had to be dumped for the team to come under the new salary cap, and other guys left in free agency. Charlie Casserly should have seen all this coming well in advance, but he did little to prepare. By 1994, it was essentially a brand new team, and it took 3-4 years to get back to being merely okay. To his credit, Casserly eventually rebuilt into that wonderful 1999 team, which Snyder sadly tore apart with his 'fantasy draft' approach to free agent signings. Has anyone told Ron yet that they're out of playoff contention?

Also, a team in rebuilding mode is going to want (1) as much draft capital as possible, and (2) a wise veteran QB to mentor their rookie. Howell doesn't satisfy the latter, and his trade value, while not overwhelming, would appeal to a new front office. Especially if the alternative is a potential 21st Century "Sonny vs. Billy" situation. Nobody wants that.

RG III is the ultimate "what if", but his body was simply never going to withstand the rigors of NFL life. As you say, the Redskins haven't drafted a true elite "franchise" QB since Baugh. Cousins and Rypien are probably the closest they've come to that, but I wouldn't consider either elite. I do think there needs to be an asterisk beside this stat, though. I'd consider Theismann to have been "developed" by the Redskins, since his only experience prior to joining them was a few years in the CFL. He sat for four years behind Kilmer before he got the starting nod. It's such an odd thing, since the Redskins focused more on trades than the draft during the Allen, Pardee, and Gibbs eras. You're probably right, but it seems like there's always that one guy who falls a long way, and he'd be my guess. Like you say, what happens at the combine may change the entire draft analysis.

The top 4 there, for sure, but I thought Christian Holmes flashed in his opportunity and I'm not sure why you'd hold him out to protect trade value (he has none).

Howell was putting up gaudy numbers early in the season, and maybe that's what people outside DC are seeing. I'd think the last month or so would have changed people's minds, but I've given up trying to figure out what some teams are thinking.

Because we can't have nice things: WAS 33 DAL 31 Brissett puts up huge numbers in relief of Sam.

Tough to compare across eras. Those early 1960s Redskins defenses were legendarily bad, and that'd probably still be how I would vote. Also, they played three fewer games per season back then. That 1954 team gave up 432 points in a 12-game season. That's pretty awful! Averaging it out per game, the '54 team gave up 36 points per game, while the 2023 team is giving up an average of 30. So maybe there's your answer.

Ron is the king of the meaningless win, so I'm not assuming we lose. Picking at three would be tough. I think there's a good chance that Daniels falls pretty far. Fear of failure will make GMs wary of picking the consolation prize that high. I'd be tempted to take Harrison and the best QB still available in the 2nd round--or to trade down and get that OT they also need.

The tougher question is what they would do at #4 or 5. Those are entirely within the realm of possibility. How much are you willing to give up for Williams or Maye?

I'd prefer they draft one of the top 3 rated QBs, but building up the team around a guy like Penix is a defensible strategy, especially if the FO has concerns about all of them. The key thing that needs to be there is a FO capable of intelligently evaluating and selecting a QB. If Josh can put together a good leadership team, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this.

Yeah, I'm agnostic on the top 3 QBs simply because I haven't seen any of them in action. I have watched a little of Nix and Penix, and I have concerns with both as "franchise" QBs. Nix looks more ready to start immediately, but I didn't see as many flashes of huge potential. Penix looks more like a project. I just found the comment about Williams' DMV connection to be dumb. It's meaningless. He's going to want to go to a winning situation and/or a top 5 media market. The length of time it takes to visit his parents won't be a factor.

I'd hate to lose him, but it'd probably be easier to find a replacement for Terry than for Payne.

If the new management thinks the difference between Williams and Maye is substantial, or they think Caleb would be a way better fit for what they want to do, then I'm fine with them trading with Chicago. However, what we'd be getting along with Williams is a significantly reduced ability to put elite talent around him for almost half of his rookie contract. That concerns me, given the state of our roster.

In the history of dumb takes, this would have to be up there. There may be great reasons why Williams should be a Commander, but being a hometown hero is least among them. Personally, if Maye is "perfect" for us and is there when we draft, I'd rather have him and all those draft picks we'd have to send to Chicago for the first pick.

So much depends on the new GM and coaching staff, and their assessment of the top 3 QBs and the type of offense they want to run. Also, remember we still have the combine to get through. It'll be interesting to see if any of the big 3 decline to participate. All we have to go on now is college careers from different conferences and different levels of competition. Perhaps an equally big question: would the second choice plus a huge draft haul be better than the first choice minus all the picks that would be going to Chicago? That might depend on how close the new staff feels that Williams and Maye are (plus how well each would fit the new scheme in Washington).

I believe it is. After Sammy Baugh, the Redskins' winning QBs were all obtained in trades. Their attempts at drafting QBs in the first round have been especially disastrous. Norm Snead might have been the best of these, and he was only with the team for a couple years during a bad era.

Why do they keep trying to make spring football a thing?

They're starting to look like one now.

Tom Landry didn't need all that fol-de-rol. Just sayin.

Barf alert.

Wow! That was awesome.

Jerry sure looks thrilled at how everyone is being reminded who the real genius behind those '90s SB teams was. 😄

All of a sudden, all the top NFC teams look vulnerable.

The new regime might appreciate having some recent film seeing how those folks are doing, though.

I wouldn't mind it for the last two games. It's hard to evaluate anyone else on the offense if the QB is in full meltdown mode.