Examining Shanahan's Failures In Personnel Acquisition - A Brief Overview:

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

Its easy to look back with hindsight of course, but there were plenty of people who liked the guy I'm about to mention:

 

Its a shame looking back that Shanahan (like he does a lot) got cute and went with his hand-picked nobody (Chris Thompson, who we all talked ourselves into liking as a draft pick) over the fairly obvious RB with play-making/receiving ability that we were after in Ellington. Who went in the 6th.

Ellington had really bad vision in college. Fail in the ZBS. I don't think he's hopeless though.

And as a drafter, I think you just summed up his issue. He gets overly cute with his draft picks and his board tends to he really wonky. LeRibeus is a big example (pun sorta unintended). Or Clarett back in the day.

[steve09ru]

The Redskins are the second oldest team in the league, have little in the near future regarding the draft given the Griffin deal, and people are complaining about the 3rd string QB?  Wow, just wow.

We have 4 starters 29 years or older (Bowen, Cofield, Monty, Fletch.  1 over 30 (Fletch).  Only 3 others on our bench are over 30 (Rex, Moss, Barnett). 

 

"have little in the near future regarding draft" - we're only without our first this year.  Nothing else is lost so "having little" is a bit of a stretch.

 

People aren't complaining about the 3rd string QB.  They are saying that if it comes down to it this season that we have to rely on our 3rd QB, we won't be a contender anyway so why keep that spot occupied instead of bringing up someone that could gain experience while also filling a hole.  Rex doesn't play on game day, doesn't play special teams, he literally serves no purpose at this time.

[SJValleySkinz]

Its easy to look back with hindsight of course, but there were plenty of people who liked the guy I'm about to mention:

 

Its a shame looking back that Shanahan (like he does a lot) got cute and went with his hand-picked nobody (Chris Thompson, who we all talked ourselves into liking as a draft pick) over the fairly obvious RB with play-making/receiving ability that we were after in Ellington. Who went in the 6th.

 

I'm not a Shanny fan at all but I'll take his word over anyone's when it comes to running backs. Alfred Morris was also a nobody and if I recall correctly from the draft thread on this board a potential convert to fullback.

[Darkstarr]

Shanny is a mediocre drafter. Hitting on your firsts is nothing special - take a look at our first rounds Pre Shanny

2004: Sean Taylor

2005: Rogers/Campbell

:

2007 Landry

2009: Orakpo

Thats an 80% hit rate. And Campbell really didn't underperform his draft slot.

You're supposed to nail your firsts.

And in Denver Shanny routinely bombed his firsts.

I would take Kerrigan over Orakpo

I would take Reed over landry

I would take williams over Rogers or Cambell. Really Cambell you are saying a first rd qb bust is a good pick REALLY?

The only arguement is is Taylor over Griffin. Even there if Griff turns out to be a franchise qb then that is the better pick because of the position. (thou taylor was far greater player imo)

So in 2005 when you could have had Ware and A. Rodgers you got Rodgers and Cambell. Yeah steller draft how is that working out.

[Darkstarr]

The Redskins are the second oldest team in the league, have little in the near future regarding the draft given the Griffin deal, and people are complaining about the 3rd string QB?  Wow, just wow.

So your starting Offense is 

    Griff                2nd yr

    Morris             2nd yr

    Young            4th  yr

    Garcon           6th yr

    Hankerson      3rd yr

    Reed              Rookie

    Williams          4th yr           Chester 8th 

    Lich                6th                Polubus 5th

    Monty             8th 

 

I would not consider that a very OLD offense.  I am not worried about Moss, fletcher, Rocca, and Rex bringing the averages up.

[Skins Wingman]

i believe 100% in the term "it all starts up front". the majority of your early picks should be going towards lineman. lets look at our line:

lt - trent williams - 1st round

lg - kory lichtensteiger - 4th round

c - will montgomery - 7th round

rg - chris chester - 2nd round

rt - tyler polumbus - undrafted

compared to the 8-0 chiefs:

lt - branden albert - 1st round

lg - jeff allen - 2nd round

c - rodney hudson - 2nd round

rg - jon asamoah - 3rd round

rt - eric fisher - 1st round

and the 5-2 colts who supposedly have a bad line:

lt - anthony castonzo - 1st round

lg - hugh thornton - 3rd round

c - samson satele - 2nd round

rg - mike mcglynn - 4th round

rt - gosder cherilus - 1st round

now, i know that early round doesnt always mean the player will be good, but you cant skimp on the line. here is shanahans offensive line draft picks:

2010: trent williams - 1st, erik cook - 7th, selvish capers - 7th

2011: maurice hurt - 7th

2012: josh leribeus - 3rd, adam gettis - 5th, tom compton - 6th

2013: none

2 players in the first 3 rounds. 7 out of 34 total picks. where is he going with all these low round picks? you can't expect to pull all these diamonds out of the rough. and only one of these players is actually playing. we all say, "i wish we had 5 trent williams' playing on the line"... well, if mike shanahan invested more into the line, maybe we could. In fact, the redskins in general have neglected the line for some time now. and everybody wonders why we're so bad.. it all starts up front.

[Darkstarr]

So if that is the case, you would have 2 more linemen, but would not have kerrigan, Jenkins nor RG3.  I agree with you it starts up front, but it  is not like those 3 picks were bad picks that have not helped the team also. Instead of taking a G, RT, or C we took a passing rushing lb, a qb and a de. I would argue those are need also. In today's nfl pass rush might be as important as anything now.

[SJValleySkinz]

i believe 100% in the term "it all starts up front". the majority of your early picks should be going towards lineman. lets look at our line:

lt - trent williams - 1st round

lg - kory lichtensteiger - 4th round

c - will montgomery - 7th round

rg - chris chester - 2nd round

rt - tyler polumbus - undrafted

compared to the 8-0 chiefs:

lt - branden albert - 1st round

lg - jeff allen - 2nd round

c - rodney hudson - 2nd round

rg - jon asamoah - 3rd round

rt - eric fisher - 1st round

and the 5-2 colts who supposedly have a bad line:

lt - anthony castonzo - 1st round

lg - hugh thornton - 3rd round

c - samson satele - 2nd round

rg - mike mcglynn - 4th round

rt - gosder cherilus - 1st round

now, i know that early round doesnt always mean the player will be good, but you cant skimp on the line. here is shanahans offensive line draft picks:

2010: trent williams - 1st, erik cook - 7th, selvish capers - 7th

2011: maurice hurt - 7th

2012: josh leribeus - 3rd, adam gettis - 5th, tom compton - 6th

2013: none

2 players in the first 3 rounds. 7 out of 34 total picks. where is he going with all these low round picks? you can't expect to pull all these diamonds out of the rough. and only one of these players is actually playing. we all say, "i wish we had 5 trent williams' playing on the line"... well, if mike shanahan invested more into the line, maybe we could. In fact, the redskins in general have neglected the line for some time now. and everybody wonders why we're so bad.. it all starts up front.

 

That's an extremely rigid view. How many of the Hogs and that late 90's Broncos o-line were drafted in rounds that don't exist anymore, or not drafted at all? You draft the best player.

[steve09ru]

i believe 100% in the term "it all starts up front". the majority of your early picks should be going towards lineman. lets look at our line:

lt - trent williams - 1st round

lg - kory lichtensteiger - 4th round

c - will montgomery - 7th round

rg - chris chester - 2nd round

rt - tyler polumbus - undrafted

compared to the 8-0 chiefs:

lt - branden albert - 1st round

lg - jeff allen - 2nd round

c - rodney hudson - 2nd round

rg - jon asamoah - 3rd round

rt - eric fisher - 1st round

and the 5-2 colts who supposedly have a bad line:

lt - anthony castonzo - 1st round

lg - hugh thornton - 3rd round

c - samson satele - 2nd round

rg - mike mcglynn - 4th round

rt - gosder cherilus - 1st round

now, i know that early round doesnt always mean the player will be good, but you cant skimp on the line. here is shanahans offensive line draft picks:

2010: trent williams - 1st, erik cook - 7th, selvish capers - 7th

2011: maurice hurt - 7th

2012: josh leribeus - 3rd, adam gettis - 5th, tom compton - 6th

2013: none

2 players in the first 3 rounds. 7 out of 34 total picks. where is he going with all these low round picks? you can't expect to pull all these diamonds out of the rough. and only one of these players is actually playing. we all say, "i wish we had 5 trent williams' playing on the line"... well, if mike shanahan invested more into the line, maybe we could. In fact, the redskins in general have neglected the line for some time now. and everybody wonders why we're so bad.. it all starts up front.

I get what you are saying to an extent but it's not always the case, you contradicted your argument with the Colts.  They do not have a very good line but have 2 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd.

 

Here's an article from earlier this month rating the olines (first quarter of the season).

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/10/09/ranking-the-2013-offensive-lines-first-quarter/4/

 

We're also working with limited resources and have had more pressing needs elsewhere.  You also have to look at what's available that will fit our scheme, a lot of times those guys aren't projects as high as your typical olineman.

[Royale]

A couple things about the OP that bother me. Trading those picks for RG3 might end up being one of the biggest blunders ever in drafting if he continues the track he is on right now. I can only comment on what I see on the field. 

 

On the case of trading carter and cooley for "picks". This isn't madden where you have computer AI's who just take your trades, its very hard to move players in this league due to trades.

 

Don't mistake me for not being on board with what you're saying though, I believe Shanahan pigeonholed himself into a couple of schemes where he might leave this team with a sizeable rebuild if he has to go. Our offensive line with have to be rebuilt with most new schemes that come in. A small offensive line is a novel idea. On the defensive side of the ball, WHEN hasslet goes, because its pretty much a given that he will be gone at some point, we will ultimately have to start getting players who actually make plays who aren't named DHall.

[pjfootballer]

Everyone is always quick to bring up the LJ and Galloway signings.  But they did ZERO damage to the team at the time.  The CBA was frozen essentially, there was going to be a lockout and alot of the big name free agents that year were not able to declare free agency.  We took some low salary guys that filled some holes for a year.  It did not "stunt" the growth of any younger guys, because quite frankly, there were no "younger" guys ready to step in.  LJ was released after 3 games and Galloway was semi productive.  There were no Adrian Petersons or Vincent Jacksons on the market.  Their signings didn't even dent the cap. 

[Rudechain]

The Redskins are the second oldest team in the league, have little in the near future regarding the draft given the Griffin deal, and people are complaining about the 3rd string QB?  Wow, just wow.

2nd oldest team in the league but you wrote it to make it sound much worse than it actually is.  It's not like  the team is full of USAA inductees.

 

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/09/nfl-teams-ranked-by-average-age/

 

Redskins average age 26.84 years old

Rams are the team with the youngest average age at 24.98

 

Really only 2 years separate the youngest average age from the oldest.

 

Take in the fact that Fletcher 38. Rocca 39 , Moss 34,  Grossman 33  and Barnett 32 are on that list also and I imagine you will see this team get much younger next season. ( Rocca, Grossman and Barnett  are most likely gone after this season and Fletch and Moss are due to retire soon)

 

As for the picks, the 2014 1st rounder is the only one missing right now with a full compliment of picks in 2015 and beyond.  So one missing draft pick is how you term  " have little in the near future regarding the draft given the Griffin deal,"   Your going to have to explain that one as it makes absolutely no sense.   

 

This team is still a year away from contending.  We got lucky last year and went on a run and then the fans have improper expectations

[SJValleySkinz]

2nd oldest team in the league but you wrote it to make it sound much worse than it actually is.  It's not like  the team is full of USAA inductees.

 

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/09/nfl-teams-ranked-by-average-age/

 

Redskins average age 26.84 years old

Rams are the team with the youngest average age at 24.98

 

Really only 2 years separate the youngest average age from the oldest.

 

Take in the fact that Fletcher 38. Rocca 39 , Moss 34,  Grossman 33  and Barnett 32 are on that list also and I imagine you will see this team get much younger next season. ( Rocca, Grossman and Barnett  are most likely gone after this season and Fletch and Moss are due to retire soon)

 

As for the picks, the 2014 1st rounder is the only one missing right now with a full compliment of picks in 2015 and beyond.  So one missing draft pick is how you term  " have little in the near future regarding the draft given the Griffin deal,"   Your going to have to explain that one as it makes absolutely no sense.   

 

This team is still a year away from contending.  We got lucky last year and went on a run and then the fans have improper expectations

 

That's what people failed to recognize in that trade the pick volume didn't suffer too much. It hurts to not have a number one pick, but in the NFL draft you can find good players all over the board. What kills you is when those drafts with only 4-5 picks start pilling up and to the F.O's credit they avoided that. I'll take 4 drafts in which my team has 7-10 picks with no 1st round pick before I take 2 drafts with the picks we had in 2010.

 

For whoever is about to say "but we got two starters in 2010 and there was a cap penalty and injuries and Kyle's yorkie ate his playblook..." I know, I'm just talking about pick volume.

[Rudechain]

That's what people failed to recognize in that trade the pick volume didn't suffer too much. It hurts to not have a number one pick, but in the NFL draft you can find good players all over the board. What kills you is when those drafts with only 4-5 picks start pilling up and to the F.O's credit they avoided that. I'll take 4 drafts in which my team has 7-10 picks with no 1st round pick before I take 2 drafts with the picks we had in 2010.

 

For whoever is about to say "but we got two starters in 2010 and there was a cap penalty and injuries and Kyle's yorkie ate his playblook..." I know, I'm just talking about pick volume.

sometimes you have to pull the trigger if you suspect a player is worth it.   RGIII last year looked like he was worth it, this year not so much.   ( But I still would make the trade, a franchise QB is what this team has been looking for a loooooong time.)

 

Just my opinion, but I think you should find a player who will contribute in the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th round.  Maybe not a starter but someone who contributes to a rotation and makes an impact.   1st rounder, I expect a starter.   5th round a beyond, your just rolling the dice, bringing in competition and hoping you find a diamond you can place on the practice squad.

 

But the whole premise of the OP is flawed.  You can't play the what if game and use that as your argument.   Who exactly would have traded for Cooley and Carter?  How was Shanny supposed to recoup a draft pick lost in the preceeding supplemental draft?     Since we are not privy to the inner machinations of NFL front offices, we don't really know if teams did speak about trading for these players.  We do know that if talks did take place, the value just was not there.   And you certainly can't use hyperbole as justification.

[PeterMP]

Everyone is always quick to bring up the LJ and Galloway signings.  But they did ZERO damage to the team at the time.  The CBA was frozen essentially, there was going to be a lockout and alot of the big name free agents that year were not able to declare free agency.  We took some low salary guys that filled some holes for a year.  It did not "stunt" the growth of any younger guys, because quite frankly, there were no "younger" guys ready to step in.  LJ was released after 3 games and Galloway was semi productive.  There were no Adrian Petersons or Vincent Jacksons on the market.  Their signings didn't even dent the cap. 

 

The Saints starting  C the last 2 years and this one was on their practice squad in 2010.  I wonder how much he could help the interior OL today.

 

Sam Shields a starting CB with the Packers was a UDFA.  Made it straight to the roster and wasn't on the PS, but if Galloway isn't signed then you have an extra spot and maybe you get Sam Shields.

 

Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I would have told you in 2010 to sign Shields and the Saints current C and that's related to the point about not being a football scout.  I'm also not going to tell you there isn't a good bit of luck involved in terms of whether you sign Shields or some other UDFA that doesn't make it.

 

But by keeping older people on your roster when they aren't going to contribute to significantly to wins (in terms of number or the importance of the wins), you limit your oppurtunities to get lucky and therefore limite your oppurtunity to siginificantly (and cheaply, which then has cap implication) improve your team in the future.

 

As I said above, if you must get lucky, then the only real control you have is maximizing your oppurtunity to get lucky and keeping older players that aren't going to be significant contributors is not maximizing your chances of getting luckly.

 

And yeah, they cut LJ not too far into the season, but still on a day when lot's of young football players that NFL coaches thought were almost good enough to make it in the NFL were free agents, this team decided that having LJ on the roster was more important than grabbing one of those young players and seeing how they might contribute to the future of this team.

[SJValleySkinz]

The Saints starting  C the last 2 years and this one was on their practice squad in 2010.  I wonder how much he could help the interior OL today.

 

Sam Shields a starting CB with the Packers was a UDFA.  Made it straight to the roster and wasn't on the PS, but if Galloway isn't signed then you have an extra spot and maybe you get Sam Shields.

 

Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I would have told you in 2010 to sign Shields and the Saints current C and that's related to the point about not being a football scout.  I'm also not going to tell you there isn't a good bit of luck involved in terms of whether you sign Shields or some other UDFA that doesn't make it.

 

But by keeping older people on your roster when they aren't going to contribute to significantly to wins (in terms of number or the importance of the wins), you limit your oppurtunities to get lucky and therefore limite your oppurtunity to siginificantly (and cheaply, which then has cap implication) improve your team in the future.

 

As I said above, if you must get lucky, then the only real control you have is maximizing your oppurtunity to get lucky and keeping older players that aren't going to be significant contributors is not maximizing your chances of getting luckly.

 

And yeah, they cut LJ not too far into the season, but still on a day when lot's of young football players that NFL coaches thought were almost good enough to make it in the NFL were free agents, this team decided that having LJ on the roster was more important than grabbing one of those young players and seeing how they might contribute to the future of this team.

 

There's a lot of luck in it, but there's a reason the teams that always seems to "luck" into those guys are more often than not teams that pop up with double digits in the win column rather frequently.

[Skins Wingman]

 

That's an extremely rigid view. How many of the Hogs and that late 90's Broncos o-line were drafted in rounds that don't exist anymore, or not drafted at all? You draft the best player.

Hogs and late 90's? You're living in the past. The game has changed top to bottom since then.

 

I get what you are saying to an extent but it's not always the case, you contradicted your argument with the Colts.  They do not have a very good line but have 2 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd.

what i was trying to show with the colts is they have invested in their line, and their record and production are showing the results. andrew luck isnt a one man wrecking crew, its a team effort. I don't understand why people think his line is bad.

i think about the jets as a team that focuses heavily on the offensive line. multiple 1st round picks. they wasted the team away behind bad quarterbacks tho. Even with horrible qb play, they went to the afc championship 2 years in a row. their offensive line in the foundation of that team. 

[SJValleySkinz]

 

Hogs and late 90's? You're living in the past. The game has changed top to bottom since then.

 

what i was trying to show with the colts is they have invested in their line, and their record and production are showing the results. andrew luck isnt a one man wrecking crew, its a team effort. I don't understand why people think his line is bad.

i think about the jets as a team that focuses heavily on the offensive line. multiple 1st round picks. they wasted the team away behind bad quarterbacks tho. Even with horrible qb play, they went to the afc championship 2 years in a row. their offensive line in the foundation of that team. 

 

Not every great offensive line has to be made up of high draft picks even today. Kris Dielman, Mark Tauscher, Jeff Saturday, Chris Myers, Josh Sitton, Chris Kuper, Jahri Evans, Donald Penn, Carl Nicks, David Stewart. Those are just names off the top of my head of linemen that were/are the strength of their units and were no taken in the first three rounds.

[Skins Wingman]

 

Not every great offensive line has to be made up of high draft picks even today. Kris Dielman, Mark Tauscher, Jeff Saturday, Chris Myers, Josh Sitton, Chris Kuper, Jahri Evans, Donald Penn, Carl Nicks, David Stewart. Those are just names off the top of my head of linemen that were/are the strength of their units and were no taken in the first three rounds.

 

you can't pick individual players from different teams to use as an example. find a good team whose whole line consists of players drafted below the 3rd round, and prove me wrong.

[steve09ru]

 

 

you can't pick individual players from different teams to use as an example. find a good team whose whole line consists of players drafted below the 3rd round, and prove me wrong.

The skins whole line isn't below the 3rd round so that part is irrelevant.  The reason the line struggles as times is because they are being put in bad positions and not played to their strengths.  This line isn't built to be one that is strong for a pure drop back passer.  It's a line that is designed to move laterally and allow for a moving pocket.  That's why the offense is so successful when run the ball outside the tackles and RG3 is outside the pocket.

[pjfootballer]

But by keeping older people on your roster when they aren't going to contribute to significantly to wins (in terms of number or the importance of the wins), you limit your oppurtunities to get lucky and therefore limite your oppurtunity to siginificantly (and cheaply, which then has cap implication) improve your team in the future.

 

As I said above, if you must get lucky, then the only real control you have is maximizing your oppurtunity to get lucky and keeping older players that aren't going to be significant contributors is not maximizing your chances of getting luckly.

 

And yeah, they cut LJ not too far into the season, but still on a day when lot's of young football players that NFL coaches thought were almost good enough to make it in the NFL were free agents, this team decided that having LJ on the roster was more important than grabbing one of those young players and seeing how they might contribute to the future of this team.

I see what you are saying, but at that point, Shanahan wasn't in the classic "rebuild."  I don't want to open another debate on whether or not we were rebuilding (as that has been beaten to death), but I think his goal was to "overhaul" the roster while still trying to win games. 

 

That was just an odd year for the NFL as a whole with the lockout looming.  I'm not sure an UDFA or practice squad player would even still be on this roster today as they've overturned the majority of it.  I give free agency that year a pass more than any.  There just wasn't anything to find.

[Redskins Diehard]

For those that are wondering the starting center for the New Orleans Saints is Brian de la Puente.  He is 6'3 inches and weighs 306 pounds.  He was signed, and waived, 6 times before landing with the Saints.  He found himself as a starter for the Saints after their starter was hurt and then retired mid season.  He is currently on a 1 year contract.  I'm not an NFL caliber talent scount but I am not convinced that Mr. de la Puente is the answer to our A-gap troubles but we may be able to pick him up in the offseason.

 

Interestingly in our "go old" year of 2010 we did save a spot on the roster for at least a couple young guys.  One of them, Logan Paulsen was an undrafted free agent tight end and is probably somewhere between a "contributor" and a "starter" right now.  The other guy...a former practice squad linebacker is now the only fullback on our roster.  He probably also fits into the category of "contributor/starter".

 

I'm wondering if the consensus among the more knowledgeable among us with regards to draft strategy and team building feel it is better to have fewer low round offensive linemen, or more late round offensive linemen.  The Skins currently have 1 first round, 1 mid round, and 2 late round picks on the 53 man and 1 on the pup.

I see what you are saying, but at that point, Shanahan wasn't in the classic "rebuild."  I don't want to open another debate on whether or not we were rebuilding (as that has been beaten to death), but I think his goal was to "overhaul" the roster while still trying to win games. 

 

That was just an odd year for the NFL as a whole with the lockout looming.  I'm not sure an UDFA or practice squad player would even still be on this roster today as they've overturned the majority of it.  I give free agency that year a pass more than any.  There just wasn't anything to find.

 

I don't think a "rebuild" was even possible because of the signing bonus nature of contracts that prevented cutting our most expensive players.  But I agree with you that I think Shanahan thought he could manage at least a respectable record while overhauling the roster.

 

They actually did find a couple of UDFA players that year that contribute still to this day.

[ajax4132]

Because RGIII as a QB prospect was arguably the best QB prospect since Elway, and getting a QB of that caliber is worth the draft picks given up.

 

And yes, I thought he should have given up GM duties last year. He's been a poor drafter with a penchant for bad personnel management, since the Elway years - he does hit gems like Marshall, Morris, Clady and Cutler from time to time, but more often than not he picks guys like Will Middlebrooks and Jarvis Moss.

 

 

And you don't call giving up a 2nd rounder and getting a 6th in return, especially a HIGH 2nd rounder, a ridiculously bad deal? ESPECIALLY when you look at who was drafted in the 2010 second round.

 

 

 

The biggest misconception about the RG3 pick. Superb measurables and he certainly looked the part but there were questions about his ability to adapt to a pro style offense...difference is Elway never had those question because he came from one at Stanford

[SJValleySkinz]

you can't pick individual players from different teams to use as an example. find a good team whose whole line

consists of players drafted below the 3rd round, and

prove me wrong.

I already did. You didn't make an outright claim you just implied we won't build a good offensive line if the majority of our picks go on offensive lineman. If you're dying for an example take the Giants line from 2007, the Texans interior when Arian Foster had his first couple of thousand yard seasons, the Falcons when Michael Turner was in the mix for rushing titles, the Saints under Payton. All very good and recent offensive lines that did not require their teams to spend a majority of their picks on that position to be built, even though a couple of high picks on offensive linemen to blended in.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

The biggest misconception about the RG3 pick. Superb measurables and he certainly looked the part but there were questions about his ability to adapt to a pro style offense...difference is Elway never had those question because he came from one at Stanford

 

The consensus among those in the know like analysts and scouts coming out of the combine and pro days leading up to draft indicated that if not for Luck, RG3 would be the best QB prospect to come out since Manning who was the best to come out since Elway. Pretty elite company. The pick was also lauded as a match made in heaven with Griffin's mobility, accuracy and ridiculous arm strength pairing with the classic Shanahan rollout/boot system perfectly. 

 

It was well worth the tradeup and I don't think much of a misconception. Sure there were small questions about coming from a spread college offense but given RG3's intelligence and work ethic it wasn't really something people were concerned about.