Drafting Kirk Cousins Was a Huge Mistake

[Mirttinur]

I agree with you and have thought about it a little bit today. I hate to hear we have a "qb controversy", when there really isn't one.

There definitely is one among our fanbase. It's divided.

Then our fanbase is stupid.

Seriously this. We're not inexperienced with this type of insane "the young guy would be way better!" sentiment. I can't believe that anyone on the actual team is thinking this sort of stuff. All the media fluff about it seems like it was just that.

[Irn-Bru]

Couldn't disagree more with the premise of the thread. Others have already made good points, but it's worth repeating even now that there is no real QB controversy on this team. Sure, the fans see greener grass on the other side, and there are a few members of the media stirring the pot. But a real controversy is when the team feels like the #2 guy should be starting, the coach doesn't have the support of the team or the owner, or some other legitimate power struggle that ruins locker room chemistry. I don't see the slightest evidence that there is anything like that happening on our team.

Cousins was good value for the pick. OK, you've said you'd have liked to have addressed a need instead. So looking at the draft order after Cousins, who from the 4th round would you say would have been better for the team? A lineman that's no longer playing in the NFL? One of the guys who have been backups on other NFL teams for the past couple of seasons? Even if you get to cherry pick with the benefit of hindsight, it's actually not easy to see a better pick in that round.

(By the way, another great value pick we got in the 4th round of that draft: Keenan Robinson. Dude is looking like a legit starter.)

[riggofan]

I don't think drafting Cousins was a huge mistake for several reasons:

1) Cousins came off the bench to beat the Ravens and beat the Browns his rookie year. We would not have made the playoffs that year without him.

Who likes to play the "what ifs" game..... I know a lot of you do.

What if we didn't draft Cousins? In 2012, Cousins came in to WIN the game against BAL and WIN the game against CLE. Had we lost those games --- which seems fairly likely with Grossman --- we would have been out of the playoffs. Had we not played in the playoffs, RGIII would have never torn his ACL.

Is the fact Cousins is good the reason we shouldn't have drafted him? Would we be in a better position had we not made the playoffs in 2012?

hah. That's some twilight zone business!

I'm still glad we made the playoffs that year. I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoyed that bit of success that year even though it was such a bitter ending.

And I still believe personally that our troubles last year had more to do with the salary cap penalty than RGIII's ACL recovery. RGIII's injury didn't help, but we saw when Cousins came in that there were much bigger problems on the team.

[EA7649]

Couldn't disagree more with the premise of the thread. Others have already made good points, but it's worth repeating even now that there is no real QB controversy on this team. Sure, the fans see greener grass on the other side, and there are a few members of the media stirring the pot. But a real controversy is when the team feels like the #2 guy should be starting, the coach doesn't have the support of the team or the owner, or some other legitimate power struggle that ruins locker room chemistry. I don't see the slightest evidence that there is anything like that happening on our team.

Cousins was good value for the pick. OK, you've said you'd have liked to have addressed a need instead. So looking at the draft order after Cousins, who from the 4th round would you say would have been better for the team? A lineman that's no longer playing in the NFL? One of the guys who have been backups on other NFL teams for the past couple of seasons? Even if you get to cherry pick with the benefit of hindsight, it's actually not easy to see a better pick in that round.

(By the way, another great value pick we got in the 4th round of that draft: Keenan Robinson. Dude is looking like a legit starter.)

You opened up my eye. Cousins was the best valued pick at that time in the draft. I just wish there wasn't so much QB controversy from fans and media. Plus, clearly Robert takes it personally, as he tweets information and messages related to football. Best case scenario would have been: Draft Cousins, no whisper of a controversy and Robert didn't listen to public critiquing him.

[Snout]

Drafting RGIII was a huge mistake. The Redskins gave up way too much for him, just as the Cowboys gave up way too much for Herschel Walker back in the day when I first became a Redskins fan and nearly burst my gut laughing at the Cowboys for the Herschel Walker trade. Then after they drafted all those drafts picks away for Griffin, they realized that in order to prevent him from getting killed during games, he has to unlearn everything that made him great during college. They have asked him to start over from scratch, forget all of his old strengths, and work on his weaknesses. They have turned the franchise quarterback, the future of the team, into a project. Sorry, but that is completely stupid and bass ackwards.

If Griffin is to be successful in the league, they need to make his transition more gradual. He should be running like a madman. That's what he's good at. That's what can win games for now. Sure, he may put his career at risk. But I think his career is already at serious risk sitting back in the pocket trying to become someone we never was before.

I was one of the few voices of reason who expressed skepticism here when Griffin was drafted. Of course I want the guy to succeed and for the Redskins to win. But drafting a reckless runner and then trying to turn him into a pocket passer is complete and utter foolishness. The Redskins would have done better to use those draft picks for depth and draft Cousins as the pocket QB.

[Deadskins]

Drafting RGIII was a huge mistake. The Redskins gave up way too much for him, just as the Cowboys gave up way too much for Herschel Walker back in the day when I first became a Redskins fan and nearly burst my gut laughing at the Cowboys for the Herschel Walker trade.

Um, the Cowpies traded Walker to the Vikings, and were the ones who got the far better end of the deal. They turned that trade into three Superbowl trophies.

[StorminMormon86]

FWIW, there are rumors that the Rams are interested in Cousins, but the asking price is too high.

[Deadskins]

FWIW, there are rumors that the Rams are interested in Cousins, but the asking price is too high.

If we can't get what we want, then no deal.

[riggofan]

FWIW, there are rumors that the Rams are interested in Cousins, but the asking price is too high.

If we can't get what we want, then no deal.

+100000000. Screw the Rams. They've been belly laughing over the RGIII trade for the past two years.

Good luck starting Austin Davis this year. Jeff Fischer should be begging their GM to meet our asking price or he's going to be looking for a new job in December.

[hogskinny]

FWIW, there are rumors that the Rams are interested in Cousins, but the asking price is too high.

Do you have a link to those rumors or did it come from a neighbor or co-worker? Maybe a inside source?

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

Hind sight is 20/20..

What has St Louis turned all those acquired picks for rgiii into? A playoff berth?

While the current coaches are setting Robert up for success in the future, the glory of the trip back to relevance was well worth drafting Rg AND Cousins imho.
Im a blind homer, however, and hold onto the faith in Robert already being the man... and him shutting up the critics sooner rather then later..

If we can get a #2 for cousins and roll w McCoy as a backup I think id be pretty happy. Thats better then doubling our investment (in the draft points game Im pretty sure). Not to mention St Louis isnt very likely to make the playoffs in that division, even with Kirk!

[riggofan]

Hind sight is 20/20..

What has St Louis turned all those acquired picks for rgiii into? A playoff berth?

They got some nice players out of those picks, but what does it matter if you don't have a QB capable of winning games for you?

[FLWSkin]

They really haven't done a whole lot. They built a decent defense, but to think that QB is their only problem is a big mistake. I live in Missouri, and I can tell you , they have no O-line even though they draft a lot of O-linemen, receivers are lackluster at best and their running game is nothing to write home about. Yeah, they have some guys that have shown a few flashes, but no real stars. Fischer built a decent D, but that's it. Let's see how they do without Long. Honestly, if our fans would get their heads out of their @sses and get behind RG and give him the benefit of the doubt, we would be a lot better. As I've said before, people wanted to give Campbell forever in new systems, but now want to chuck RG after one game. Get real. I understand being frustrated, but one of the reasons we are in the cycle we are in is because we give up on players after a bad game or two. I'm more than willing to give RG and Gruden the whole season to figure out what RG does best compared to what Gruden wants the offense to be. It just takes time and experience to figure it out. It would be one thing if RG didn't work hard or didn't care, but he works hard and gives his all for the team, and just because fans are mostly fair weather, doesn't mean we should get rid of him.

[Irn-Bru]

Hind sight is 20/20..

What has St Louis turned all those acquired picks for rgiii into? A playoff berth?

They got some nice players out of those picks, but what does it matter if you don't have a QB capable of winning games for you?

Exactly. Here's the breakdown as I've followed it, from three drafts but each player is numbered by where they went overall:

#2 Greg Robinson, OT [moved inside, currently a backup]
#14 Michael Brockers, DT [starter]
#30 Alec Ogletree, LB [starter]
#39 Janoris Jenkins, CB [starter]
#50 Isaiah Pead, RB [suspended / benched / eventually cut]
#92 Stedman Bailey, WR [little production]
#150 Rokevious Watkins, G [waived]

They also used one of the picks they got from a trade to move up late in the draft, where they got:
#198 Zac Stacy, RB [current starter]

A lot of pundits include Stacy as one of the players even though the Redskins pick was not primarily responsible for it. Whatever.

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

Like plus one like like share lmao
good stuff guys

Bottom line is Griffin broke records as a rookie and his coach broke him.
He is recovered and growing due to that 2012 qb play being a dangerously short career choice.

I follow Griff on fb- and flwskin hit it- the kid works his tail off and then some more. Married but no kids doesn't party just wakes up and trys to be the best qb he can every day. With that kind of heart its hard to root against him or picture him not being a total steal for all those other picks- even if you throw Stacy in the mix- id do the trade 100x over again

[StorminMormon86]

Do you have a link to those rumors or did it come from a neighbor or co-worker? Maybe a inside source?

http://www.sportsworldnews.com/articles ... -video.htm

Read it here.

I think they would be foolish to trade Cousins away at this point.

[StorminMormon86]

Good luck starting Austin Davis this year. Jeff Fischer should be begging their GM to meet our asking price or he's going to be looking for a new job in December.

I get the sense that the Rams are holding back because they don't want a "rental" QB, and that perhaps they aren't entirely done with Bradford.

[Deadskins]

Hind sight is 20/20..

What has St Louis turned all those acquired picks for rgiii into? A playoff berth?

They got some nice players out of those picks, but what does it matter if you don't have a QB capable of winning games for you?

Exactly. Here's the breakdown as I've followed it, from three drafts but each player is numbered by where they went overall:

#2 Greg Robinson, OT [moved inside, currently a backup]
#14 Michael Brockers, DT [starter]
#30 Alec Ogletree, LB [starter]
#39 Janoris Jenkins, CB [starter]
#50 Isaiah Pead, RB [suspended / benched / eventually cut]
#92 Stedman Bailey, WR [little production]
#150 Rokevious Watkins, G [waived]

They also used one of the picks they got from a trade to move up late in the draft, where they got:
#198 Zac Stacy, RB [current starter]

A lot of pundits include Stacy as one of the players even though the Redskins pick was not primarily responsible for it. Whatever.

What about #6 and #38 from 2012? Are those in there? Can you show the draft year too, and maybe the original pick that was traded down.

[Countertrey]

Do you have a link to those rumors or did it come from a neighbor or co-worker? Maybe a inside source?

http://www.sportsworldnews.com/articles ... -video.htm

Read it here.

I think they would be foolish to trade Cousins away at this point.

The Rams are the ones being foolish. I think Bradford is done... a failed ACL repair (no way that hit should have caused the damage it did). That's super sad, because I think Sam Bradford is a hell of a talent...

Cousins would be more than serviceable in that role... but Sanchez would, I think, shine in the Rams system once they do something about that line. Mark Sanchez was done a huge disservice by the braintrust in NY... and is a much better quarterback than his record to date (though the Jets were idiots to draft him when they did... which was partly the result of a bunch of teams, including the Redskins, playing mind games to get a few players, including Orakpo, to drop... The Jets bit, and caused a chain reaction that resulted in our current starting ROLB backer being on the team.)

[Irn-Bru]

What about #6 and #38 from 2012? Are those in there? Can you show the draft year too, and maybe the original pick that was traded down.

2012
#6 pick - (Traded to Dallas for #14 and #45; Dallas picked Morris Claiborne, CB [benched and injured])
(#14 - Michael Brockers, DT)
#39 pick - Janoris Jenkins, CB
(#45 - trade to Chicago for #50 and #150; Chicago picked Alshon Jeffrey, WR)
(#50 - Isaiah Pead, RB [suspended 2013 for drugs])
(#150 - Rokevious Watkins, G [released])

2013
#22 pick - (Traded to Falcons for #30, #92, #198; Falcons picked Desmond Trufant, CB)
(#30 - Alec Ogletree, LB)
(#92 - Stedman Bailey, WR)
(#198 - Half of the trade for pick #160, Zac Stacy)

2014
#2 pick - Greg Robinson

[Deadskins]

What about #6 and #38 from 2012? Are those in there? Can you show the draft year too, and maybe the original pick that was traded down.

2012
#6 pick - (Traded to Dallas for #14 and #45; Dallas picked Morris Claiborne, CB [benched and injured])
(#14 - Michael Brockers, DT)
#39 pick - Janoris Jenkins, CB
(#45 - trade to Chicago for #50 and #150; Chicago picked Alshon Jeffrey, WR)
(#50 - Isaiah Pead, RB [suspended 2013 for drugs])
(#150 - Rokevious Watkins, G [released])

2013
#22 pick - (Traded to Falcons for #30, #92, #198; Falcons picked Desmond Trufant, CB)
(#30 - Alec Ogletree, LB)
(#92 - Stedman Bailey, WR)
(#198 - Half of the trade for pick #160, Zac Stacy)

2014
#2 pick - Greg Robinson

Awesome! Thanks.

[SkinsJock]

Ok, back pre-draft in 2012, we had Grossman and Beck on our roster. We kind of knew that the Skins were going to trade up in the draft to get either Griffin or Luck (most of us knew we weren't getting Luck). So why draft Kirk Cousins in the 4th round, instead of another area we needed improvement, like the o-line for example? Not taking Cousins, you would have Griffin as your #1, Grossman as a competent backup, and you better pray that neither Griffin or Grossman go down with Beck penciled in as the #3. Or you could cut Beck, and sign another low risk FA for a #3. Drafting Cousins created more problems, IMO, in the long run. Now don't get me wrong: I do not dislike the guy, I like him a lot, and I do not understand the criticism he gets from other Skins fans who say he sucks and can't improve based off of 4 whole games in his career. I want him to succeed either here or on another team. Anyway, the reasons I think drafting him were a mistake are:

-QB Controversy: everyone loves the backup in Washington, DC. Despite the great year Griffin had in 2012, Cousins also solidified his status with fans by coming in and beating the Ravens (cold), and then putting up one of the best performances by a rookie Redskin QB against the Browns the next week. Based off of that short sample size, people began to murmur that Cousins was a good QB, and would probably be a good starter for another team down the line. Then 2013 happens. Thanks to the way Cousins played in 2012, at the first instant Griffin took a step backward, or had a bad game, there would be dissension and a growing call for Cousins to play. That did happen, and it even happened again this year with the way Cousins played in the preseason. The talk is NOT going away any time soon. The fan base seems divided, IMO. It's still there.

-I've stated above how we could have used the pick on another need for our team.

-Let's just say for s's and g's that Griffin's play gets worse and worse (I seriously doubt it will, but bear with me here) over the course of this season. We know Cousins is NOT entering any game at any point with a healthy Griffin. In other words: there is no real competition since the job is Griffin's. So again, what exactly was the point in drafting Cousins?!

Maybe I'm losing my mind, but I've been thinking about this all day, and I can't come up with a good reason as to why we did. Was it purely because there were concerns over Griffin transitioning into the NFL? Was it (as Shanahan said) too good a pick to pass up? Was it some sort of backup insurance policy based off of Griffin's injury in college?

STUPID GET OUT OF HERE

now we see the ramification of having a good back up QB

[Countertrey]

Yup... waste of a draft pick...

[StorminMormon86]

STUPID GET OUT OF HERE

now we see the ramification of having our potential franchise QB

Fixed that for you.

[cowboyhater4life]

Back QB is most important position over looked by every team each year. Thank you Skins for drafting a back up in the top 4 rounds. Drafting back ups in the 7th round is a waist of time. Hail