[Longtimefan]

Shanahan Has a 'Game Plan' At Quarterback
By Gary Fitzgerald: Redskins.com

In a draft full of surprises, the biggest surprise may be that the Redskins did not draft a quarterback. And now John Beck could be a candidate to be the Redskins' 2011 starter.

After the Redskins picked their last of 12 players -- nose tackle Chris Neild from West Virginia -- in the seventh round, head coach Mike Shanahan said the team has a "game plan" for the quarterback position.

"We have a lot of different directions we could go," he said. "I can't share it with you for obvious reasons. But we do have a plan."

The plan appears to include John Beck, the third quarterback for most of last season behind Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman.

Beck, 29, was acquired by the Redskins in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens in 2010 training camp. He was signed to a contract extension just before the start of the regular season.

Beck has not taken an NFL regular season snap since 2007 when he was with the Miami Dolphins.

Asked about Beck on Saturday night after the draft, Shanahan praised the fifth-year quarterback but would not get into specifics in terms of his role.

"Let me say when John Beck came out [of the draft] I had him as the top-ranked QB that year," Shanahan said. "I didn’t even think it was close. So I have a lot of confidence in John Beck. You evaluate a lot of quarterbacks in a [draft] and he was by far the No. 1 guy. So I think the world of him.

"But I’m not going to get into detail about [the team's quarterback situation]."

Of course, the Redskins could explore quarterback options in free agency once it starts. Free agency is on hold until the NFL labor situation is resolved.

In explaining the team's decisionmaking at quarterback, Shanahan said: "When you have a board, when you pick at certain times, you have to decide what you’re going to give up, the depth of your football team, how long it will take a guy to play, if he fits in your system.

"If that guy does come in, how long will he be on the bench? Do you want to go out in free agency [and get a quarterback]? Do you have somebody targeted? Do you have somebody targeted at the college level as an undrafted guy?

"Obviously we can’t give our game plan away but those are the things we evaluate as part of the process."

The Redskins had opportunities to draft one of the elite quarterbacks as high as the first round.

Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, regarded as a top 10 pick, had fallen to the Redskins at No. 10 overall. Shanahan decided to trade down in the first round with the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 16 overall. The Jaguars promptly selected Gabbert.

Shanahan opted not to pursue TCU's Andy Dalton and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick, both of whom were selected early in the second round.

In the mid-rounds, Shanahan bypassed the likes of Arkansas's Ryan Mallett, Alabama's Greg McElroy, Iowa's Ricky Stanzi, North Carolina's T.J. Yates and Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor.