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Three Thoughts: Kirk Cousins
1. You might have heard that not everyone liked the Redskins’ selection of quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth round. So I poked around this week with people who are, or were, involved in the drafting process — whether as scouts, GMs or coaches, one of whom is quite familiar with the Redskins’ process. Almost all did not want to be identified (can speak the truth). Of that group only one was adamant that the Redskins should not have drafted Cousins. Another said he understood why they selected him, but that he would not have because of the “potential distraction.”
Here’s a sampling of what they said:
“It was a good pickup for the future. … Groom him and trade him; that’s the West Coast guru trend. … Inside the organization they believe they have all their bases covered. Remember, this isn’t an organization that believes in developing other skill positions (except QB). He’s a system guy like Kyle [Shanahan] prefers. They think he’ll pick it up faster than Griffin.”
Another: “I don’t know if he can ever be a starter without a strong supporting cast, a lot like [Matt] Flynn. … Right now, they can’t have enough [QBs].”Another: “A little surprised, but besides that, he’s a good pick in the fourth.”
Another: “Barring injury, he really won’t play at all. And if RGIII is as good as they hope, he’ll never play for them. The only way it makes sense is if they feel he is good enough to serve as the backup by the start of the season. Then they could cut Rex [Grossman]. Even then, they had to have other good players at different positions on the board when they made this pick. Still, doesn’t make great sense.”
Another: “I think Shanny drafted Cousins to develop him as future trade bait a la Kevin Kolb, who the Eagles fleeced Arizona for. … Cousins is about 10 times as smart as Kolb. The West Coast offensive terminology is unbelievable.”
2. Greg Gabriel, who now writes for the National Football Post, was willing to go on the record since his job now is to analyze. But he also spent 29 years in the NFL, including nine as Chicago’s director of college scouting.
His take: “I don’t think he’s a starting NFL quarterback. He could be a real good backup, so if you’re drafting him to be that, then it’s fine. They might be thinking that they’ll go with Rex [Grossman] this year and Cousins after that. Then it’s a good pick; you’re not just drafting for this year, you’re drafting for the future of the franchise. Or they could be doing what a lot of teams have done: draft a QB and develop him and then if he shows well, trade him for more than you got him for. It’s not a waste. Obviously, we don’t know what their board looked like, but they had to have a fairly good grade on Cousins otherwise they wouldn’t have pulled the trigger.
“I wouldn’t look at it as a distraction. You’re not drafting him to challenge Griffin. I’m sure the plan is either to trade or develop him to be a quality backup. Griffin is not a guy that will stand in the pocket; he’ll move around and he’ll take hits. He’s not a big-framed guy, so he could get hurt so you have to have a quality backup.”
3. Here’s something else to consider: The Redskins have drafted an NFL-high 21 players combined the past two years. This is not a perfect organization, and the Redskins have exhausted a lot of picks in trying to find a quarterback. One knock I’ve heard from several scouts is that their drafts are too coach-driven, which some feel leads to mistakes. But the point is they’ve heavily emphasized the draft the past two years. They had nine picks this last draft, adding two. Like this organization or not, they’ve maneuvered well in the first three drafts, adding picks each year. And when you do that, you can make a pick or two that you ordinarily would not have with fewer picks. If RGIII struggles, then, yes the backup QB becomes popular. But that will be true regardless if they had Cousins or not. Or have you forgotten this fan base?
By the way, here’s the list of how many picks every team has made: Washington (21), Minnesota (20), Philadelphia (20), Seattle (19), Cleveland (19), St. Louis (18), Cincinnati (18), Buffalo (18), Green Bay (18), San Francisco (17), Kansas City (17), Denver (16), Miami (16), Baltimore (16), Pittsburgh (16), Houston (16), Tennessee (16), New England (16), Tampa Bay (15), Arizona (15), San Diego (15), Indianapolis (15), Dallas (15), N.Y. Giants (15), Carolina (15), Oakland (14), N.Y. Jets (14), Detroit (12), Atlanta (12), New Orleans (11), Chicago (11), Jacksonville (11).
Q&A With: JUNE JONES
Southern Methodist University coach June Jones coached in the NFL for 11 seasons, including three years as Atlanta’s head coach. He’s been the head coach at SMU since 2008, with three of his players drafted by the Redskins: receiver Aldrick Robinson, guard/center Josh LeRibeus and corner Richard Crawford.
Q: What should Redskins fans look forward to with Josh LeRibeus?
A: He’s a powerful, athletic kid. His balance and strength are rare for guys of that size. He played for me last year at 315, and he’s played as high as 355, 370. He’s extremely smart. He played guard for me, and he played center for me sometimes in practice. I’m not so sure that he eventually won’t be a center because of his intelligence and his athletic ability and strength.
Q: Is he a good fit in the stretch zone?
A: He’s a perfect player for what Mike [Shanahan] likes to do in the run game. He doesn’t even know his own strength, and his athleticism is perfect for what the Redskins do in the run game.
Q: How much would you put him on the move?
A: We do a lot of trapping and pulling so he has no problems doing that obviously. His real strength is the stretch plays and the zone plays where he has to combo up to backers, that kind of stuff.
Q: Some say he was over-drafted. What do you think about the round he went in?
A: I would say that my feeling, having been back in college for 15 years, just from the level of interest I thought he would go in the second round. That would have been my guess, based off the number of people who were calling and who was calling.
Q: How did losing 70 pounds transform him as a player?
A: Sitting out made him focus and realize what he had to do to get to the next level, and I told him if he was committed to reporting and staying in shape he would get drafted where he got drafted. He has been a new guy in the last 15 to 18 months since [being academically ineligible]. I told Mike that he should get film from two years ago because at 355, 370 he was still athletic and could still move. He could play at whatever weight they want him to play at. And his academic thing was not … he’s extremely intelligent. That was one of those things that, to be honest, was more of a screw-up on our part than it was his.
Q: What do they have in Richard Crawford?
A: I had two corners that made it to the NFL the last two years Bryan McCann (Oakland) and Sterling Moore (New England), and I thought Richard was maybe ahead of them. If you draft guys in the sixth, seventh round that can play that helps you immensely because of the salary cap. You have to have guys like Richard. He’s a punt returner, he can play man-to-man, and he can play in zone. He’s very smart, and his work ethic is as good as anyone I’ve been around.
Q: Can he cover in the slot?
A: He can do that. I think he ran a 4.42 in his workout day. He can run, he can play man, he can play bump and run. He’s a smart player in the zones with all the zone blitz schemes we ran. He’ll be really knowledgeable when he gets up there for the OTAs.
Q: Aldrick Robinson was drafted last year and probably was hurt by the lockout — we never saw that explosive speed. What were you expecting from him?
A: I would think this is a big year for him. When Mike [Shanahan] and I talked, what I told him is that Aldrick has world-class speed and it will start to show up with the more confidence he gets and the more he knows what he’s doing. This is the year that he has to really step up and do it. … I thought he would be better at the pro level, moving him around and putting him in the slot. We only played him outside. But I think he’s a really smart kid, and he has the speed you can’t coach. I would think this is the year he either takes it to the next level or they look for someone else.
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