Ohio State Football: Redskins get 2 Buckeyes by being smart and lucky?

Whether the Washington Redskins front office was lucky or smart they were winners in the NFL draft by landing two Ohio State football players.

The Washington Redskins chose two Ohio State football players in the first three rounds of this year’s NFL draft. Were those in Washington’s front office smarter than those of other teams or did quarterback Dwayne Haskins and wide receiver Terry McLaurin just fall into their lap.

Let’s explore both possibilities beginning with Haskins’ situation. I don’t think it was simply luck the QB slipped to the Redskins at the No. 15th pick but the decision makers took a calculated risk he would.

The N.Y. Giants obviously needed a quarterback but most in the know said they weren’t interested in Haskins. They were right as the Giants chose Duke’s Daniel Jones with the 6th pick.

The next team up in need of a quarterback was the Cincinnati Bengals. Anybody who has followed the NFL for many years knows Mike Brown is the cheapest owner in football so the Bengals drafting Haskins probably wasn’t going to happen.

Since at least one quarterback, Andy Dalton, was under contract Brown wasn’t going to pay first round wages to another. Sure enough, Cincinnati passed on Haskins.

The Miami Dolphins were looking for a quarterback as well. Possibly the Redskins’ front office knew the Dolphins were looking to make a trade for Josh Rosen, which they did later, and would pass on the Buckeye QB.

I would consider the way Washington played the Haskins situation being smarter than lucky but with McLaurin it’s a mixed bag.

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The wide receiver averaged 20 yards per catch and scored 11 touchdowns in 2018 but most had him as a mid round pick. However, his performance earned him an invite to the Senior Bowl and everything changed.

McLaurin impressed pro scouts during the week of practice and performed well in the game so his stock began to rise. After he ran a 4.35 at the NFL Combine some had the receiver possibly being chosen in the first round of the draft, or at least in the second.

For whatever reason McLaurin slipped to the Redskins in the third round so I would call that luck. But you have to give credit to those in the front office who were smart enough to choose the talented receiver who will certainly help his college QB make the transition to the NFL.

Whether the decision makers in the Washington Redskins front office were simply lucky during the first and third rounds of this year’s NFL draft or they were smarter than others it really doesn’t matter. By getting a potential franchise quarterback and one of his favorite receivers it made the Redskins one of the winners in the draft.