Outside of former quarterbacks themselves. there’s almost no better person to critique a young QB than a former cornerback.
Fred Smoot, who played with the Washington Redskins for five seasons, has looked at the two QB’s competing through OTAs and minicamp and come away with this conclusion: rookie Dwayne Haskins should not be the starting starter in Week 1.
That is not to say that Haskins should not play for the entire year — Smoot specifically talked about waiting three to four weeks until getting the rookie out there while discussing with JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington.
“Week one I want Case [Keenum] out there,” Smoot said, via NBC Sports Washington. “I’m a defensive back, and we know that offenses don’t gel until week 4 or 5, so we get most of our turnovers in the first few weeks. I don’t want to put the youngster out there and get him mentally taken out of the game. I’ll let Case handle that load.”
If Haskins is allowed to sit and wait for a few weeks while Keenum gets the offense into the rhythm of the season, then it might provide a solid platform for success. Of course, there’s no telling as to what Keenum will look like under center in Washington, so Haskins could end up seeing the field much earlier.
