Many have been speculating that former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is in danger of falling in the 2019 NFL Draft. Is it truth, or a spin game prior to all the festivities?
When Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins first declared for the NFL Draft, he was instantly thought to be the best signal-caller on everyone’s board. After all, he has a big arm, high IQ, great character and a tireless work ethic.
I mean, what’s not to love? Haskins obliterated almost every single-season Ohio State ant Big Ten Conference passing record. He showed poise in a league that actually tries to play defense, and did it against varying styles.
Oh, and by the way, he did it in a season of off-the-field tumult at Ohio State, and one in which the defense didn’t exactly hold up its end of the bargain.
Next … The winds of change
A subtle slide? Or More?
Things changed though when Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray decided to trade baseball cleats for football ones, and the love affair between he and the Cardinals became well-publicized. Suddenly, Haskins was bumped down to a potential No. 2 off the board at the quarterback position.
Since then, we’ve heard rumblings about the best potential suitors — the New York Giants — not really being all that interested in Haskins at No. 6. We’ve also supposedly seen the stock of Duke QB Daniel Jones rise, and even heard rumblings about some teams not even having a First Round grade on Haskins.
But is it true? Could the Buckeye one-hit-wonder be one of those casualties of over-analyzing everything in the draft? Much like what happened to Aaron Rodgers when he fell all the way to Green Bay in 2005? Might Haskins fall all the way to No. 30 as some NFL Mock Projections have him?
Next … Truth vs. Reality for Haskins
Seeing the forest for all the Buckeye leaves
I’m not buying it. And you shouldn’t either.
Look, every year we hear all these so-called smoke-screen leaks to the press to try and throw opposing teams off the trail of what others at the top of the draft are going to do. We suddenly hear things like a “lack of mobility in the pocket” and “competitive spirit,” and other things to make many of the NFL types think teams are headed another direction, or even to put a scare in teams that thought they were sold on a player.
It’s the spin game before all the fun begins and it seems to be out in full force with Mr. Haskins this year — even more so than I can remember in past pre-NFL Draft Shenanigans.
If you really want to see what teams think of a prospect, just follow their actions. Case in point — as soon as a report surfaced that the Giants weren’t all that interested in Haskins, they sent a throng of executives and scouts to his Pro-Day at Ohio State. They then met with him one-on-one on more than one occasion.
That’s about as disinterested as the democrats seem to be with the possibility of impeachment proceedings moving forward with Donald Trump. But I digress because far be it for us to get anyone riled up with political talk.
In fact, Haskins has met with many different teams. And I can tell you that he no doubt blew them away with his football IQ, character and demeanor. You add that to what the tape says he did on the field without really having one single clunker of a game the entirety of 2018, and well — that’s hard to find any year, anytime, anywhere.
No, I wouldn’t be worried about Haskins. He’s most likely going to be going somewhere in the top twelve to fifteen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if secretly, a few teams have fallen in love with him being the best quarterback in this draft and will swing a deal to move up even further.
That’s what tends to happen when all the smoke clears.
