No, Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden isn’t ready to name a starter under center just yet.
What he will do though, is point out what he liked from rookie passer Dwayne Haskins.
And no, it wasn’t the bomb of a touchdown the rookie tossed.
Here’s Gruden, via USA Today‘s Lorenzo Reyes:
“The best part I liked was Dwayne handling the protection,” Gruden said. “He did a great job. They challenged him and gave him some different looks and he adjusted the protection to give himself just that extra beat of time where he stood in, looked down field and stepped into the throw and threw a perfect ball to Rob Davis. Rob did a great job of tracking it and making the catch.”
That’s big praise coming for a head coach, even if said coach isn’t ready to name a starter. That Haskins has started to nail down some of the finer points speaks volumes about his progression.
Because let’s be honest — Gruden and the Redskins already knew Haskins could sling it. Case Keenum and Colt McCoy are merely veterans who can do some of these pre-snap things and game management better.
It’s Haskins with the upside. But while everyone else was focusing on the upside via a big touchdown pass, Gruden had his eyes on a bar the rookie has to surpass in order to start in the league.
