In many ways, the anticipation for the Washington Redskins 2019 season feels pretty similar to years past.
Another disappointing season is in the rearview, there are a handful of players coming off of injuries and hoping to be ready by fall, and there are questions as to who will be the starting quarterback come Week 1.
The one major difference, however, is a rare sense of confidence that can be felt throughout the Nation’s Capital. There may be a question mark as to who starts the season at the QB position, but everyone is pretty sure that this will be the last year where that spot is up for grabs.
The last year that the Redskins had any confidence about their signal caller was in 2013 when Robert Griffin III was having his way with NFL defenses, running and passing and improvising his way to wins. Since then, he went down with a knee injury and has never returned to true form. Coincidentally, the Redskins have never returned to that level of success either.
Until now. Now there is a new franchise QB in town, and some smart people are saying that he is better than RG3 ever was.
“Dwayne Haskins is twice the thrower of Robert Griffin III,” NFL Analyst Louis Riddick said on the John Keim Report. “RG3 was never a good pocket quarterback. When it came to third down, and you’re sitting in the pocket, and you don’t have the benefit of play action and its 3rd-and-6 or 3rd-and-7 plus … he folded like a lawn chair. That was not his forte — he doesn’t have the football intellect that Dwayne Haskins does.”
While RG3 was once lauded for his playmaking ability and propensity to escape the pocket with ease, Redskin fans are likely to remember his frequent struggles with late down-and-distance situations. For Haskins, that is not expected to be a problem, as he has an abundance of knowledge for the X’s and O’s of the game.
“This is a legit, legit franchise quarterback, and they need to protect this young man and set the table for him,” Riddick continued. “They have not had anything like him since 2001. They need to realize that they have something special here, and they need to set the table for him in every way they can.”
Riddick, who played for a number of years in the ’90s, has shown an acumen for predicting NFL talent, and his high appraisal over rookie RB Saquon Barkley in 2018 proved to be spot on.
If he’s right about Haskins, fans in Washington hit the jackpot this offseason. Now it’s up to the Redskins to give him the opportunity to succeed.
