San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined the Rich Eisen Show on Monday and revealed that Washington planned on drafting Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in 2012 if he dropped to the fourth round.
Shanahan’s father Mike wanted to snag Wilson if he remained on the board in Round 4, but Kyle revealed that he wanted to draft him as early as the second round before Washington traded up to draft Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick.
“I remember in Washington we already took RG3 and Kirk (Cousins) I ranked as the higher guy,” Shanahan said. “Before we made that trade, I wanted to take him in the second round. My dad loved Russell Wilson and he planned on taking him in the fourth round.”
Talk about an insane #NFL "What If?"@DangeRussWilson coached by Kyle Shanahan in Washington D.C.?
Almost happened back in 2012: pic.twitter.com/HHqYvUVorc
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 3, 2021
“And then when we took Robert, he told me all along if Russell Wilson was there in the fourth round – he was going to take him.”
The Seahawks selected Wilson with the No. 75 overall pick in the third round, so Washington settled for Kirk Cousins in Round 4.
“Russell was gone by then, so we’re sitting there on the clock. My dad goes ‘I’m gonna take Cousins,'” Shanahan said.
Wilson now heads into his 10th season in the NFL and will attempt to lead the defending NFC West champions to the promised land once more.
