One of the strangest decisions of draft weekend came early in round four, when the Redskins selected former Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins.
With three first-round picks and a second-round pick shipped to St. Louis for the ability to take Robert Griffin III via pick No. 2 and $36 million in cap space gone for the next two seasons (pending resolution of the team’s grievance against the league), the selection that went for Cousins arguably should have been devoted to another position.
On Monday’s PFT Live, I offered up a theory for the move. Redskins offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan wants his offense to be run a certain way. What if Griffin decides once the snap is taken to do things his own way, ignoring the progression or pulling the ball down and trying to make something happen with his feet before he’s supposed to bail out on the play that was called?
With Cousins on the roster, eager to do whatever needs to be done in order to get a chance to show what he can do, Griffin will have reason to think twice about doing anything other than precisely what the Shanahans want him to do.
Yes, it’s a little far-fetched. But it’s not nearly as far-fetched as using a fourth-round pick on a quarterback in the same draft during which the Redskins mortgaged their future to draft their first franchise quarterback in well over a generation.