So with the Redskins obtaining quarterback Donovan McNabb and needing to build a team around him, they won’t pick another quarterback with the fourth selection in round one, right?
Maybe not.
Coach Mike Shanahan said Tuesday that, even with the presence of McNabb, a quarterback could be drafted.
“I think if you take a look at Philip Rivers, when did he start? His third year,” Shanahan said, per Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. “You take a look at Aaron Rodgers? His third year. . . . I think a perfect scenario would be a young quarterback coming in here and backing up. You never know what’s gonna happen on draft day.”
Actually, Rodgers started in year four, which amplifies Shanahan’s point.
But at a time when the Redskins need to get better along the offensive line and in other areas while McNabb still has a few good years left, does it make any sense to do anything other than draft a guy who doesn’t play McNabb’s position? At least Donovan has experience in this regard; after all, it was only three years ago that the Eagles traded out of round one and then drafted McNabb’s eventual successor near the top of round two.
Thus, we’re inclined to think that Shanahan is merely holding out hope of trading down and acquiring picks to replenish the second-rounder used for McNabb and the third-rounder exercised in last year’s supplemental draft. With multiple teams that draft after the Redskins needing a quarterback, Shanahan needs those teams to think that the Redskins still may take one.