As the new coaching staff in Washington prepares to decide whether to keep quarterback Dwayne Haskins as the starter in 2020, a member of the 2019 coaching staff had a candid assessment regarding Haskins’ performance as a rookie.
“He’s a good kid,” former Washington linebackers coach Rob Ryan told Colin Cowherd, via USA Today. “He’s got a big arm, a lot of talent, but definitely not ready for the rigors of the NFL.”
Ryan nevertheless saw improvement over the course of Haskins’ first year in the NFL.
“He got a lot better from when he was thrown into games,” Ryan said. “I remember in New York, it was awful. He wasn’t ready. We threw him in the game and it wasn’t fair to the kid. He just wasn’t ready. So at least each week I saw him trying to get better. I saw him trying to meet with [former Washington quarterbacks coach] Tim Rattay, who’s a real fine coach now at Oklahoma State. He was trying to get better.”
Washington, which has the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, plans to do their due diligence (although not much more can be done) on the top quarterbacks in this year’s class. The team also has Alex Smith under contract.