NFL: Dwayne Haskins deserved to be released
Dwayne Haskins threw 50 touchdowns in his only year as the starting quarterback at Ohio State.
Dwayne Haskins was the 3rd QB and 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft class. Haskins had Alex Smith as a mentor (who did excellent work mentoring another mid-1st round young QB). Haskins was praised entering the NFL for his prototypical size and poise in the pocket. Dwayne Haskins only had to deal with the Washington Football Team's dysfunctional brain trust for a year before "River Boat Ron" Rivera came to cleanse the entire organization of such incompetence.
Haskins didn't even make it a full season under Rivera before he was released earlier this week.
What reason was there for Dwayne Haskins to not succeed?
The Stats On Dwayne Haskins
Dwayne Haskins had no reason to fail.
The organization stabilized entering his second season but he still posted the worst numbers of all QB's in the league in terms of CPOE(completion percentage above expected) and Passer Rating. Haskins is a less accurate Drew Lock with attitude issues, Lock survives week to week solely on the fact that it seems his teammates really like him as a person but Haskins didn't even have that going for him. The Football Team has not one but two!! QB's outperforming their first round pick. One is an undrafted free agent (Kyle Allen) while the other is coming off what was supposed to be career ending surgery.
Coming out Urban Meyer questioned Haskins ability to make the jump "pro" citing attitude concerns. Many have said if Haskins was drafted by a more stable organization majority of his bad habits would've been treated/ironed out. I don't believe this, if Haskins was drafted by a no nonsense organization like the Patriots he would've been released earlier as such behavior combined with such low level play is not worth the time or investment.
The Projection And Reality
Dwayne Haskins rushed for just under 200 yards in his college career , in his 1 year as a starter in college he rushed for 104 yards across 14 games. Haskins got around this statue like presence in the pocket by being supremely accurate(70.2% in his last year at Ohio State)and pushing the ball 9.1 yards down the field every throw. Haskins projected as a high level traditional passer(the late stage Phillip Rivers type) who would be a great QB if one of his arm strength or accuracy transitioned to the League or a good game manager if just his accuracy carried over to the NFL. In 2020 Dwayne Haskins was throwing for a sub standard 61.5% while only averaging 6.0 yards per attempt. Neither his arm strength nor impressive accuracy crossed over to the NFL. This left the Football Team's staff at a huge disadvantage of having to scheme their receivers open for a Quarterback;
- Struggling to push the ball down the field.
- Struggling to hit those very same receivers on their open routes.
- Attitude and character concerns which may see his receivers not believe in him to be a capable game manager.
- Apparent poor work and practice habits.
You can't project as a low level Matt Ryan and think you can get away with the stuff Dwayne Haskins was out there doing. A Mahomes- Rodgers talent would catch heavy criticism for such unprofessional conduct despite their tremendous production. A struggling 2nd year QB operating under a brass who did not pick him to be their franchise guy should not be surprised that the situation turned out this way. The Football Team were always looking for a reason to move off Haskins and all he did was make it easier for them to justify moving off the asset this fast.
Quarterbacks are there to elevate what's around them and not contribute heavily to it's downfall, average to above average QB play wins the NFC East for Washington this year and Haskins wasn't even good enough to provide that.
Also check out: Complete 2019 NFL Draft Results
The Future For Dwayne Haskins
Dwayne Haskins needs to clean up his off field issues before even considering signing for any other team. The Football Team were dying to move off him. He should try to understand why, how to prevent that from reoccurring and picking a team that allows him the best opportunity to succeed. Coaches like Pete Carroll and Sean Payton deeply enjoy projects while other teams with more senior Quarterbacks may be more willing to take the risk on such a young prospect. Wherever Dwayne Haskins ends up a change of character should be the first concern and then consistent development so he can master his trade as a high level game manager.