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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Redskins Could Take Quarterback In 2016 Draft

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As the Redskins seek youthful depth in this year's draft, one position they could build behind an established starter is at quarterback, where there are plenty of options.

While the Washington Redskins likely won't use their first-round pick in this year's NFL Draft on a quarterback, they very well may use one of their selections at some point on a young signal caller.

Backup Colt McCoy just completed his second one-year deal with the team and will be an unrestricted free come March 9. Robert Griffin III, meanwhile, who was inactive for all but one game last season, appears headed for free agency as well, as the team doesn't appear destined to pick up his fifth-year option.

So what are some of the options the Redskins have for a backup behind Kirk Cousins, should he be with the team one way or another in 2016?

Jared Goff and Carson Wentz will be far gone by the time the Redskins may be interested in taking a quarterback. But there's a whole crop of talented quarterbacks expected to be taken in the mid to late rounds.

Take Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones.

Jones could have been a first-round pick last season had he declared for the draft following a breakout performance. But he elected to stay.

His junior season didn't go nearly as well as his final three games in 2014, but the Cleveland native made one thing clear this week: he's still that same player some though could have been one of the top picks last year.

"The size. Ability. And my knowledge of the game, my smarts," Jones said of his strengths. "I don't think I get a lot of credit for how cerebral I am when it comes to being the quarterback. I think I'm ready for that level. Only time will tell."

Born and raised in the Washington, D.C., area, Kevin Hogan was Stanford's starting quarterback for four seasons following Andrew Luck's early entrance into the NFL Draft.

The McLean, Va., native had his best statistical season in 2015, throwing for 2,867 yards and 27 touchdowns to just eight interceptions while leading the Cardinal to a Rose Bowl victory over Iowa.

Unlike a lot of other quarterbacks in the draft, Hogan ran a more traditional pro-style offense.

Check out images of quarterback Dak Prescott during his collegiate career at Mississippi State.

"I think it's absolutely beneficial," Hogan said. "I've been taking snaps for five years under center. I've called plays in the huddle. I've had to manage tons of different looks at the line – not checking to the sideline to see what the adjustment should be. So I feel extremely comfortable having to change protections, mike somebody else, readjusting the mike point, check run plays against exotic blitzes, just getting us into efficient plays."

While Hogan was leading a more ground-based offense out in California, Dak Prescott was making SEC defenses look silly.

The dual-threat quarterback was one of the best quarterbacks during the past three seasons, throwing for more than 9,000 yards and 70 touchdowns along with 2,521 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns.

Some question whether Prescott can make the transition to the NFL due to the way he plays, but the 2015 All-American is confident he can make the move seamlessly.

"I think I have to show people I can make all the drops from under center, something I haven't been asked to do in high school or college," Prescott said. "But I've been working really hard on doing it. My first live reps were at the Senior Bowl from under center, so just to show I can do that, I can get better. I'm athletic enough to do it so I don't think it's a hard transition. I just need to work at it and get comfortable at it."

While both Prescott and Hogan were able to get a jumpstart on their path to the draft last month when they participated in the Senior Bowl, Michigan State's Connor Cook did not get an invite.

Cook broke Cousins' record for the most career wins at Michigan State during his senior season, but there are some question marks about 2015 first-team All-Big Ten selection, most notably his leadership ability.

Despite being the Spartans' starting quarterback, he wasn't a captain which is a rarity for someone in his position.

"I've talked to a lot of people about it," Cook said. "We had a great group of leaders that were seniors. We had a leadership council of 12 guys, and they would pick, each and every week, a different guy in that council, which I was in, to be a captain. I was selected for four games. Usually only guys get selected once throughout the season. I was able to be the captain for the Oregon game, Ohio State, the bowl game, and the Big Ten Championship Game, as well. If you ever want to ask any one of my teammates who was with me, back in 2013 when I was a sophomore, 2014 when I was a junior, and this past year, and ask them if I was a team leader, if I was a leader of that team, and they would say yes."

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