Things haven't gone well for Robert Griffin III in the two seasons after he won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2012. He was even benched during the 2014 season in favor of Colt McCoy, and according to John Clayton of ESPN, Washington wouldn't hesitate to move on from Griffin by selecting Marcus Mariota in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Washington is threatening to draft Marcus Mariota
The Heisman Trophy winner could be pegged as the player to replace Robert Griffin III in Washington.
A frequent trend in mock drafts has been the projection of a blockbuster trade that features the Philadelphia Eagles moving up near the top of the draft order to reunite Mariota with his college coach, Chip Kelly. However, a trade on Tuesday sent Sam Bradford to Philadelphia and cost the Eagles a second-round pick which could have been used as ammunition in a trade.
With the Eagles now less likely to make a move for Mariota, Clayton joined the Freddie Coleman Show on ESPN Radio and said that Washington could be the logical landing spot for the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, via 247Sports:
"And honestly, don't discount, he's not going to fall to the Jets at six right now, the Redskins will take him at five. At least Dan Snyder might not think there's quarterback issues, Jay Gruden and everyone else in the front office thinks there's quarterback issues.
"And if Marcus Mariota falls to five, it's not a position where they're desperate enough to trade up to get him, but if he falls to five, I'm telling you this right now, they'll take him."
Washington started three different quarterbacks during the team’s 4-12 season and finished with the No. 5 selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. Rumors linking the team to Mariota doesn’t necessarily mean that the interest is legitimate or honest, though.
Rich Tandler of CSN Washington points out that interest in Mariota could be necessary if the team hopes to create leverage for a trade out of the No. 5 pick.
Regardless of whether they plan to take Mariota or not they have to make it look like they are willing to if they have designs on trading the pick. If Mariota is on the board and the Redskins are looking to deal the pick, the Eagles or whoever might want to make a deal has to believe that there is at least a chance that they will take him. Otherwise they will wait and make a deal with a team drafting later.
That point may be moot, though, with the New York Jets slated to pick sixth in the draft order. With a new head coach and new general manager in the fold for the Jets, it’s perfectly conceivable and logical that the team could be interested in nabbing a new franchise quarterback if Mariota is on the board with the sixth pick. That could mean that any other teams interested in Mariota feel the need to jump ahead of the Jets to grab the former Oregon Ducks quarterback.
Mariota earned the Heisman Trophy after finishing the 2014 season with 42 passing touchdowns, 15 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown.
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