UKHTTW viewpoint on blockbuster QB moves

The Washington Football Team did not delay with front office moves this off-season.

To cement the coach-centric approach in D.C, Ron Rivera is reunited with ex-Panther Marty Hurney (executive vice president of football/player personnel). And a former Superbowl winning Cornerback in burgundy & gold, Martin Mayhew, has been installed as the General Manager.

The aim of these hires: create an experienced and functioning front office, which would, of course, be the opposite of the consistent dysfunction of previous eras in Ashburn.

And the first hurdle for the trio to navigate is the QB situation for the WFT.

I’ve no doubt that Ron, Martin, and Marty will all be pulling in the same direction, with Rivera ultimately having the final say. But despite the familiarity and experience, you feel that there would still be a period of evaluation and, dare I say, settling in.

Does this put WFT behind rivals, who might have a longer bedded in front office, when it comes to a blockbusting trade for a Deshaun Watson or a Matt Stafford? In my mind, yes.

Washington does not have a great draft pick at #19 to start negotiations. With Watson for example, you would likely be looking at a minimum three first rounders plus a guy still on a rookie contract thrown in for good measure.

Many would still view this as good business with Watson the right age and skill set to cement the position for a decade. Deshaun is clearly a top 8 QB in the NFL and the player bounty to be given up, a Montez Sweat for example, whilst a bitter pill to swallow, still makes sense.

For Watson, himself however, the move makes less sense.

Although WFT are divisional champions, it was not a “run out and buy the merchandise” NFC East championship title given the 7-9 record.

The WR core, with the notable exception of Terry McLaurin is distinctly average at best. In TE Logan Thomas there is a moderate safety net for any QB, but I doubt Thomas has the same praise around the league as he does in Washington.

Although we as WFT fans can be rightly proud of the Rivera approach and all-round better “vibe” in D.C., I am less certain that for a 25-year-old superstar QB, the FedEx is particularly enticing.

The bounty of first round draft picks also leaves a big hole in recruitment of young College talent. The group at LB are missing an alpha MLB, the secondary arguably outperformed the sum of their parts and the OL needs a contract for Scherff before we can even state it is above average.

Does that mean, therefore, that WFT could end their QB purgatory by pursuing another QB such as Matt Stafford? In all honesty, I am arguably even less inclined to get into a bidding war for a soon-to-be 33-year-old with back problems.

Talk of a Stafford deal could even be compared to the Donovan McNabb. The Philadelphia Eagles traded McNabb to the then Washington Redskins for second-round pick (37th overall) and a conditional third/fourth. Early indicators are that Stafford will cost a lot more.

My guess, and hope, is that Washington will not initially be overly aggressive in free agency. The front office will mesh quickly, but still needs some embedding time.

It might just pay-off for this still fledgling era in Ashburn to be focused on the overall NFL QB merry-go-round picture and strike a less risky, but still on-field advantageous, deal a little further down the line.