Friday, March 2, 2012

No. 2 for RG3

Who's No. 2? No, seriously. That's not toilet humor; it's an important question about the upcoming NFL Draft.

It's pretty much a sure bet that the Indianapolis Colts will take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in April. What will happen after that is still up in the air. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier this week that the St. Louis Rams will stick with Sam Bradford and plan to trade the No. 2 pick, a spot presumed to be reserved for Baylor quarterback and Heisman winner Robert Griffin III.

So who's going to trade up? Of the 30 teams left, three don't have first-round picks because of previous trades (Falcons, Saints and Raiders). Thirteen of them have franchise quarterbacks (Giants, Patriots, Ravens, Packers, Texans, Steelers, Lions, Bengals, Bears, Buccaneers, Chargers, Eagles, Cowboys and Panthers) and nine have highly-paid and/or highly-drafted quarterbacks they can't just give up on for the unproven Griffin (49ers, Broncos, Titans, Cardinals, Jets, Jaguars, Vikings, Bills and Chiefs).

That leaves four teams that should be in the mix for RGIII. Here are the reasons each team should go all in or stand pat.

Cleveland Browns
Go all in: The Browns have an extra first-round pick that they got in the Julio Jones trade in last year's draft, and they may have decided that Colt McCoy isn't the guy to lead them. Tim Couch ain't walking through that door. Right now, nobody on Cleveland's offense scares anyone in the league. Griffin would immediately make the Browns more explosive and could be the franchise quarterback the team has lacked for decades, especially in a division with Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton.
Stand pat: Maybe McCoy would be better if the Browns surrounded him with talent, especially on offense. If they took Alabama tailback Trent Richardson with the fourth pick (especially if Peyton Hillis leaves in free agency) and Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd with the 22nd pick, that offense would be instantly better.

Washington Redskins
Go all in: Four words-- Rex Grossman, John Beck. Washington can't have another season with those two as the only viable quarterback options. The Redskins have an improving defense, but they can't score. If Mike Shanahan is the quarterback guru he thinks he is, getting Griffin and coaching him up will go a long way to prove Shanahan should be around after next season.
Stand pat: The Redskins have a lot of holes, especially on offense, and they need all the picks they have to improve the team. If Washington thinks Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill is worthy of the sixth pick, it should pick him and use the rest of the draft to improve the rest of the team.

Miami Dolphins
Go all in: Griffin has the skill set and charisma to be a star in Miami, a place that's undergoing a transformation as a sports city with the face-lifts of the Heat and Marlins these days. A backfield of Griffin and Reggie Bush could be very potent combined with the abilities of Brandon Marshall at receiver, and the Dolphins could make waves in the AFC East.
Stand pat: Miami went 6-6 last season once Matt Moore took over. If the Dolphins don't think he's the long-term answer at quarterback, they could sign a free agent like Matt Flynn, who new coach Joe Philbin coached in Green Bay.

Seattle Seahawks
Go all in: In the NFC West, there are no guarantees San Francisco is at the top to stay. Finishing at 7-9 last season, the Seahawks were probably a good quarterback away from the playoffs. Griffin could come in and be possibly the best quarterback in the division. He'd certainly be an upgrade over Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst.
Stand pat: Seattle's a lot like Washington in that it needs a lot of things. The 'Hawks could focus on defense with the 12th pick (Melvin Ingram or Courtney Upshaw, perhaps?) and get a guy like Arizona State's Brock Osweiler or Michigan State's Kirk Cousins in the second round to compete for the starting job at quarterback.

The Browns seem to be the most viable option to go get Griffin at No. 2, but with so much in flux before late April, anything could happen.

No comments:

Post a Comment