LOVERRO: Redskins’ draft grades rarely translate to wins

The Washington Redskins had a weekend to remember.

They drafted perhaps the second highest-rated quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, on the board without having to trade up in the first round — “one of the steals of the draft,” according to Pro Football Focus. Then they got back into the first round and picked a pass rusher, Montez Sweat.

They went on to draft the quarterback’s favorite receiver in college; an Indiana team captain at guard; a former Heisman Trophy candidate at running back; another receiver who Pro Football Focus also said could be the “steal of the draft”; another Alabama player, this one a center; two linebackers and a cornerback — 10 players in all.

Pro Football Focus evaluation? “Draft Grade: Excellent.”

What could go wrong?

Everyone appears to be very excited about the Redskins draft, but it’s not like this is the first time they’ve picked talented players. They’ve been doing it for years under Dan Snyder’s ownership.

Heck, they drafted linebacker LaVar Arrington and tackle Chris Samuels in the first round of the 2000 draft. Five years later in the first round, they selected both quarterback Jason Campbell and cornerback Carlos Rogers (who, once he left Washington and got an eye exam, had a Pro Bowl season in San Francisco. That should make you feel good about the Redskins diagnosis of Sweat’s possible heart condition).

They’ve drafted the late, great Sean Taylor, Chris Cooley, Fred Smoot, LaRon Landry, Brian Orakpo, Trent Williams, Ryan Kerrigan, Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, Alfred Morris, Jordan Reed, Chris Thompson, Trent Murphy, Morgan Moses, Brandon Scherff, Preston Smith, Jamison Crowder, Kendall Fuller, Matt Ioannidis, Jonathan Allen, Deron Payne … a lot of talented players.

The results over all those drafts? A 129-174-1 record.

What could go wrong?

Something seems to happen when these talented players walk into Redskins Park — certainly not winning.

But here we are, with the promise of winning about to walk through the door once again with yet more talented players.

Haskins has a long list of admirers who believe he is a can’t-miss NFL quarterback. He has it all — the size, the arm, the personality, the hometown kid who was the Big Ten Player of the Year at Ohio State.

What could go wrong?

One of his admirers is Snyder. You can choose to believe the story in the Washington Post that Snyder barely knew the kid who was his son’s classmate at the Bullis School in Potomac, a heavily-recruited star quarterback, until recently.

I choose to believe the earth is round.

Obviously, this has the chance to be RG3 all over again — a young, charismatic quarterback who has already established a “brand” for himself (The Haskins & Haskins Group, an entertainment company with his father, mother and sister getting “H&H’ tattoos, according to NBC Sports Washington) and a relationship with the owner, who reportedly made the draft selection phone call to Haskins Thursday night. Snyder only sat in on one interview at the NFL combine in February — the Haskins interview, according to ESPN.

This kid, like RG3, will walk into that Redskins locker room with more power and influence than maybe anybody else in the room. And a father, who, in a bizarre conversation with a New Jersey reporter (Haskins grew up in New Jersey before moving to Maryland to attend Bullis), declared, after the reporter told him he had talked to coaches and friends from Jersey, that “I am the source.”

What could go wrong?

Before the draft, the story was that Haskins was not head coach Jay Gruden’s choice for quarterback. Now that has supposedly changed, or, to quote a familiar reference, the coach has complied, and has said Haskins will compete with Case Keenum and Colt McCoy for the starting job.

“We have quarterback competitions going out the ying yang right now,” Gruden said. “We both have Case here, we’re very happy that we have. He’s an experienced quarterback who’s done it. Colt’s been a guy who has been in on our system for a long time. He’s trying to come back from that (leg) injury. Now, we have Dwayne. So we have three quarterbacks in the building we feel good about.”

One of those “quarterback competitions” is who will pick the starting quarterback. Based on his DNA, it will likely be Snyder.

If he wants to give his prize young quarterback any chance to succeed, he will wait until Week 6, after the gauntlet of the Eagles, Cowboys, Bears and Patriots have done their damage to whoever the sacrificial lamb is behind center for that opening stretch of games.

What could go wrong?

⦁ Hear Thom Loverro on 106.7 The Fan Wednesday afternoons and Saturday and Sunday mornings and on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast every Tuesday and Thursday.