There is no excuse for Dwayne Haskins actions off the football field this season. There are few things dumber than celebrating, without a mask, with a gang of strangers, in the midst of a pandemic. This has put himself, his Team and the entire league at risk — including individuals far beyond his personal bubble, including the family and friends of NFL people. Haskins was fined, and rightly so, with a $40,000 fine for the incident.
In light of his release on Monday, there was a concerted effort by some to rewrite Haskins’s story to adapt it to the classic narrative of” the bust.”An abominable title for players whose arrival in the NFL was so unceremonious that they not only wasted their talent, but also hurt the Team they played for. There is no doubt that Haskins is now hurting the football team in Washington, but the idea that Haskins could safely be called a “bust” ignores much of this scenario: he was drawn by the wrong team at the wrong time in the wrong situation.
The idea that rookie Quarterbacks have an influence in the NFL was immediately absurd ten years ago. Even bad Teams would pick a Quarterback and put them on their bench for at least one season until the game slows down for them, and they have a better idea of how the NFL works. Things have changed in recent years. College offenses have become as complex as their NFL counterparts, perhaps more so while coaches, entering the league’s academic circles bring their offenses to the pros. This has led to the league being friendlier to the quarters than ever before, but it has also distorted expectations.
Despite Haskins ‘ incredible 50 touchdowns season at Ohio State, analysts have always recognized that he would need time and development to become an effective pro. He was not a player willing to intervene and influence immediately, so the prospect of him joining a needy Team was scary for his future. Haskins needed a Team that had time to really grow him. Also his Scouting report on NFL.com reflects this.
This was known before it was ever written. Therefore, Haskins fell to the 15th pick of the 2019 Draft instead of being a top 5. Everyone knew that the one who chose Haskins would have to be patient, and willing to invest the time to develop it. It was a choice for Ascension, for the future, not for the present. The good Teams knew that.
But Washington wasn’t a good Team, and they certainly weren’t the right Team for Haskins. Never a case of the left Hand not knowing what the right was doing, Dan Snyder would have urged Haskins to start quickly to generate buzz while then-coach Jay Gruden resisted, saying the Quarterback needed time to develop. In fact, Gruden never wanted Haskins in the first place, which was considered an important gap in the team’s Front-office relationship.
Assuming you have the talent, there are three things a young Quarterback needs to succeed in the NFL:
Support.
Consistency.
Time.
Haskins did not have the support of his coach, nor the talent around him. The team was in a state of flux. The owner was not willing to give him time to develop. Then start a change of the coaching staff and that has exacerbated every Problem. This does not mean that Haskins is a star and is waiting for a Team to tear him down. There’s still every chance that he doesn’t have it, like countless players before him, but it’s too early to say for sure.
There are two universal truths in this situation: first, that Haskins actions this season when it came to how to treat Covid were selfish, stupid and stupid. The second is that Washington was the worst place for him because they were not willing or willing to invest what a young person like Haskins needed to succeed.
As far as the performance on the field is concerned, we have seen that it goes in both directions. Of course, it could ignite, like Johnny Manziel, or he could change everything, like Ryan Tannehill.
The future of Haskin’s career is in his own hands. It is likely that a Team that liked it at the 2019 Draft will roll the dice and sign it. From then on, it will be Haskins to mature both on and off the field and correct the mistakes he has made. Haskins was set for failure long before his actions undermined his own career. It has a lot of growing to do, but there are a lot of people to blame if a first-round Pick doesn’t even get through his second season. There is no excuse for Dwayne Haskins actions off the football field this season. There are few things dumber than celebrating, without a mask, with a gang of strangers, in the midst of a pandemic. This has put himself, his Team and the entire league at risk — including individuals far beyond his personal bubble, including the family and friends of NFL people. Haskins was fined, and rightly so, with a $40,000 fine for the incident.