ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Football Team is receiving mostly good to great grades, depending on perspective, for their 10-player 2021 NFL Draft haul.
However ... not a single quarterback in the bunch. And why? Because of a refreshing admission from the boss.
First, from our perspective, it would have been a mistake to gamble and move up for a developmental QB.
READ MORE: A Big Conversation About A QB
Second, It would have been understandable, we say, later in the draft.
And third: We thought all along the Washington Football Team was interested in moving up the first-round board for a QB, but coach Ron Rivera said something refreshing on Monday in an interview with Pete Medhurst and Chris Russell on The TEAM 980 in Washington.
Rivera said he and his staff had to keep reminding themselves to 'just be patient' and not to reach. When talking about seeing Justin Fields go to Chicago via a trade-up with New York and Mac Jones going to the Patriots at No. 15, Rivera said, 'It helped us seeing them go off the board.'
Why? The temptation to take one at No. 19 would have probably been too great ... and the WFT had multiple needs that meant more to the building of the roster.
Rivera confirmed that they engaged with teams about moving up but said, "We thought a couple of them were a little too high of a price to pay," to jump the order.
Here's the cool part: Rivera admitted that the WFT had needs, multiple needs, and that took a higher priority than a development quarterback or a potential franchise future QB.
From Ron: "We needed a at linebacker ... We needed a guy who could come in and compete at left tackle. .. We had a need at tight end that we wanted to fill ... and we also had a need a corner.
" We filled all four."
You don't have to like it, but ... How many coaches do you hear admit the obvious? That they draft on need. Teams never just draft via the 'Best Player Available' mantra that so many of them spew ... and that way too many in the media gullibly slurp up.
Why is it OK? There's many examples. For instance - the last position Washington needed to address in this year's draft was interior defensive line/tackle. So if Christian Barmore was (for example) the highest player on their board at the time their first pick came around - should they automatically take him?
Of course not, if we're using common sense. Which we try to use. Apparently, Rivera does as well.
READ MORE: Who WFT Bypassed Late? Regrets?
Rivera further explained, specifically about moving up for a QB but climbing in general: "Now, if we lose the draft capital that we had, we wouldn't have been able to fill all four of them (holes) and we feel really good about the four that we took. We really do.'
We contend that it's silly when teams proclaim that they'll take 'Best Player Available' regardless of position or need -- because the goal is to match up both.
You don't want to be desperate to just reach because of a need but if you combine both by using common sense -- you get the Washington Football Team in 2021.
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May 05, 2021 at 03:02AM
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Washington Needs? We Filled All 4,' Rivera Says - But No QB: NFL Draft - Sports Illustrated
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