Washington Redskins: 7 Prospects to target in the 2019 NFL Draft

4. Daniel Jones, QB, Duke

In case you haven’t heard, Alex Smith’s 2019 season is likely over and, unfortunately, his career might be as well. Colt McCoy’s injury leaves a number of unanswered questions, but he could come back in time to start the 2019 season. Nevertheless, he hasn’t shown he can stay healthy, nor that he can effectively lead an NFL offense.

No matter what happens, the Redskins are likely to come away with a quarterback in the 2019 draft. In fact, several sites have the Redskins drafting a quarterback in mocks, according to The Washington Post:

"“The Redskins are in a tough spot at quarterback… Alex Smith is trying to recover from a gruesome leg fracture… Nick Foles, Joe Flacco and other free agent passers might be too expensive…That leaves them with the draft as their only realistic option to upgrade the position,"

While The Washington Post cites Heisman winner Kyler Murray as a possible option, Duke product Daniel Jones makes the most sense for the Redskins and Jay Gruden’s offense.

Like many teams in the NFL, Gruden runs a West Coast system, so timing and quickness is everything at quarterback. At Duke, Jones thrived in the quick passing game, though it didn’t require him to make too many tough throws.

The Redskins aren’t going to ask him to throw the deep ball, though. As a matter of fact, Smith and McCoy averaged just 7.1 yards per attempt combined in 2018. With that said. Jones has good velocity on the ball on intermediate throws. He also has the ability to throw with different arm angles.

Moreover, he’s a smart player hailing from the Manning Academy with solid mechanics and could be serviceable as a starter should he have to play as a rookie. Thanks to the offensive line and stable of running backs, he won’t have the pressure to throw 40-plus passes per game. The Redskins won’t have to reach for Jones in the first round. However, he’ll have to be the pick on Day 2.