In the NFL, you don’t get to go back and fix past mistakes. The Washington Commanders may not have been bad for so long if that were the case. Pro Football Focus has recently looked back and past drafts and, in a fun exercise, redrafted the first round.
From 2020-23, Washington would be happy to get a second chance at its first-round picks, as none of those selections are with the franchise. Perhaps the one draft where Washington wished it had a second chance was in 2012. The Commanders traded three first-round picks and a second-round pick to move up four spots and select Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
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That was a steep price, but, at least initially, it looked like a smart move. However, after a magical rookie season, an injury, ego, and entitlement led to Griffin’s downfall after 2012. He was never the same again. So, in this new PFF redraft, it made sense that the Commanders would look in another direction. In that same draft, head coach Mike Shanahan used a fourth-round pick on quarterback Kirk Cousins. We all know how that played out. Cousins spent six seasons in Washington, breaking multiple franchise records that still exist while Griffin was gone after four seasons.
In PFF’s 2012 redraft, Washington selects Cousins at No. 2 overall:
Cousins was Washington’s second quarterback pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, landing in the fourth round after the team famously drafted Robert Griffin III at No. 2 overall.
In a redraft, Cousins goes ahead of Griffin at No. 2. In his 13-year career (and counting), Cousins has 11 times earned a single-season PFF passing grade above 70.0, and he has also racked up five single-season passing grades above 80.0. He has been a model of high-floor consistency for most of his time in the league.
It’s no secret that the Shanahans preferred Cousins over Griffin. While they would’ve never spent a top-five pick on Cousins at the time, the 2012 fourth-round pick has enjoyed an outstanding career and perhaps things would have gone differently for him with the then-Redskins if he had the organization’s support from Day 1. So many things would’ve played out differently, including Washington’s coaching situation, if this scenario had come true.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders pass over Robert Griffin III in 2012 redraft