When Washington coach Ron Rivera took to the podium Tuesday at the NFL combine, the quarterback position was sure to be a hot topic. Surprisingly, the quarterback questions didn’t come up until later in Rivera’s interview.
First, Rivera was asked about the 2022 NFL draft, specifically the quarterback class.
We’ve spent a lot of time already on the quarterback class. There’s several quality guys. Several standouts, guys we are going to spend even more time. Yesterday was our first opportunity to interview a number of them. We’ll continue the interview process. We’ll start looking to figure out which guys we are going to do privates (workouts) with, which ones we’re going to bring in (for a visit to team headquarters) and which ones we’re gonna attend (pro day). It is a different type of group because you’ve got everything from pure passers to guys that have pure athleticism. And, so, you’ve gotta really look at how it’s gonna fit the type of players you have. Ideally, you can find a guy can do both and you’re very fortunate. But again, we are picking at No. 11, and I promise you these are all things we are looking at.
Rivera is working so hard to acquire a veteran quarterback because of the lack of a clear-cut top quarterback prospect in this draft. Kenny Pickett, Matt Corral, Malik Willis, Sam Howell, Desmond Ridder and Carson Strong are players who scouts have different opinions on. Some like Pickett, others love Willis’ upside. Some prefer Howell.
It’s not the best year to need a quarterback.
Rivera acknowledged his luck in Carolina, drafting Cam Newton No. 1 overall in his first season as head coach.
“I was very fortunate in Carolina, we found our franchise quarterback (Cam Newton) right away,” Rivera said. “We drafted him, he was a big part of what we did, got us to the Super Bowl, had a terrific career and unfortunately got a little derailed with injuries his last two years with us. When you get that guy, it makes things a lot easier. Not having that guy, really put the onus on last year, some things happened, we were trying to get into that and we lost out to the Rams (Washington’s attempt to trade for Matthew Stafford). Now, this year, we are being very proactive, looking, searching, doing things we are to cover every base.”
How much is too much to give up for a proven franchise passer?
Well, there’s an old saying, ‘what are you willing to pay for that major league baseball card?’ Whatever you pay, that’s what you think the value is. When you get into these negotiations with another team, it’s whatever they’re asking for is what you’re willing to pay, that’s what it is.
“Does anybody really care what was traded for Matthew Stafford last year,” Rivera asked.
Rivera is right. If you find that guy, no price is too much to bring him to your team. However, you better be right. Rivera is entering his third season in Washington in 2022 and he understands the importance of finding the right quarterback this offseason.
LIVE: Coach Rivera speaks to the media from the NFL Combine https://t.co/bW2XnBNU71
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) March 1, 2022
