Yes, I know the desire to get Robert Griffin III is strong. I’m all for it myself and not because of what he did at the combine. That just confirmed it for me. Griffin is supremely talented and has the intangibles any coach should want. He’s the sort of kid you take a chance on.
But what if… someone else trades with the Rams? It’s still a possibility. As one scout said, “If I’m St. Louis I’d much rather pick at No. 4 than at No. 6.” Until the trade is finalized, it’s just speculation.
And if that happens, then the Redskins could opt for Ryan Tannehill at No. 6 — the same scout said he wouldn’t be surprised to see a team trade to the No. 5 spot to possibly take him. Or they could trade back and take Brandon Weeden. Or maybe they’d stay at 6 and take receiver Justin Blackmon.
Which leads us to Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken, also a former NFL coach. Here are some highlights from our Q&A with him.
Q: What are some things that jumped out about Brandon for you?
A: First and foremost because of his age he’s mature, maybe because of the ups and downs of minor league baseball and he doesn’t get rattled easy. That might have been his personality before baseball, but he’s a real even-keeled guy. The other thing is that he’s extremely accurate. He has the most arm talent from an accuracy standpoint that I’ve ever been around. I’ve been around guys in the NFL. I was around Matt Flynn in college, JaMarcus Russell, Luke McCown and David Garrard. I’m not comparing them to him, but he makes every throw like it’s a five-yard throw – whether it’s a quick screen or an intermediate throw down the field. And beyond the arm strength is how accurate he is at getting the ball at different arm angles. That’s part of being a baseball player. You learn how to throw accurately when you’re not balanced and that’s him.
Q: How do you think he’d fit in a system like the Redskins where they run a lot of bootlegs and rollouts?
A: I think he throws really well on the run. He’s just not going to run with it. Do I think he’ll be good at coming out and selling it and coming out and seeing it, without question. That won’t be an issue. None of those things they do will be hard for him. I know Matt LaFleur well and I have great respect for the Shanahans and what they do. They just have to decide who is their guy.
Q: Justin Blackmon’s speed has been questioned, what can you say about that part of his game and why was he so good for you?
A: The reality is if you look at guys that have success in the NFL, probably one of the least things is flat-out speed. It’s playing strong to the ball, it’s run after the catch, it’s staying healthy, it’s being able to bend and separate and it’s being able to judge the ball down the field and run after the catch. When you see Justin and you watch him on the field, he’s going to look fast against whomever he plays and he’ll look hard to tackle. How that translates I have no idea but you can only go by the fact that he was one of the most dominant players on the field against everybody we played, without question. The things that are very hard to do, he does them. If you can fine-tune him with his route-running, he does all those things that are hard to build into a guy.
Monken also discussed the tough things that come so easily to Blackmon. And he talked about Weeden’s interceptions, compared him to Matt Flynn and his transition from a college spread offense to an NFL one.
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