There’s little doubt they’ll select Griffin, wanting to end their quest for a franchise quarterback — a search that has lasted more than two decades.

The Redskins had been in the hunt for free agent Peyton Manning. But it became clear early on that they would not be able to sign him. One AFC front office executive said Griffin fit the Redskins much better than Manning anyway.

And ex-NFL scout, and current draft analyst, Russ Lande, said Thursday that, “If I were the Redskins I’d give up this year’s 1 and next year’s 1 to get him. You’re talking about a kid who above the shoulders there’s no doubts in terms of his intelligence and work ethic. He has deep-ball accuracy, which is one of his trademarks.”

Griffin is considered a tremendous athlete, though not as explosive as Michael Vick when he came out of college. Vick was more elusive; Griffin is fast. Still, his speed will help on bootlegs and rollouts.

But as Griffin matures, his mobility will even help the run game. In the stretch zone running game, the backside end will have to stay home to guard against Griffin rolling out. That frees up the tackle to head to the linebacker.

Defenses also will need to, at times, place a spy on Griffin — which takes a defender out of coverage.

Griffin’s strength is throwing downfield, as Lande mentioned. In Shanahan’s offense, the quarterbacks are taught to read high to low. They want to be aggressive throwing downfield; Griffin will do just that.

The question on Griffin — the Heisman Trophy winner — is how quickly he’ll be able to adapt to playing under center and reading defenses. At Baylor, most of his snaps came in shotgun.

But scouts have loved his athleticism, work ethic and smarts. There’s no guarantee that any player is headed for stardom, but if you’re going to trade for a guy, it better be one with such qualities. A big reason Griffin improved in college is because of how he worked and learned. He was not a one-year wonder; he was someone who worked his game into having a great final season.

It’s a bold move orchestrated by Mike Shanahan, general manager Bruce Allen and, yes, owner Dan Snyder. It’s also a clear sign of urgency after just 11 wins in two years. According to one NFL source the Browns made a similar offer but would not budge with their second-round pick this year.

And it’s a move that will define the franchise for years to come — one way or another. If a move like this pays off, titles could follow. If it does not, more losing seasons will follow.

Now the question is: What’s next? The Redskins, according to ESPN, will continue pursuing Manning. They want to have a veteran to make sure a rookie doesn’t have to start from the beginning. But it’s highly unlikely Manning will sign here.

They also have approximately $40 million under the salary cap. Money talks in the NFL, but considering the Redskins want to pursue receivers, they need to have a firm option at quarterback to woo them. Whether or not veteran NFL receivers buy into Griffin at this point is uncertain. But it can’t hurt.

The Redskins could have stayed at No. 6 and drafted Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill. But, according to multiple NFL sources, he’s rated as a late first-round talent by many teams. However, because of the position he could sneak into the top 10. But one NFL evaluator said of him, “He’s not a top-10 pick.”

That left one option for Washington: Griffin. The Redskins entered the offseason wanting to improve at quarterback. Whether or not they ultimately do remains to be seen. But they’re about to get the right guy — at a steep price.

“Shanahan can’t miss now,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said on a conference call Thursday. “He missed three times on quarterbacks [Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman and John Beck] and he can’t miss four times. RG3 is the option.”

One scout said, “If he turns out to be as good as Cam Newton, it will be a good trade. If he doesn’t, it will go down as one of the worst trades in history. Bold move…At least this guy has a chance to be a special, franchise QB. And for as much as the Redskins have been studying QB’s over the past two drafts, I think I will trust them.”