the run-up to the 2019 draft because I remember when it
didn't work out for him in Washington. We talked about
this a lot last week as it related to the 2018 draft class
about how where you land.
Dramatically influences your career. Sure quarterback in
the NFL, and you don't get to pick your team. They pick you. And
I remember when it didn't work out for him. Washington
the knee-jerk reaction by many was well, he was just an absolute
and
total bust this present. No, no. No,
this wasn't some
crazy decision by Washington. To take a guy that people
regarded as a seventh rounder. He was widely regarded as
a first-round Prospect in 2019.
The end and for whatever reason, it didn't work out in
Washington and it may not have been his fault. It may have
been the organization's fault. We spend a lot of time talking
about how dysfunctional that team has been over the course
of the past decade
plus and I just can't help, but wonder, I remember when
the Steelers acquired him. Chris. I thought it here. This here.
Here we go.
The Steelers, see something, and the Steelers are going to
bring it out of him and he's going to become the guy that we
all thought he was going to be in 2019. And it was just
a matter of Time and for all, we know that was still
percolating, like Tom and may have had a long-term vision in
mind
for Dwayne Haskins. And
that part of it also will never know the answer to what he
could have become and that's what makes it even more of
a tragedy because yeah, he was a working progress. We're all
a work in progress. But especially at that age, you are
clearly finding
your way, and he still had a chance to find his way in
football to the field to a starting role. Right? For
a team, that is looking right now for someone to take that mantle
and
I remember breaking down is his film with you three years ago
and we saw a similarities to Ben Roethlisberger. Right? And
we saw a guy who could move around with a big arm and he
needed some Polish, he needed some time. And
sometimes, you know, today's NFL for every guy, that, that
figures it out right away. Sometimes it takes a little
while and that's okay. And he was in the process of figuring
it out. And that's just what makes it?
It just, it does a feeling of incomplete. Yes, that's about
this, and it's gonna happen. Whenever someone, that age
goes, but there were many chapters left, many, many
chapters left in his book
in all aspects of his life and particularly football. And
I think that's what makes it even harder
for a lot of people to process. Yeah, except sense at all. No,
I think you're right. I think it's, that's, that's kind of
how I feel to. I think there's a lot of feelings there that
you explain really well, that are definitely going through my
body.
And, and anybody, you talk to would Duane Haskins, as far as
yes, came out of college. Only played one year, you know, he
was one of the youngest, if not, the youngest guy in
the draft. If I remember correctly,
at least it was up there
and I think that was part of the reason. Maybe he fell out
of the top five a little bit or whatever is teams got scared of
that. I'm agree with you
and the fact that hey
I mean yes, where you go? Where you land is the rest of
the organization bought in on you as that determine. Your
success. Factor is a first
On pick or any round pick, of course it does.
And what did we hear to? Let's go back to that time of
the draft. He got drafted by Washington. There was a lot of
rumors that
that's staff, at that time. I think it was Jay Gruden was
the head coach, right? The they weren't really, you know,
the fans are Dwayne Haskins. He wasn't there guy. They were
Daniel Jones guys, right? Remember there. Was that whole
thing to just to speak to your point to go, you know, there
was
a dysfunctional organization that made a
weird dysfunctional pick at
In where it sounds like not everybody was bought in
so that did not help and of course, is not going to help
a guy that yes as young already. And now going to a team that's
got issues and then half the staff is bought in and, you
know, somebody in the front office is bought it and then
there's other guys
that are not that's not going to help the development
process, you know, goes to Pittsburgh. We saw
we saw a little what we liked or what we thought he could be
last year. And anybody, you talk to add Dwayne Haskins.
I think there was two things that always came up to me with, with
that.
One. It was the smile.
A smile was always like,
oh man is smile. Just, it's it makes you want to smile with
them and laugh. Always heard that and then when people would
see him throw in person,
you know, despite what you think about a quarterback or
whatever else, but people would come away from Dwayne Haskins
and go man. I mean, it's spiral. It spins it flies
through the air
and I think it was he was one of those guys that kind of had
a. Wow, are more a, wow, talent that way. And I think that's to
your point. Mike, what kind of feels on incomplete. Detour
leaves that that pit in your stomach
to, to this short abrupt end to his life
as to the throwing arm Ben Roethlisberger said on social
media over the weekend. I'll say it again. Just like I told
you to your face I still wish I could throw the ball. Like
yeah. See, there you go. I didn't even see that and I did
but that that's
there you go. So that's what I heard that a lot from people
really it was always move man. When you see him throw though,
it's special and big Ben. He knows what a special alarm
looks like,
I think back to Eli. Adding in 2004.
He didn't refuse to play for the Chargers because he didn't
want to live in San Diego. He sensed when he visited that
there was
disagreement as to whether or not the organization wanted
him. And there were a lot of disagreements between the GM AJ
Smith and the head coach. Marty Schottenheimer at the time
and he'll I sensed it and he didn't want to be part of that
and he took a stand to avoid that. And by the time you get
to the 15th pick in the draft as you're sliding. Sliding and
you're you're wondering when the phone is going to ring. All
you want is for the phone to ring. It doesn't matter where
it should
at the time. You're not thinking of that and
the possibility that Dwayne Haskins landed with
an organization that was split on whether or not. He was the guy,
they wanted that contributes to
the ultimate outcome. It's not on the player and we this isn't
some new discovery that
we've had. You've heard this from us
many times. Before, as recently as last week,
quarterbacks, especially their careers are so driven by where
they begin them, who is coaching
who is running the team,
who else is there to help the development? What other players
are there? If you have nothing else, it doesn't matter how
good you are and it all happens, very quickly,
the games, come and go in three hour increments.
Narratives develop. Like that. And it's I don't want to say
it's not fair. I don't know what's fair or not fair in that
context. It just is, that's what happens and some guys land
in a perfect spot and it works for them quickly and some guys
don't land in a perfect spot and there were few spots more
imperfect in 2019, the Washington football team. We
know that we accept that we can agree at a time when people
can't agree on many things in this, Country. I think we can
agree that Washington
was dysfunctional
as dysfunctional as any team in 2019. So
it's hard to it's hard to pass final judgment on what, Dwayne
Haskins could have been and that is where some of
the emptiness comes from me. He had still
a lot in front of them and it's still could have gone
in a much different way, and we would have forgotten all about
His first stop. If his current stop had resulted in him
playing, and becoming that succession of Ben
Roethlisberger that they're currently looking for, just
feels again, it would feel incomplete, no matter what he
did, right? Because he was only 24,
but as it relates to this context of football, it makes
it feel even more incomplete. It does. And I think what,
we're, we're getting to here and what y'all? You know,
Banner statement headline statement here.
I mean, here's here's what it is about the potential of
Dwayne Haskins, and let's not forget. Forget this, you know,
big, we see what Big Ben said there, but
Ohio State, Urban Meyer
Ryan Day, all those guys there,
you know, and I know Urban Meyer. Yes. It's not the best
year in the world, you know, and his life to bring them up,
but they've been around a lot of good football and a lot of
good quarterbacks and players.
They thought Dwayne Haskins was the guy over Joe burrow
and that just speaks to. I think not again, not a bad
mistake or an it speaks of Dwayne has
Talon because Joe Borough
as we know, is one of the five best quarterbacks in football
and got a strong arm and is a phenomenal athlete.
And they went to Dwayne Haskins route. So
that is self speaks,
you know, volumes and the fact that, yeah, there's obviously
some real talent. I'm not saying he's jobber or whatever
else, but there was enough there for people to go. Well.
Yeah, we kept waiting. Of course we did. I mean, look at
Duane Haskins,
throw lasers all over the field and I think that's you know
what we're talking about here because yeah, rough start
Young.
A bad team to get drafted by never really got things going
in the right direction.
And it would just would have been nice to know, you know
where the story would have ended up and what he could have
done with that potential. He had with the gift at
quarterback and his right arm.