By Michael Bennett
The Redskins released their first unofficial depth chart ahead of their preseason opener:
Colt McCoy is listed as the QB starter with Case Keenum listed behind him as the backup and rookie Dwayne Haskins the third-string quarterback.
It’s not at all surprising that McCoy has taken an early lead. After all, he’s been in Washington since the beginning of the Jay Gruden era (2014), which means he should be the most familiar with the Redskins’ offense among a group that includes two newcomers. Since 2014, Keenum has played for the Texans, Rams, Vikings, and Broncos. He didn’t arrive in Washington, via trade, until March. Meanwhile, Haskins is a rookie. He might be the only one of the three to have the potential to become the team’s franchise quarterback, but he also might be the furthest behind in the battle to become the team’s Week 1 starter.
Redskins coach Jay Guden alluded to McCoy’s experience when assessing the current state of the ongoing battle.
“I think they’ve all done some really good things without a doubt and they’ve all done some things that we’ve got to coach. That’s just the way it is at the quarterback position,” Gruden said, per the team’s official website.
“Colt’s [McCoy] got the most experience in the system, but he still hasn’t played a whole lot. He hasn’t taken a lot of reps. Last year it was all about Alex [Smith], the year before that it was all about Kirk [Cousins], and getting them ready,” Gruden added. “Case [Keenum] has all the reps, but he doesn’t have much experience in the system. He’s doing a nice job, and obviously Dwayne [Haskins] is a rookie. All three of them have shown flashes of being really good and really productive, and all three have shown flashes of, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get better.”
Again, just because McCoy is leading the way in early August doesn’t mean he will be starting in early September when the Redskins open up their season against the Eagles. The preseason will likely determine who emerges with the starting job. It just means McCoy might get the first crack at first-team reps.
But based on the way McCoy has played throughout his career, there’s a good chance he’ll be supplanted on the depth chart at some point over the next month. If he does manage to win the job entering the regular season, there’s a good chance he won’t make 16 starts. In his career, McCoy has completed 60.5 percent of his passes, averaged 6.6 yards per attempt, thrown a touchdown on 3.2 percent of his passes and an interception on 2.9 percent of his passes, and accumulated a 78.9 passer rating. There’s a reason he’s been a backup for most of his career. He’s not a starting-caliber quarterback.
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