The wait is over for Dwayne Haskins as he, and the rest of the world, have learned his fate as he was selected by the Washington Redskins with the 15th pick of the first round. Haskins is the first Big Ten quarterback to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since the 1995 NFL Draft when Kerry Collins was taken No. 5 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
Haskins joins Nick Bosa so far as first round selections for the Buckeyes, making this the fourth straight years that the Buckeyes have had multiple players selected in the first round. Last year Denzel Ward (1-4) and Billy Price (1-21) were taken in the first round.
Haskins is the first Ohio State quarterback to be selected in the draft since Cardale Jones was picked in the 4th round of the 2016 draft by the Buffalo Bills. Haskins is the third-ever Buckeye to be taken in the first round of the draft, joining Don Scott (1-9, Bears) and Art Schlichter (1-4, Colts).
Haskins only started for one season with the Buckeyes but what a season it was as he finished No. 3 overall in Heisman voting and rewrote the Ohio State single-season passing record book. Haskins very well could have owned most of the career records had he opted to come back to Columbus for one more season but with a first-round grade in his pocket, Haskins made the choice to pursue the NFL.
During 2019, Haskins put up video game type numbers with 50 passing touchdowns on 373-533 passing for 4,831 yards and a 70-percent completion percentage. With all of those attempts, Haskins only threw eight interceptions, quite the feat for a player who was averaging 38 pass attempts per game over a 14-game season.
One of the biggest concerns about Haskins was his lack of experience as a one-year starter for the Buckeyes. Most NFL quarterbacks started for at least two years in college and that created a lot of pre-draft concern about the Ohio State signal caller.
Haskins’ talent could not be debated, and he looked strong during the annual NFL Scouting Combine and did well by all accounts on his individual meetings and workouts. The picture became more-cloudy when Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner, decided that he wanted to pursue football full-time and spurned the Oakland A’s, who held his rights for baseball.
Haskins said on social media that he was not concerned about all of the talk around him and whoever drafted him would get a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder who was ready to work.
He will have that chance now that he is off the board, one step closer to realizing his NFL dream. He achieved his dream of playing at Ohio State, are you willing to bet against him reaching this one? We’re not either.
