When they traded for the St. Louis Rams' No. 2 pick with the poorly disguised intention of choosing Robert Griffin III, the Washington Redskins had to know they were getting an NFL Mock Draft genre, and not just a player. It's true: They aren't just drafting Griffin, they're drafting the official Second Quarterback of 2012. Griffin comes highly touted, as far as that genre goes, which is good—especially because No. 2 quarterbacks seem to have produced about as well as their No. 1 counterparts.
In the last 10 years, the Second Quarterback slot has produced some of the NFL's best and worst (and most anonymous) quarterbacks. In 2001 Drew Brees went 31 picks after Michael Vick—which worked out pretty well for the New Orleans Saints, if not the San Diego Chargers; in 2004 it produced Philip Rivers (No. 4), which did work out well for the Chargers (and the Giants), and in 2005 the Green Bay Packers, denied Alex Smith, chose Aaron Rodgers with the No. 24 pick.
What's more, the busts seem to come when the No. 1 quarterback wasn't very good anyway. Sure, Joey Harrington (No. 3) sucked, but David Carr (No. 1) has been just as ineffective; sure, Carlos Palmer (No. 1) was better than Byron Leftwick (No. 7), but he didn't quite lead to a new era of prosperity for the Cincinnati Bengals. So if nothing else, the Redskins can take comfort in this: Andrew Luck is really, really good.
More NFL Mock Draft analysis handpicked from SB Nation St. Louis:
- Of course, that super-highly-touted No. 2 spot produced Ryan Leaf the last time the Colts picked No. 1.
- Meanwhile, the Rams can't help themselves but go after Trent Richardson.
- Though this mock, in which they trade down again for two more first-rounders, successfully avoided it.