Report: Redskins to host quarterback Marcus Mariota for visit
The Washington Redskins plan to host quarterback Marcus Mariota for a visit before the upcoming draft, reports NFL Media's Albert Breer.
The Redskins hold the No. 5 pick, one spot ahead of the New York Jets, who reportedly held a private workout with Mariota in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday.
The Tennessee Titans, who hold the No. 2 pick, have also worked out Mariota, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hold the No. 1 pick, have scheduled a workout with him in April, according to Breer.
That group comprises four of the first six teams ordered to pick in the draft. Like Mariota, former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is considered a candidate to be selected early in the first round.
In his latest mock draft, SI.com's Doug Farrar projects Tampa Bay to select Winston with the first pick and the Jets to select Mariota with the sixth pick.
Redskins general manager Scott McCloughan recently described how the team will approach the draft. From The Washington Post:
“It comes down to best available player,” McCloughan said. “I’m walking in from the outside in here, saying ‘Okay, I’ve been around a world championship team. I helped another one that made it there – didn’t win it – I kind of have a feeling of what it’s supposed to look like.’ And in San Fran and what we did in Seattle, we understand that we’re not a real deep roster, so let’s not just focus on a certain position, let’s focus on the best football player because we’re not just talking about Year 1, we’re talking about Year 3, Year 5, and you want to be able to re-sign your own guys. You get to the second contracts. We were lucky enough to do that in San Fran and Seattle, and that’s when things start rolling.
“But, just because it’s a quarterback sitting there at 5, and say it is, and that’s the best available player, then we’re going with it. You can never have enough. I was in Green Bay where we had Brett Favre, who won three MVPs in a row, and every year, we drafted a Matt Hasselbeck, an Aaron Brooks, and not that early, but still took quarterbacks.”
The Redskins selected former Baylor star Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft. He was named the offensive rookie of the year that season but has dealt with multiple injuries and was benched for three games in 2014.
At the scouting combine in February, coach Jay Gruden said the Redskins would "go into the season with Robert as the No. 1 guy obviously" and that it's "it's up to Robert to continue to grow and mature as a quarterback and a person and moving forward."
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