Rivera: "He was worth a first-round pick"
Washington Redskins head coach Ron Rivera has made his rounds since the conclusion of last weekend’s NFL Draft.
Rivera has joined Kevin Sheehan of Team 980, The Junkies on 106.7 The Fan and the NFL Network. While Rivera provided some excellent information on each of his appearances, it was his spot with Sheehan that made the headlines.
Late in the interview, Sheehan spoke about Trent Williams and his departure, asking Rivera what would Williams have been worth if you subtract all of the baggage from the past year and Rivera’s response was noteworthy, per the Team 980 website.
“I know this much, there was an opportunity last year just before the trade deadline, he was worth a first-round pick,” Rivera said. “For whatever reason, that deal wasn’t done. Because he didn’t play last year, somehow, that number changed.”
Well, I think we all know what happened. Bruce Allen was still in office and bungled this situation like the amateur executive he was. We all know Williams and his questionable agent handled this almost as poorly as Allen, but Williams still had value last season, and Allen’s refusal to trade him really hurt Washington.
Throughout the offseason, Rivera has been noncommittal about second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins. He has acknowledged his talent, without anointing him. Part of that was to keep the team’s draft strategy somewhat of a secret by showing the rest of the league the Redskins were doing their due diligence on the draft’s top quarterback prospects.
Sheehan asked Rivera if Snyder originally pushed Haskins on him when he accepted the job and Rivera said no, he was not.
“No, Rivera said. “He put it on me to go out and evaluate the roster. Nothing was pushed on me, that’s what I want everyone to understand. It was an opportunity for me to come in, evaluate, and decide.”
Rivera has often mentioned the Detroit game in 2019, where Haskins’ numbers weren’t good, but he showed the poise and competitiveness of a franchise quarterback in leading the Redskins to a last-minute win. The coach said it reminded him of his former franchise passer in Carolina.
“The thing that did sell me on it was the Detroit game because honestly it really did remind me of Cam Newton, the coach said. “One of the things we always said was that when things got frenetic, when things happen very quickly, and had to happen, he seemed to really be most comfortable. What I saw in Dwayne, was I saw he had a level of comfort during that. That gives me some optimism going forward.”
Throughout the interview, Rivera made it known the job belonged to Haskins and he believed he had the tools to succeed. However, it would not be handed to him, thus the trade for another former Carolina quarterback, Kyle Allen.
There has been a lot of talk on who Rivera will hire as his handpicked general manager. Kyle Smith was promoted to vice president of player personnel earlier in the offseason and, for the first time, was officially the top personnel man in Washington’s front office.
Rivera has constantly praised the up-and-coming Smith in the last few months and did so again on Tuesday.
“He did a very good job, “ he said. “Seeing how he handled things, watching him do his thing, was solid. I really liked his approach and I liked the way he handled it. He’s a very talented young person that’s learning and growing.”
When pressed if he would give Smith the general manager title now, Rivera was careful in his words.
"That’s really not up to me,” Rivera said. "That's something that Mr. Snyder and I will talk about."
As expected, he wouldn’t commit to an answer. But there is no doubt he believes in Smith and that role is in his near future with Washington.
Finally, what does Rivera think of No. 2 overall pick, Chase Young?
“As an athlete, he’s off the charts,” he said. “He’s got the right demeanor, he’s got the right personality. Now it’s a matter of us developing him and bringing the rest of his game out of him so that when he starts playing for us, he’s that guy that we believe he can be.”
Rivera made it clear that he and his defensive staff couldn’t wait to get to work with Young.
For Washington fans, Rivera and Smith are a breath of fresh air. They actually talk to the media and provide thoughtful answers. Sure, they are still guarded because that is the nature of the business, but they at least make themselves available and that is obviously a welcome change.
You can listen to the entire interview on the Team 980 website or here.
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Bryan Manning has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and college basketball for almost 10 years for various outlets such as Bleacher Report, SB Nation, FanSided, USA Today SMG, and others. Bryan has covered the Washington Redskins for different outlets and currently co-hosts a podcast on the Virginia Tech Hokies for SB Nation. For his day job, Bryan works in engineering for a major communications company.
