Redskins Recon: Hogan's Heroes?

The Redskins made an unexpected play for a young QB yesterday, but not via the NFL draft as expected – instead, swapping 2018 6th round picks with the Cleveland Browns to acquire 3rd year former Stanford standout Kevin Hogan.

Skins fans either cheering or booing the move, in truth, couldn't pick Hogan out of a lineup with a gun held to their head.

So what to make of young Mr. Hogan?

Cut by the Kansas City Chiefs who used a 5th rounder to draft him (1 round ahead of Nate Sudfeld btw…). Signed by the Browns and on their roster for 2 unspectacular seasons. Traded to the Redskins for a pick 15 minutes earlier in the 6th round.

The pre-draft scoop on Hogan seems to have been validated by his arc so far in the NFL. Super solid kid, very bright, great huddle leadership. But has horrible mechanics, poor arm strength, and probably at best, is a *potentially* serviceable backup (key words ‘at best'). Not exactly the ‘hidden gem' teams hope to find with a Hail Mary late round draft pick.

We thought it would be worth sending out a ‘Redskins Recon' intel patrol to see what those closest to Hogan, Browns fans themselves, had to say upon the news they were losing the young QB prospect. Before we get started, it's worth noting that finding active, enthusiastic Browns forums ain't easy. The first forum I found was lead off by a stickied thread titled ‘Why Should I support the Browns?!'.

But where Browns fan commentary could be found, it was fairly enthusiastic when it came to the Hogan deal. Let's start with those Browns devotees who felt the transaction was a big mistake (don't worry – this won't take long).

MLD Woody said:

Noooooo!

Click to expand...

We don't know exactly what MLD is thinking here, but clearly he may be a ‘Cult of Colt' kind of a fan. Hogan was going to take them to the Promised Land afterall.

PoeticG said:

Hogan is a young QB and he's ready to play now. He's sat for 2 years and he's continued to develop to the point where now he needs gametime experience. It's Hogan time... somewhere. It's typical for the Browns to develop talent and then just let it leave only to keep the trash only to rinse and repeat the cycle over and over and over and over and over and .....

Click to expand...

‘It's Hogan Time … somewhere'. For a second, I got all excited, about it being Hogie Time.

PoeticG said:

Hogan will be a starter, he's as good as Joe Flacco- only younger.

Click to expand...

hoorta said:

I wish him well wherever he winds up. If he plays his cards right, he could be a long term backup in the league- like Colt McCoy. Honestly, Kev may not even be as good as Colt.

Click to expand...

Pssst. He's not.

jaydog said:

Hogan was a good soldier who wanted more and it likely wasn't happening here.

Click to expand...

inliner311 said:

I guess the Redskins see him as a fixable project.

Click to expand...

More commonly, Browns fans heaped scorn on young Mr. Hogan, and more specifically towards the Redskins who elected to give up 17 draft spots to acquire the QB.

Yerah Be Grand said:

Someone traded for Kevin Hogan....I am speechless.

Click to expand...

Mr. Footwear said:

Why would Washington do that?!!

Click to expand...

That question doesn't need Odor Eaters Mr. Footwear.

Nero said:

If Dorsey plays this cleverly, we can still get a bag of Doritos in exchange...

Click to expand...

Mark O said:

And just a bag of regular doritos.. Not even the family size or even the special flavors like cool ranch or taco flavor.

Click to expand...

hoorta said:

If Kevin had shown any hint of starting material, the Browns wouldn't have wasted a draft pick on Taylor. Hogan will soon follow our other similarly talented former third string quarterback Connor Shaw into oblivion.

Click to expand...

Orion said:

Well, that trade is basically Hogan for a bag of chips. But, he wasn't going to make the team so......

Click to expand...

Browns fans seem to be hungry for wins … and snack foods.

Canton Mike said:

He'd have been cut & we moved up 17 spots in the 6th round. We got somethin' for nothin', so I can't complain. I'm somewhat surprised we had a taker this soon after putting him on the trading block.

Click to expand...

Flugel said:

Who was the hollow dome in KC that drafted this church mouse quiet but highly controversial Kevin Hogan anyway?

Click to expand...

Church mouse? Ouch.

PortlandDawg said:

So we gain 17 spots in the 6th. Worth it. He was not making the roster.

Click to expand...

FrontPageNews said:

We would have just cut him. Lmao Washington.

Click to expand...

LBC Mike said:

Lol. 2020 7th round conditional?

Click to expand...

LogicIsForSquares said:

A gift certificate to Arby's and you have a deal.

Click to expand...

TexasAg1969 said:

And just when he was going to turn us around

Click to expand...

Tony said:

I think we could've won 5 games last year if Hogan starts the whole time. Good luck Kevin!

Click to expand...

Why is this a humorous post? Because he was dead serious. #BrownsFanLife

Real Deal said:

I'll miss the Hulk Hogan posts.

Click to expand...

Pip said:

I'm gonna meet him at the airport and see if he'll autograph my ass.

Click to expand...

.

Pip, Pip, Pip. What are we going to do with you?

On many Browns boards, there were only a smattering of posts of any kind, much less a thread about the latest Browns QB to be cut, released, or traded. Because Browns.

My take on the trade down to acquire Kevin Hogan? He was a good college QB. But like a lot of ‘good college QBs', he simply doesn't have the arm talent to make it at the NFL level. By all accounts, Hogan is a super solid citizen, a great teammate, and a motivated leader in the huddle. If only those things were enough in the NFL. The negatives on Hogan now are the same ones his pre-draft scouting reports were riddled with 3 years ago.

‘Does not have an NFL arm'.

‘Mechanics are God-awful.'

‘Not very adept at reading defenses'

It's true that the Redskins gave up very little to get Hogan. Dropping 17 spots in the 6th round to acquire a player – ANY player – is nothing to get yourself in a tizzy about. But the reason I hate this move is because I believe there's already enough data to determine that Hogan can't be a successful passer in the big leagues. You can't coach that up. He simply can't make the throws required – not even to be a competent back up. It's also clear that Hogan was not going to make the Browns roster. He could've been had for nothing. Those 17 spots in the 6th round may seem like nothing. But then again, they could prove to be the difference in getting or not getting a project QB in the 6th round who actually does have the physical tools worthy of taking a flyer on.

Browns fans, who've seen a lot more of Kevin Hogan than we have, seem to agree with me.

I was initially flummoxed by this transaction but finding out that he possesses ‘great huddle leadership' has turned me in favor of it. I just hope moving back a couple of handful of spots doesn't cost us the next All-Pro 6th rounder.

Chris said:

I was initially flummoxed by this transaction but finding out that he possesses ‘great huddle leadership' has turned me in favor of it. I just hope moving back a couple of handful of spots doesn't cost us the next All-Pro 6th rounder.

Click to expand...

Lol... always love the Chris snark

To be serious for a second though - we have found some pretty good players in the latter rounds and dropping 17 slots isn't helpful.

Rock Cartwright
Matt Ionaddis
Kedric Goldston
Chris Thompson
Alfred Morris

If you want to go old school, steel yourself - because we got these guys in the 5th, 6th, or 7th rounds:

Harold McClinton
Mark Rypien
Dexter Manley
Mike Bragg
Timmy Smith
Ed Simmons
Pat Richter
Rich Milot
Gus Frerotte
Eddie Lebaron
Chris Hanburger

Those measly 17 spots in the 6th round do matter. If we were getting a guy who really had potential, it's a no-brainer. I think that's very much in question though.

Well, if he breaks out I hope he and his agent are willing to negotiate with us.

I never saw Hogan play so I am going on the basis of what folks have posted about an average at best arm and lousy footwork.

My immediate thought is why the Redskins couldn't in fact find a BETTER late round prospect by simply staying where they were in the draft and seeing who drops?

When the one fan commented that Hogan was a lot like Joe Flacco, I thought well Flacco hasn't been the best qb in the NFL over time since that 'play out of his mind' postseason in 2011, but no one questions that Flacco has a strong arm and can make the throws.

This kid isn't like Flacco if those earlier reports are true.

My guess is this is a Jay Gruden move.

He probably liked Hogan in 2016 and when he was taken in Round 5 had to settle for Sudfeld in Round 6.

Boone said:

‘It's Hogan Time … somewhere'. For a second, I got all excited, about it being Hogie Time.

​

Click to expand...

Oh you guys can laugh now. But wait til we get him in the cafeteria, and then the gym. We add 145lbs of muscle, and BOOM!

Nose tackle deluxe baby!

Kel Varnsen said:

What about Hoage time?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Wow - took me a minute to get the reference Hoage was a free safety who played for the Cardinals and Eagles and ultimately for the Redskins for a single Super Bowl season in 1991. Only played in 6 games, which I predict is about 6 games more than Kevin Hogan will ever play

He owns a vineyard nowadays. Talk about a blast from the past...

I thought he meant hoagie.

Boone said:

Wow - took me a minute to get the reference Hoage was a free safety who played for the Cardinals and Eagles and ultimately for the Redskins for a single Super Bowl season in 1991. Only played in 6 games, which I predict is about 6 games more than Kevin Hogan will ever play

He owns a vineyard nowadays. Talk about a blast from the past...

Click to expand...

Yeah, that was quite a deep pull. I remember him mostly playing with the Eagles. That name always stuck out to me as a kid and every time I hear someone talk about a hogie, I think of Terry Hoage because in my sarcastic teenage years, we would call him Hogie. I vaguely remembered him playing with the Redskins. I think he had an interception at a preseason game I went to. But that could have been some other guy in some other game. I know it was at RFK and it was a preseason game. Whether it was him or not, I associate that play with him.

I say we scout him ourselves:



Seems to me when he has guys running wide open down the field, young Hogan generally puts it in the general vicinity.

Seriously--every single one of those passes was completed.

I wonder if the Skins are going all subliminal here bringing in a number 8.

A #8 who doesn't consistently miss wide-open receivers... ? Been about 30 years since we've had one of those.

Om said:

Seriously--every single one of those passes was completed.

Click to expand...

Every QB has a 100% Completion Rate on his highlight reel

Fear The Spear said:

Every QB has a 100% Completion Rate on his highlight reel

Click to expand...

Er ... yeah. [emoji57]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quite honestly that highlight reel looks far better than the Jason Campbell one did coming out of Auburn.

Yep, those were the days. After taking Sean Taylor #1 in 2004, the Redskins really came up cold on their top picks for awhile.

Two #1 picks in 2005 and we came up with Carlos Rogers and Jason Campbell. Then our #1 pick in 2007 was Laron Landry, another washout.

2008 was perhaps hitting rock bottom with THREE #2 picks in Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly and Fred Davis. All 3 busts.