What I didn't like was when Williams got defensive by saying that Alex Smith was a great third round draft choice.
Good GMs don't take trades out of context and compare 33 year old veteran players to prospects whose upside is something they are being paid to properly evaluate and develop if selected.
Joe Montana was a
#3 pick. So was Russell Wilson. Cousins was a
#4 pick here in 2012.
So, there very well might be a player who ultimately grades out equal to or better than Smith in the long-run.
But whether or not that happens, the trade is just that, a TRADE.
We shouldn't be mixing the metaphors in re the draft.
The Redskins are going to miss having that
#3 pick when the time comes. And if we do indeed trade down in Round 1 to then re-acquire a pick in that round, that is another consequence of the TRADE.
With Cousins leaving as a foregone conclusion and free agency offering up capable but often-injured players like Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater at QB, the move for Smith was aggressive and perhaps necessary.
But let's not pretend it was all scripted out that way from the start. The Redskins were scrambling to make lemonade out of the lemons left over from holding onto Cousins too long so they wouldn't get any compensation for him and were able to make the trade.
So, kudos for fixing what was originally our own mistake.
The 2018 draft starting today is a new chapter. The front office will be judged as much on what they do over the next 3 days going forward as they will for that one move in January.
If one assumes that Smith is equal to or even a bit better than Cousins (less turnovers), then this team is likely looking at a record of between 7-9 and 9-7 UNLESS the draft and post June 1 free agency produce outsized returns.
So, the challenge to improve is still there. Smith simply allows us to tread water at quarterback.
But Smith isn't going to the playoffs with a defense that finishes
#3 2 against the run or an offensive set that features Robert Kelley at RB, Paul Richardson and Josh Doctson at WR and Jamison Crowder in the slot, etc. without upgrades at some of these spots and others on the roster as well.