Jay Gruden confirms Dwayne Haskins in the mix for starting job with Redskins

The Washington Redskins selected Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick in the NFL Draft for a reason. At some point, the organization is hoping the former Buckeye becomes the franchise quarterback.

Haskins is going to get that opportunity pretty early in his career.

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden has said the team will have an open competition for the starting quarterback job this offseason, and Haskins will be in the mix for the top spot on the depth chart. He’ll be competing with Case Keenum and Colt McCoy for the position.

“Yeah, for sure. We have to have that,” Gruden said, according to Pro Football Talk. “I mean Case coming off of the most experience is great. Colt has the most experience with this terminology in this system, and Dwayne was the 15th pick in the draft. We’ll see what happens.”

Haskins started just one season at Ohio State but had an incredible year, leading the Buckeyes to a 13-1 season and a B1G championship. He led the NCAA in passing yards (4,831) and passing touchdowns (50), while completing throws at a 70 percent clip.

There are still some concerns about whether or not Haskins is ready for the NFL right now, but Gruden is going to give the rookie a chance to win the job.

“We’re going to go at it,” Gruden said. “Throw the ball out there let these guys compete really. I think he obviously displayed enough of a skillset to warrant the 15th pick in the draft and to give him an opportunity to see how far he can take this thing without a doubt. I’ve been impressed with the other quarterbacks that we have here. Case has done an excellent job from the little bit we’ve seen of him, and Colt’s obviously rehabbing. Josh [Woodrum] has done a good job as well. It’s a good group and competition will be there.”

The Redskins will open the 2019 preseason on Aug. 8 in Cleveland against the Browns.