Three firsts, a second, and maybe more for RG3?

Lots of people have been waiting to hear from me with bated breath on this matter. Let me just say, I oppose it wholeheartedly. I really like RG3, and he's been growing and growing on me. Had a very impressive year, you rarely hear anything negative about him (you hear question marks regarding being a Big 12 or spread offense QB, or not having been so great for as long as other people, but never really hear about things he does poorly), he's extremely athletic, incredibly well-spoken and charismatic, and by all accounts a very, very hard-worker and good leader. Super. That's great. I love the idea of the Skins having him as our QB of the future, as I've been saying all along.

That said, there's a point at which it isn't worth trading up. I'm all for being aggressive and taking some risks, but no matter how impressed you are, you can't be 100% sure RG3 is going to be a top QB in the league. Keep in mind, he isn't even the top pick this year (obviously providing the Colts still take Luck first overall and we take RG3 second, but if the trade rumors are true, that seems a foregone conclusion). Until mid-way through this past NCAA season he wasn't really even on the first round radar.

Some people say you can't put a price on a franchise quarterback. I understand that a franchise quarterback is a massively important thing to a franchise. That said, yes you can, Heath. Even ignoring the fact that you can't be positive RG3 is one, the expression is wrong in and of itself.
Even Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning have a price. If the Colts were willing to give the Packer their entire draft this year, entire draft next year, and entire draft for the 4 years following (there may actually be a limit on how far in the future you can trade picks, but ignoring that for the moment)-- in other words, 6 (most likely high) picks in each round-- and Bethea, and Freeney, just for good measure, the Packers would be foolish to decline. The amount of good players they could get with that haul, including a good QB, far outweighs Rodgers.

So, even if a franchise QB is worth a ton, you need to accept that there is some ceiling, and additionally need to remember that, as QB-needy as we are, there are other things we need to, so taking a different QB, or taking one in a future year, are all options as well. It isn't as though this is the first and only time we would ever have an opportunity to take a QB, and we could certainly benefit from many of the other players available as well.

And perhaps what bothers me most about this supposed deal is the idea of value. Just like you have to mix value and need in the draft (anyone who says they go purely Best Player Available is lying or idiotic), you have to do it in other facets. And the idea of value here is just like in free agency in that you need to be the highest bidder. I doubt that anyone was even close to that haul (especially if the recent reports that the Rams demands of multiple 1sts, a 2nd, and more were balked at by everyone are accurate), so why would the Skins? If the Rams are dead-set on being that greedy, then ignore them and trade with the Vikings. If no one else is willing to come close to that price, then there's no reason you need to. You just have to bid more than the next highest bidder.

Lastly, there's the issue of timing. Trading for a pick that isn't the top pick this early is almost unheard-of, especially for this kind of price. In this case, it's pretty definite who the Colts draft, and if they surprise everyone and take Griffin, then the Skins get Luck, so there isn't much risk in regards to their player being gone, but it's still very unusual to make this trade so early. Why not wait and see how things play out? I guess just worry that another team would make an irresistible offer and they'd miss out if they waited, or even fear that the price would just keep going up (though, it's hard to imagine it going too much higher than this), but it's still a somewhat inexplicable move.

Now, all of the details about the deal's terms are still very raw and rumor-y, so these things, as well as what other people might have been offering, etc., will come out in the future (probably the near future) and this can be evaluated better then, but as it stands, those are my thoughts.

All that said, even with the price, I'll be really excited about having Griffin in D.C., I'll hope for the best and if he is as good as the Redskins apparently expect him to be, then we could still end up being in a pretty good position in the near future. It has been much, much too long since we've had a great QB, and much too long since we've really invested a top pick in one (how's that politics career going, Heath Schuler?). That said, I still hate the idea of the price we're supposedly giving up.

UPDATE: Oddly enough, Schefter reports that the Redskins are still going hard in the Manning hunt.