What if the Redskins draft Sanchez?

By Stanley

One of the more intriguing scenarios in this weekend's NFL Draft involves the Washington Redskins. Washington has professed its commitment to Jason Campbell at the quarterback situation, but their front office has been anything but loyal. The Redskins reportedly tried to acquire Jay Cutler and are now showing strong interest in Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez, a USC product, decided to come out as a junior although he had a great chance of being the number one overall pick in next year's draft. Most analysts rate Matthew Stafford above Sanchez, but many are convinced that Sanchez will actually be a steal in this year's draft.

The Redskins became dissatisfied with Jason Campbell's play about three fourths down the stretch of the 2008 season. Campbell isn't much of a playmaker, and Sanchez would probably be an upgrade at quarterback.

However, the Seahawks are reportedly interested at the #4 spot, as well as the Browns and Jets. But what if the Redskins traded up to #4 to draft Sanchez, dealing the #13 pick overall and a sixth round 2010 pick to Seattle and Jason Campbell to either the Bucs or the Jets. Meanwhile, the Bucs or the Jets give their second round pick to Seattle, and the Seahawks in return give the Redskins a fifth round pick. It seems to make sense.

Likely, the Redskins will have to involve a third party in order for such a trade to go through. The New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers both make sense because of their dire need of a quarterback. Jason Campbell would actually fit quite well in with the Bucs, and might be a successful quarterback in Tampa.

So what would Seattle do at #13? The Seahawks would have to wait until next year to draft a quarterback, which wouldn't be terrible because they already have Matt Hasslebeck, so Sanchez hypothetically would not even play the first year anyways. The 'Hawks could hope for Jeremy Maclin to fall to #13, although this is unlikely. Their other options include drafting a tackle like Michael Oher or Andre Smith to shore up the offensive line.

A Mark Sanchez to the Redskins scenario would really shake things up in the league. The prime beneficiary might even be the Bucs or the Jets, at least for 2009, as they would greatly upgrade the quarterback situation. A similar scenario could definitely happen with the Cleveland Browns as well, who could deal Brady Quinn. However, such a trade doesn't seem to be logical for Cleveland, who could instead upgrade their receiving corps or defense.