There is a huge misconception going around about what kind of guy Shanahan would want at quarterback as people try to decipher who they’ll take at number 3 overall. Let me tell you that whatever you think is probably wrong and you have been tricked into a talking point.
Everyone likes to think Shanahan wants a QB like Schaub, Cousins, Ryan and Garoppolo. That could not be further from the truth. Let me tell you why.
When Mike Shanahan had the best success of his career, he was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers and he had Steve Young and when he was the head coach of the Broncos and had John Elway. Both of these guys were mega talents that were super athletic with elite physical attributes. He also moved up to select Jay Cutler in Denver in 2006 as well. Say what you will about Cutler, he was seen as being a legitimate athlete with elite physical traits. Mike Shanahan also revealed that he had interest in Russell Wilson with Washington in 2015. All of these guys share something in common. They are crazy athletic but can also do the work required in the pocket to fit the Shanahan offense. So let’s not pretend the system is allergic to this kind of player.
Also just take a look at Kyle Shanahan’s career. He has maybe once had his choice of quarterback and it’s even debatable if he was the ring leader behind bringing in Garoppolo. And for Garoppolo’s faults, he was actually pretty athletic prior to the ACL tear. Not top-tier, but more than the other guys he worked with. In Houston, he was forced to work with Schaub. In Cleveland it was Hoyer. In Atlanta, Matt Ryan. Kirk Cousins appears to have been a plan B in Washington and wasn’t the ideal. The grand design might have been Russell Wilson but it wouldn’t have sat well with Robert Griffin III already there (which wasn’t a Shanahan decision). You can infer the two sides compromised that they could take Cousins in round 4.
This is very arguably the first time that Kyle Shanahan is in charge of taking a quarterback. This will be “his guy.” I would like to think that Kyle Shanahan isn’t stupid and his dad isn’t either and you know they talk. They know which guys had the best success in the offense ever. They know the blueprint for what they are actually looking for at the position and I can bet it’s different than anyone knows because these guys think differently. They are also so forward-thinking that it’s very possible the needle has moved a bit on what they want too. They are always looking for new ways to evolve the offense.
The notion they want the Kirk Cousins type is ridiculous and always has been. They look for certain traits and while Cousins possesses some, he doesn’t possess all and that’s why he wasn’t plan A for them in Washington and was a 4th rounder. That’s also why Shanahan probably said Garoppolo is just fine and sacrificed a chance at Cousins. He at least saw that Garoppolo could do the same but can move a bit better at the time (again, the injury sapped a lot of that).
So the idea they’d take Mac Jones because he reminds people of Kirk Cousins is a dumb argument. They have made it known multiple times that Cousins isn’t the ideal. Kyle Shanahan has even said that’s not how you draw it up and that you want a more elite guy. I think they are looking for a super athletic guy that can also do the work in the pocket. That to me is Justin Fields. The fact the Shanahan’s coached him at a QB Collective camp for two weeks 5 years ago is purely coincidental (or is it). Mac Jones, at least to me, just doesn’t do enough of the other things that the offense calls for, like Cousins and Garoppolo (post-ACL tear) and I don’t think either of them were plan A when acquired. So you can’t convince me for a second that Mac Jones is suddenly plan A and they traded that much draft capital to select Kirk Cousins or Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s not happening. Pay attention.
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