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The Redskins and Mallett
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Washington Redskins
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The consensus this pre-draft season is that the Washington Redskins are going to try and land a quarterback at some point during the draft next weekend. Whether that's at their current draft position (No. 10), higher or lower remains to be seen. The 'Skins have been rumored to be trying to move both directions in the first round, and a logical case can be made for either side of that debate. In the minds of many, athletic QBs like Jake Locker, Christian Ponder and Colin Kaepernick appear to make the most sense as the apple of Mike Shanahan's eye.

But during Monday night's edition of "Path to the Draft" on the NFL Network, analyst Michael Lombardi reported that the Redskins have serious interest in drafting Ryan Mallett (a decidedly non-fleet-footed QB), and would do so even with the No. 10 pick, according to a source. (H/T to Evan Silva of Pro Football Talk for the grab).

For his part, Lombardi foresees Mallett going somewhere in the Top 20, though Doug Farrar of Football Outsiders brings up a salient point in the wake of the report. "Re: Lombardi's take on Mallett -- he loves big-armed QBs and wanted to hire [Arkansas coach Bobby] Petrino for Raiders. Not saying to discount, but watch for bias."

Lombardi isn't the only person talking up Mallett as a first-rounder, though. ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill had a tough time finding anyone to say a bad thing about the QB in Arkansas -- meaning that the off-field character concerns might be a shade overblown. ESPN SEC blogger Chris Low thinks that eventually, Mallett will quell the doubters:

- Tim Kavanagh


Chris Low
Mallett's skills are top notch
"Ultimately, it's all going to play out on the field, and on the field, Mallett has showed that he's a first-round talent. Now we'll see if somebody in the NFL thinks so."