Rivera Admits Washington Had 'Big Conversation' About QB Trade In NFL Draft

"It was a big conversation we had, talking about the quarterback position, talking about the young men that we really liked a lot,'' Rivera says of the WFT's in-house Draft Day discussions.

It is a big deal.

It merits what Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera concedes was "a big conversation.''

"It was a big conversation we had, talking about the quarterback position, talking about the young men that we really liked a lot,'' Rivera said of the WFT's in-house Draft Day discussions. "But we also talked about an opportunity to solidify some other things, and if we dealt too much draft capital, we'd lose that opportunity.''

The "solidifying'' came in the form of staying at No. 19 and drafting linebacker Jamin Davis.

READ MORE: Welcome! New LB Jamin Arrives In Washington

The "draft capital'' that was considered in spending to move?

That "big conversation'' surely hit a Thursday night peak quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mac Jones fell out of the top 10, Chicago traded up to get Fields; New England stayed at 15 and got Jones.

Said Rivera on NFL Network's Good Morning Football: "We just thought, 'Maybe if we slip to the right number, we could go ahead and do it.' So there was a conversation. But we really felt strongly about just holding and just trying to fill the rest of the needs."

So it'll be newcomer veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick set to start, with Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen battling it out for the No. 2 job. And it'll be a question mark going forward over whether the WFT did the right thing.

READ MORE: How Washington 'Playing It Safe' In NFL Draft Makes Them Better

The cost of going the other direction? The Bears jumped up from No. 20 overall (one pick behind Washington) to No. 11 to draft Fields, and did so by sending to the Giants the 20th pick, a 2022 first-rounder, a 2021 fifth-rounder, and a 2022 fourth to the Giants.

Is that really "too much capital''? On the Trade Value Chart, a future first-rounder is equal in points to a present second-rounder. That doesn't seem too pricy - though the idea of not possessing a first-round pick in 2022 is always an unattractive thought.

The good news about how this played out? It's about Davis.

"He can play football. He's got position flex,'' Rivera said of Davis. "So we just like who he is."

And the hopeful news about how this played out?

“I’m very confident," Rivera said of his QB situation. "I think we got guys that can manage games when they need to be managed and guys that can go out and makes plays when they need to be made.”