(PHOTO CREDIT: JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY)

Who will be the top NFL draft pick

When the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins met on Sunday, both were winless. The game was billed as “Tank for Tua,” meaning that the loser would have a greater chance of being the worst team in the NFL and would, therefore, own the No. 1 pick in the next draft – theoretically to be used on Alabama quarterback Tua Tagavailoa.

The Redskins won. Maybe they’d have been in the Tua sweepstakes and maybe not, having drafted Dwayne Haskins 15th overall in the last draft. The Dolphins lost, with Josh Rosen, the 10th overall pick a year ago by the Arizona Cardinals, as their starter.

The Cincinnati Bengals, like the Dolphins, are winless. Perhaps they will be ready to move on from Andy Dalton, though he is hardly their biggest problem.

And for all of those who think using the No. 1 pick on a quarterback guarantees anything, well, consider the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is year five of Jameis Winston’s career and he has, in that time, committed 86 turnovers – more than any other player. The second pick was Marcus Mariota, by the Tennessee Titans. He was benched Sunday in a loss to the Denver Broncos.

Last year’s overall No. 1, Baker Mayfield, is struggling through his sophomore year with the Cleveland Browns. Jared Goff, the top pick in 2016 by the Los Angeles Rams, has slipped as well. The top choice in 2010, Sam Bradford, was also a Rams selection. He played for four teams and is not currently on an NFL roster.

The Indianapolis Colts were in a position to draft Andrew Luck in 2012. They let him get beaten to shreds and he retired before this season. The Carolina Panthers picked Cam Newton at the top in 2011 and he took them to a Super Bowl, but the physical pounding has worn him down and he may lose his job to Kyle Allen, who was undrafted and has been starting while Newton’s injured foot heals.

The Oakland Raiders jumped on JaMarcus Russell in 2007 – he lasted three seasons.

Bad teams aren’t bad just because their quarterback is. And when you surround a great prospect with the type of roster that allows for endless losses, you get nowhere. Teams playing to finish at the bottom so that they can someday rise to the top are fooling themselves.

To them, we say tank you, but no tanks.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman