Why Kliff Kingsbury as Commanders’ offensive coordinator should not impact draft choice
Around draft time, the conversation around best player versus best fit comes up, especially when a debate is tight. However, PFF’s Trevor Sikkema also hopes that those teams also don’t overthink it considering how these decisions can pan out.
Sikkema spoke with On3’s Andy Staples on Monday about that dynamic, specifically in regards to the Washington Commanders at the No. 2 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. He did start by admitting that, at times, those conversations can come into play.
“I mean sometimes that comes into being a factor of a certain position evaluation,” said Sikkema. “Like, you have to envision those players on your team and how they’re going to fit with your offense and your offensive coordinator.”
Still, at number two overall, Sikkema does not suggest that Washington take whichever player, or, in this case, quarterback, fits better for Kliff Kingsbury, the Commanders’ new offensive coordinator. That’s because, if things go how they want them to, that quarterback will be playing for your franchise a lot longer than your offensive coordinator will be woking for it based on the coaching carousel.
“I always kind of push back on the ‘How does this player fit with this coordinator?’ because let’s face it. If Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye gets drafted to the Washington Commanders and they light the world on fire this upcoming year? Or, shoot, maybe it’s this year and then next year. Like, next year, they play really well. It’s a two-year thing. Guess what? Kliff Kingsbury is gone,” said Sikkema. “Like, he’s out of there. He’s going to get another head coaching job. He has proven that he can take a young quarterback and make him a great quarterback in the NFL.”
“I always hesitate,” Sikkema said. “You want to get guys that, obviously, fit your scheme but you want to get guys that fit your scheme and your identity of your head coach, who you hope isn’t going anywhere, and your general manager, who’s building the team a certain way with a certain DNA of these guys – character makeup, culture if you will. Like, those are the things that I gravitate towards a little bit more.”
With that thought, Sikkema then applied it to Maye out of North Carolina and Daniels from LSU. Either players justifies being the prospect that Washington takes at No. 2 in this draft. If they see Maye as the better of the two, though, he thinks they should do that over leaning with Daniels just because he could fit better in Kingsbury’s offense in theory.
“At No. 2 overall for Washington? Okay, yeah, like, Jayden might be better for Kliff Kingsbury but I think Drake Maye is the better prospect overall. I think Drake Maye has got the better overall arm talent. I think that he’s a quarterback who I’m not worried about hitting basically every single throw at an NFL level. So, like, that’s the guy that I would be picking if I was the Washington Commanders,” said Sikkema. “You could sit here and talk about the connection with offensive coordinators all you want but I don’t think that Drake Maye would be bad in any way, shape, or form in a Kliff Kingsbury offense.”
At this point of the process, you’re splitting hairs between these prospects, including those at the very top. Even so, fit based on coordinator shouldn’t be what is the deciding factor for any franchise to Sikkema. That’s why, in his opinion, he believes the Commanders should be taking Maye at two.
“Any time that it’s close, I’m not really going to let the coordinator sway my opinion of a guy that you hope is going to be in your organization for the next 10 years,” said Sikkema.
“If you think that this guy is going to be your two contract-type of franchise quarterback – well, guess what? They’re probably only going to have this offensive coordinator for two years max if they’re that good,” Sikkema opined. “That’s why I just kind of push back on that narrative and I’d be taking Drake Maye at number two.”