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Redskins admit they could draft QB in 1st round, but likely won't trade up

The Washington Post / Getty

Washington Redskins senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams acknowledged Monday that his team could select a quarterback with the 15th overall pick in the NFL draft.

"We needed a quarterback and we were able to trade for Case (Keenum) but that does not put us out of the realm of picking a quarterback if there is one there that we like at 15," he said. "We don't know who is going to be there at 15. We got some guys that we do like, and if those guys are there, then that is a discussion that has to be had."

Washington has been heavily rumored to be keeping tabs on the quarterback class leading up to the draft. Last year's starter, Alex Smith, faces an uphill battle to resume his career after a post-op infection in his broken leg led to several more surgeries.

The Redskins acquired Keenum from the Denver Broncos early in the offseason, but he isn't viewed as a long-term solution.

At least three quarterbacks - Oklahoma's Kyler Murray, Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins, and Missouri's Drew Lock - are projected to come off the board in the opening round Thursday in Nashville.

Despite Washington's interest in the signal-callers, Williams suggested the team probably won't trade up to get one of them.

"I've said all along, the chance of trading up is a lot slimmer than trading back," he told reporters. "... I'm going to go on the record and say that's a possibility that we won't trade up, but there's a great possibility we'll trade back if that opportunity came."

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