Louis Riddick was a scout and then the Director of Player Personnel for the Redskins from 2001-07, so he knows what the good and the bad of Washington football looks like – and it’s pretty obvious that right now, we’re in the good old days.
Riddick was high on Jayden Daniels heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, and, well, story checks out.
“He has not disappointed in any way, and honestly, it's not really a surprise anyone who did their homework on him going back to his days at ASU,” Riddick told the Junkies Wednesday. “The kind of commitment this young man has made to his growth both on and off the field, the way in which he bought into the idea of trying to maximize everything that he possibly could as far as his development at LSU. I saw it first-hand. I talked to him after his Pro Day, and you just knew that this stuff was all transferable, and he would carry those habits right into the NFL. You guys saw how the veterans reacted as soon as he got there – they knew he was all about the work and the business, and when you see that as a veteran, you fall in line. He wanted to set the tone and lead the way, and he’s done that.”
And as a past executive, what does Riddick think Chicago must be thinking now after watching their No. 1 pick, Caleb Williams, struggle through a 5-12 season that got their coach fired?
“I doubt they’re asking Ryan Poles his thought process locking in on Caleb was early as they did, because it really doesn’t serve them in any beneficial way – they need to really pour all their resources into Caleb Williams and how to extract value out of him now,” Riddick said. “That’s what it’s alla bout, because if you mess that up or you're not doing everything you can to help him develop, then you have just set yourself back once again. I think he was a victim of circumstance in many ways, and that's not to absolve him of any individual bad habits or bad judgments as far as what his process was like, but I think it’s critical that they get not only the head coach hire right, but also the offensive coordinator.”
That’s what we have in Washington, and that’s why they had the inverse record and are in the Divisional Round in Year 1 of the Quinn/Daniels era.
“Head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterback coach – everyone who was gonna touch Jayden Daniels, and help with his development, you had to nail all of those hires, get them absolutely correct,” Riddick said. “You have to make sure that the young man is protected. You have to make sure that the wide receivers are all bought in and on the same page. It has to be a very methodical, well thought out plan of attack. That’s what the Bears need, from the hiring process to the development and implementation of the new offense and then how's it executed next year. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but in Washington, they clearly had a damn good plan on how to get that off the ground. No one was saying last year that Jayden was walking into a good situation, but they were saying Caleb Williams was walking into a situation that was the best in the history of the NFL for a young quarterback.”
Take a listen to Riddick’s entire visit above, as he discusses the possibility of Kliff Kingsbury leaving and how that could affect things, before looking ahead to Saturday’s Divisional Matchup!