Quarterbacks have more to learn and need more development than any other position on the football field. Very rarely does a quarterback enter the league in a position to succeed. They need to be molded, and that takes a lot of personal attention from the coaching staff.
The Redskins need a quarterback of the future in the worst way, and this draft might present them with the opportunity to get one. But if the Redskins take a quarterback in this draft, and the lockout forces the NFL to cancel this season, the Redskins would lose a full year of important development time with their new franchise signal caller. According to Mike Jones at the Washington Post, that won't stop them from entertaining the idea.
“No, that doesn’t bother me,” Shanahan said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in New Orleans. “I think everybody’s in the same situation, bringing in a rookie quarterback or even a veteran quarterback. I don’t care what it is, if someone’s not familiar with your system, it’s going to take some time.”
But he also understands that he wouldn't have the chance to bring that quarterback along while the the NFL has locked out its players. In fact, they can't even give him a playbook to look at.
“Nope, can’t even do that,” Shanahan said. “We can draft them but we’re not supposed to have any contact. But everyone, if they draft a quarterback, will be in the same situation. We’ll all be limited with what we can do offensively"
So it sounds like that situation wouldn't just affect a new quarterbacks development, but the entire team's ability to instill a successful offensive system. It isn't just a new quarterback that would suffer in this case, but the team as a whole.