In the most predictable NFL Draft ever, the Redskins, as expected, used their No. 2 pick to select quarterback Robert Griffin III of Baylor University, officially making the Heisman Trophy winner the new hope for D.C. football fans.

Griffin’s selection had been all but ensured by a trade the Redskins made in March with the St. Louis Rams to secure the second pick in the draft. Once he is signed, which will probably not happen until close to the opening of training camp, Griffin will be tested with proving himself ready to start in the NFL. But the hype alone hasn’t guaranteed that Griffin will be the starting quarterback when the Redskins open the 2012 season against the New Orleans Saints. The team still has Rex Grossman and John Beck on the books, but the flash Griffin showed in his three years at Baylor may quickly have Redskins fans chomping at the bit to see the new kid in action.

But previous NFL drafts in which the first and second picks are used to select hyped quarterbacks—Griffin was taken after the Colts picked Stanford’s Andrew Luck—haven’t always panned out for all parties, the Post notes:

Only one of the previous four sets of quarterbacks taken first and second in the same draft had highly productive pro careers. Jim Plunkett was drafted first and Archie Manning went second in 1971; both were standout quarterbacks. The other three sets of quarterbacks drafted first and second—Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer in 1993, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf in ’98 and Tim Couch and Donovan McNabb in ’99—yielded one Pro Bowl performer and one draft disappointment.

Still, Redskins observers are optimistic, so much perhaps that some are even smiling in Dan Snyder’s direction today. The Post’s Jason Reid even surmises that should Griffin prove successful and become the first quarterback of the Snyder era to have a sustained run, it could redeem the otherwise loathed owner. Satisfying Redskins fans is a tall order, Reid writes, but if Griffin delivers the goods, it could get Snyder off the hook:

Titles-or-bust is a brutal standard, but it speaks to both what the Redskins gave up to get Griffin and what the prevailing opinion of Snyder is now.

Redskins fans have phone-book-sized lists of reasons why they dislike Snyder. They pay steakhouse prices for parking. They push turnstiles in weather best suited for staying under the covers. They line up for overpriced warm beer and cold hot dogs.

…

But authorizing the trade for Griffin demonstrates qualities fans want in an owner: the sense to listen to managers with football expertise and a willingness to pay a high price for exceptional talent identified by that group.

One day at a time.