WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Dwayne Haskins, come on down. You're the next contestant on Save Us From Ourselves.
It's such a good tale you almost don't want to ruin it with reality. Think about it.
Local boy from suburban Maryland lights it up in a college football shrine -- the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio -- where he becomes an Ohio State Buckeye, wins a national championship and one day makes NFL scouts drool.
Then, unexpectedly, he falls several pegs on the first-round NFL Draft order, so far that, incredibly, his hometown team is able to pluck him at No. 15 without given any other team compensation.
Voila! He can run, he can pass, he played in a Pro-set offense. Heck, he can lead a team to the Promised Land three decades after they've gotten within 10 miles of it.
If only 21-year-old Dwayne Haskins could be sat down by Robert Griffin III and told the harsh truth: There are things out of his control, toxic forces surrounding the franchise, that are bound to get in the way of his development into a bona fide starting NFL quarterback.
Griffin did do the next best thing -- Tweeting that the Redskins should not give up on Haskins prematurely.
If only he could be sat down by a therapist like the Robin Williams character in "Goodwill Hunting," and be told, just as a tough-as-nails Matt Damon was told in the movie as he sobbed, "It's not your fault."
Something like, "Dwayne, whatever bad happens to you the next few years, remember, it most likely wasn't of your own making. You were drafted into dysfunction, into a family with un-parental figures, some of whom might want to be your friend rather than your boss. That's how it starts. Then you'll feel entitled, communicate to your coach and the media that he's using you the wrong way. Then your teammates won't want to block for you and, boom, just like that, your journey to elite QB is over. Ask RGIII."
The hope is that Haskins won't be viewed the way so many young stars in Washington sports are viewed: Instant saviors that will make people forget all the failure that came before them.
From Griffin to John Wall, onto Alex Ovechkin and Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, if there has been one constant in D.C. sports the past decade and a half it's the uncanny, and often foolish, ability for respective owners to give a kid keys to the franchise and let them drive however fast and dangerous they want until they're either burned out or never have the time to naturally develop into mature veterans ready to be champions.
Ovechkin is the lone success story and that's only because George McPhee, and now Brian McClellan, fortified the Capitals' roster with the right combination of teammates around him to ultimately win a Stanley Cup.
Harper never won a postseason series before he left for Philadelphia. Wall seemed on the cusp but now his broken-down body is betraying him. Strasburg still has a shot to realize the dream, but it's gradually fading.
And Griffin? It's still hard to imagine how hard he fell, how quickly a supernova flashed brilliantly across the District, Maryland and Virginia's sky before crashing and burning, the embers and memory of it all still aglow in Ashburn.
The hope is Haskins will be given the chance to organically grow and develop into something special, a chance his predecessor was not afforded in 2012. They needed Griffin to sell tickets and win games. Mike Shanahan's biggest mistake as coach was not bringing Griffin along slowly, gradually molding him into a drop-back quarterback that could also employ the run-option offense.
Instead, Shanahan needed wins, approval for a doubting fan base. He threw Griffin to the wolves, and Griffin, being a proud son of a military veteran, craved the challenge, often to his own detriment.
Until that day his knee was torn to shreds on the FedEx Field turf in his first and -- unthinkable at the time -- final playoff game.
Nothing was ever the same. Shanahan, openly feuding with his quarterback, was eventually fired. Griffin -- thought to be on his journey toward climbing past Sonny Jurgensen, Eddie LeBaron, Joe Theismann, Billy Kilmer as the greatest QB in team history -- ended up being cut. After a brief, forgettable stint in Cleveland and being out of the league for a spell, he's now a third-stringer with the Ravens in Baltimore.
None of that has to befall Dwayne Haskins. But it's not up to him. It's up to Snyder, Allen, Jay Gruden (for however long he has the job) and a staff that will carefully monitor every growth moment and every time he steps back and has to start again. If they can have the patience they've never shown before, Haskins will not only benefit but also the franchise that never waits for anyone to grow up before marketing them as the next top jersey-seller.
It's a big ask, perhaps impossible, given Snyder's impulsive history. But like everything else with life and eventually this organization -- from a divisive team name, to all the tone-deaf moves in the past -- change is certain. Only growth is optional.
In the case of Dwayne Haskins and their own best interests going forward, it's an option the Washington football team needs to choose.
Mike Wise can be followed on Twitter @MikeWiseGuy, on Facebook @MikeWiseGuy44 and Instagram @MikeWise319. His columns and on-air commentaries appear regularly @WUSA9.