rookie report

[skinsdad62]

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  John KeimESPN Staff Writer

The Washington Redskins might have found a young, stud defensive lineman as well as starters at safety and center, though health questions remain a sticking point. They drafted some intriguing players to develop and other players who simply didn’t provide the hoped-for impact.

Jonathan Allen DT ALABAMA
2/49 Ryan Anderson OLB ALABAMA
3/81 Fabian Moreau CB UCLA
4/114 Samaje Perine RB OKLAHOMA
4/123 Montae Nicholson S MICHIGAN STATE
5/154 Jeremy Sprinkle TE ARKANSAS
6/199 Chase Roullier C WYOMING
6/209 Robert Davis WR GEORGIA STATE
7/230 Josh Harvey-Clemons S LOUISVILLE
7/235 Josh Holsey CB AUBURN
Grade: Average

Best rookie: Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen. The problem was that he played only five games due to a Lisfranc injury. But when he was in the game, Allen made an impact. He recorded only one sack, but he excelled at collapsing the pocket and setting up others for sacks (notably linebacker Preston Smith). Allen plays a mature game and has a strong work ethic; if he stays healthy, he’ll be good for years.

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Most improved rookie: Center Chase Roullier, a sixth-round pick. It isn't that he looked bad early on, but rather, he was given an opportunity and capitalized. Roullier took over for injured starter Spencer Long and played well enough that the Redskins can let the veteran leave in free agency. Coach Jay Gruden has said that he thinks Roullier will have a long career in the NFL. He will have to get a little stronger, but he showed that he could anchor and block on the move


Most disappointing rookie: Second-round pick Ryan Anderson, an outside linebacker. Injuries slowed him for much of the season. He also was stuck behind starters Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith. Anderson did not make an impact rushing the passer, but the Redskins like his demeanor and what he might be able to do in the future. He’ll probably have to lose weight and reshape his body. Plus, the team wants him to use his hands better in the pass rush.

Jury is still out on: Most of the class, and three in particular: running back Samaje Perine, safety Montae Nicholson and corner Fabian Moreau. Of this group, Nicholson showed quite a bit, but the main question surrounding him involves his health. If he can be durable, he has the size and speed to start at free safety. Perine did not convince the Redskins that he would be "the guy" moving forward. They’ll keep looking for help at running back. Moreau has a shot to become a starting corner. He’s aggressive and can play physical. He was stuck behind a quality group this season and made his impact more on special teams.

Undrafted rookie evaluation: At season’s end, the Redskins had three undrafted free agents on their roster: safety Fish Smithson and offensive linemen Tyler Catalina and Kyle Kalis. Catalina did play 182 snaps, mostly at guard. Kalis is best suited for guard as well. Both players will be worth watching develop, but neither will enter the offseason as the favorite for the vacant left guard spot. Smithson was added to the roster for the final two games and played only on special teams.

its early but a good evaluation

 

[SoCalWizFan]

I think that Perine will be fine. He is just not "the guy" @ RB. He should be a great change of pace back & good for short yardage. They need to draft more of any every down back to complement him & Thompson (I can take or leave Fat Rob).

 

[skinsdad62]

I think that Perine will be fine. He is just not "the guy" @ RB. He should be a great change of pace back & good for short yardage. They need to draft more of any every down back to complement him & Thompson (I can take or leave Fat Rob).

i like sony michel for that role at this point . i like his suddeness and he looks like he is durable

 

[Buffalo_Nickel_1]

lol Thompson is done and Allen will always be injured i bet he does not even make it through preseason keim is a idiot this draft best player by far is roullier everybody else meh

 

[j_y19]

I think that Perine will be fine. He is just not "the guy" @ RB. He should be a great change of pace back & good for short yardage. They need to draft more of any every down back to complement him & Thompson (I can take or leave Fat Rob).

I gotta disagree about Perine. He didn't show me anything that he does particularly well. He is not a speedster and doesn't appear to have a home run type ability. He didn't ever really show any power to break tackles consistently or pick up those tough 1 or 2 yards when you need it in short yardage situation and his pass blocking was not very great. Since most rookies are not very good at pass blocking, I give him a pass for that. But those other two areas are inherent/instinctive capabilities of good running backs. For example, Alfred Morris is a natural tackle breaker. He rarely goes down with the first hit.

Perine, from what I saw, is just a guy. He had close to 200 rushing attempts this year and only had 1 run over 20 yards. That is just not good. Oh.....he also had a tendency to drop the ball. We can do better.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

I gotta disagree about Perine. He didn't show me anything that he does particularly well. He is not a speedster and doesn't appear to have a home run type ability. He didn't ever really show any power to break tackles consistently or pick up those tough 1 or 2 yards when you need it in short yardage situation and his pass blocking was not very great. Since most rookies are not very good at pass blocking, I give him a pass for that. But those other two areas are inherent/instinctive capabilities of good running backs. For example, Alfred Morris is a natural tackle breaker. He rarely goes down with the first hit.

Perine, from what I saw, is just a guy. He had close to 200 rushing attempts this year and only had 1 run over 20 yards. That is just not good. Oh.....he also had a tendency to drop the ball. We can do better.

Gotta disagree about the fumbling issue. This is kind of like how they portrayed Morris during his time w/ Redskins. Perine only fumbled twice but folks just seem to view that as him fumbling all of the time. You could be rt about some other issues, but IMO he showed promise in various games. Yes - he needs to learn some things, but I still believe that he can contribute but as the secondary (& not primary) back. We will see.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

lol Thompson is done and Allen will always be injured i bet he does not even make it through preseason keim is a idiot this draft best player by far is roullier everybody else meh

Again - guys get hurt & yes sometimes in college & in their rookie season. Using your philosophy the Rams would have never drafted Gurley. Do you think that perhaps that may have resulted in a few less wins this season? Injuries are part of the game & not a reason to just give up on players. Allen will be fine & Thompson should be alright (cause for concern but certainly not reason to label him as done).

 

[SoCalWizFan]

BTW - that view of Allen kind of reminds me how various folks here viewed Doctson at the beginning of the season. Folks seemed to portray him as a bust & not capable of being healthy. IMO he appears to be poised to be a future star for this team. Please don't label Allen in a similar manner until we see how this unfolds.

 

[j_y19]

Gotta disagree about the fumbling issue. This is kind of like how they portrayed Morris during his time w/ Redskins. Perine only fumbled twice but folks just seem to view that as him fumbling all of the time. You could be rt about some other issues, but IMO he showed promise in various games. Yes - he needs to learn some things, but I still believe that he can contribute but as the secondary (& not primary) back. We will see.

As a secondary back, I'm ok with him. He just hasn't shown me anything instinctively as a featured back.

 

[gkekoa]

We all had a weird and unexpected hope for this defense after the first couple of games. Isn’t it funny how quickly that hope disappeared shortly after Allen was hurt?

 

[skinsdad62]

i think we should be careful making sweeping judgements about a 4th rounder in his rookie year . didnt we do that with ionman thinking he was a bust ? turns out in year 2 this guy was a extremely solid starter who did things we couldnt dream he could do

these guys are mid round choices , the fact he came in and actually started (in my draft world ) in year one puts him ahead my power curve

i think running with more patience , setting up his blocks better and film study should help him immensely but the ball is in his court

 

[Stymietee]

We all had a weird and unexpected hope for this defense after the first couple of games. Isn’t it funny how quickly that hope disappeared shortly after Allen was hurt?

Not all of us had weird and unexpected hope for the defense and/or the team in general. A few predicted a 7-9, 8-8 type of season before the season ever began. Nothing weird or unexpected about that at all considering that's exactly how things turned out.

Now, someone is going to write about the injuries and all, but that too shows that higher expectations beyond mediocre is generally, a fools game.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

As a secondary back, I'm ok with him. He just hasn't shown me anything instinctively as a featured back.

NP - that is basically what I stated & no doubt this team needs to acquire a feature back to compliment what they already have. Skinsdad also made an excellent pt. - funny how in this era some folks expect all players to be ready to go in yr 1 & don't believe that they can't improve (not directing this towards you).

 

[SoCalWizFan]

The 10 most-improved second-year players | NFL Analysis | Pro Football Focus

Take a look - there is hope. This is a year old but just proves that you can't judge all picks by the first season. This is a list of guys who improved dramatically from their rookie to their 2nd season. Some had injury concerns, some had learning & other issues & yes some even had fumbling issues. No doubt through hard work work, study & confidence they were able to make major progress & big contributions to their team. No reason to think that this can't happen for some of the Redskins players.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Why 2nd-Year NFL Players Tend to Make Big Leaps

Another good article on this subject (several years old but still applies). This article makes a lot of sense. Most of us should think about whenever we started a new job. Your first concern is simply being on time, having a decent attitude & not looking bad. Not really different for these guys. As they finish their first year they can start really focusing on playing & studying their position & contributing to the team.

 

[gkekoa]

Not all of us had weird and unexpected hope for the defense and/or the team in general. A few predicted a 7-9, 8-8 type of season before the season ever began. Nothing weird or unexpected about that at all considering that's exactly how things turned out.

Now, someone is going to write about the injuries and all, but that too shows that higher expectations beyond mediocre is generally, a fools game.

You seem to be missing the point there Sty. Coming into the season, defensive expectations were extremely low. Then the first few games occurred and we were not inept and actually pretty good on defense. That gave us that weird hope I am speaking. Then the injury to Allen and everything changed. His loss was evident to the defense as a whole and it affected everybody else, especially Ironman and Preston Smith.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

You seem to be missing the point there Sty. Coming into the season, defensive expectations were extremely low. Then the first few games occurred and we were not inept and actually pretty good on defense. That gave us that weird hope I am speaking. Then the injury to Allen and everything changed. His loss was evident to the defense as a whole and it affected everybody else, especially Ironman and Preston Smith.

Absolutely. A solid player on a defensive unit can have a major effect on the rest of team & his absence can be a real problem. Hopefully Allen rebounds and they acquire another DL who can compliment him & the rest of the defense.

 

[skinsdad62]

fuller is another example of a 3rd rounder (in this case ) who had a up and down season as a rookie had a great off season and turned into at least an above avg slot CB

 

[Stymietee]

You seem to be missing the point there Sty. Coming into the season, defensive expectations were extremely low. Then the first few games occurred and we were not inept and actually pretty good on defense. That gave us that weird hope I am speaking. Then the injury to Allen and everything changed. His loss was evident to the defense as a whole and it affected everybody else, especially Ironman and Preston Smith.

No, I'm not missing the point at all. In fact, anyone who believes that things are going to turn out alright with this team, even when there are indicators contrary to the original low expectations is, ...missing the point!

 

[Sportster 72]

I understand and agree with your point about the with Snyder as owner Sty but gke is right about the downturn in defense when Allen and Ironman got hurt. Allen was getting such a push that Smith was looking like an All Pro.