Washington Redskins: Notes from Rookie Minicamp

Ashburn, VA – Of course, they are rookies going against other rookies (and some first-year veterans that were on the practice squad last year) rather than seasoned NFL veterans. So it’s no surprise that many of the Washington Redskins youngsters looked pretty good during their first NFL minicamp. All the same, the enthusiasm and intensity shown by many of these young players was obvious. Perhaps some of that was because Head Coach Jay Gruden was, at one point, throwing passes to some of them himself. The lucky rookie? Jamison Crowder.

“It’s exciting,” the fourth-round wide out said about catching balls from his coach. “That’s the type of coach I want to play for… one that’s going to get out there and be engaged with the players. That just makes it fun but at the same time, [he knows] we’re out here working.”

Gruden also knows it’s early yet and there will be plenty of mistakes. But there are still things he wants to see from his new crop of football players

“I think part of the plan is to throw them some information and see how they can retain it,” Gruden told the media in his post-practice press conference, “and then see how they can translate the information they receive on the field. It’s a challenge for a lot of them. I think, overall, they made good impressions on us, a lot of them did. It’s exciting to see. They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve studied, and they go out there and practice with great urgency and tempo. So, I was impressed with a lot of them.”

Learning is what this rookie minicamp is all about for these young men. After that comes the competition. Crowder is one player who, coming onto a team with the likes of receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon, has his work cut out for him and he knows it.

“Obviously this receiving corps here is deep,” the former Blue Devil said about whether or not he sees himself starting this season. “Any guy wants to start but right now I’m just trying to come in and just learn, pick up what I can and see how it translates when the season comes.”

For much of the morning session, many eyes were focused on the Redskins draft picks. Offensive lineman Brandon Scherff showed himself to be the intense football player he’s been described as by his former coach at Iowa and by Redskins General Manager Scot McCloughan. While only so much can be ascertained by watching rookies on rookies in shorts and shells, it was plain to see his intensity and stick-to-it-ness as he did offensive line drills and seven-on-sevens. He was obviously taking his job seriously enough that he might have been happier in full pads so he could really practice.

“For Brandon, shorts [are] not what he wants,” Gruden remarked about the former Hawkeye’s intensity. “He wants the pads.”

As is usually the case during the first few practices of a new season, all of the youngsters were animated and many made some impressive moves. But again, there were plenty of mistakes made as well. A few times Scherff manhandled second-round draft pick and outside linebacker/defensive lineman Preston Smith as they went up against each other during drills. But Scherff also had his less-than-stellar moments when a relatively unknown defensive end Daryl Waud (a tryout from Western Ontario) ran around the first-round pick like he was standing still.

The second of the Redskins fourth-round picks, offensive guard Arie Kouandjio looked extremely quick and strong, firing into guys during one-on-one drills with those long arms of his and stopping several defensive linemen short.

On the other hand, undrafted college free agent Tacoby Cofield was easily bull-rushed a few times although he continued to play through it. It’s important to remember how early it is during those types of drills. Cofield is a tough kid with a lot of upside and, given the chance, will likely get better.

These ups-and-downs for players are going to happen right now. The young men are just getting into their playbooks, just learning the system. Each and every one of them will get it handed to them at some point. Several may shine and a few might be busts. But all are learning and all looked like they were working hard. Almost to a man, the rookies spoke to how much they were learning this week.

McCloughan has spoken constantly since coming to Washington about football being a big man’s game. Seeing some of these rookies lined up side-by-side brought into the forefront just how successful the GM was in bringing in some seriously big men.

Running back Matt Jones, the Redskins’ third-round pick out of the University of Florida is a great example of this. The 6’2”, 231 lbs. former Gator was powerful in running drills and looked hard to stop. He caught a few nice passes as well which is something starter Alfred Morris has not typically been that successful with.

“I love catching the ball out of the backfield,” Jones told reporters, “and that’s something they want to have too so I’m just grinding to do that.”

Another thing that appears to be in the minds of these players is that nothing is guaranteed to them, regardless of where they were drafted. Competition was brought up by both players and coaches… several times. For instance, much has been said about Scherff taking over the right tackle spot this season but he still must earn the starting job.

“That would be… that’s the intent right now,” Gruden said when asked about Scherff starting at right tackle. “But I think with Brandon, he’s a good football player, number one. He’s a good offensive lineman. We’ll find a spot for him but obviously we start him out at right tackle. But you know [offensive linemen] Morgan Moses is going to have something to say, Tom Compton is going to have something to say about that [and] you’ve got Spencer Long inside. But I think with the type of player that he is, the way he takes coaching, the size, the power that he has, we’ll find a spot for him and he’ll be a heck of a player for us. But I think right tackle is the initial spot.”

Fifth-round draft pick Martrell Spaight (LB, Arkansas) was really interesting to watch. He is a physical specimen when it comes to his body type and muscles. He has obvious strength and got away from blockers with relative ease during drills, all the while still trying to get to the receivers and/or running backs. While not a huge kid, again he is strong and has a high football IQ. Having been around the facility since the draft and now through a couple of practices, the SEC product seems to understand what he’s up against.

“It’s starting to get better every single practice,” he said. “The first day every was just getting used to [things], I came out to the second practice it got a little bit better and today I think is probably the best day so far. Every day I feel like there’s steady improvement so I just have to come out at every practice and make the most of it.

“Not really,” Spaight went on when asked if there had been any surprises since he’d come to the Redskins and begun organized team activities (OTAs). “I knew it was going to be a grind. Everyday’s going to be a grind and I know the change in the pace of the game’s going to be a little bit faster so I’m definitely seeing the results of that. I try to do extra sprints after practice to get my conditioning up but it’s definitely a fast-paced game so I just gotta make sure that I’m quick and responsive in my job.”

The next batch of formal OTAs begins May 26. It will be interesting to see these rookies side-by-side with the veterans on the team. Those days will probably be the first of the “Welcome to the NFL” moments that a majority of young players go through.