The Washington Redskins placed nine-year veteran LB Ryan Kerrigan on the reserve/injured list and signed TE Caleb Wilson from the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. But who is Wilson and what does the 2019 seventh-round draft pick draft bring to Washington?
#Redskins roster moves: pic.twitter.com/SKYiOMU2f3
— Lake Lewis Jr (@LakeLewis) December 13, 2019
The Redskins offense has been in dire need of consistent, quality production from the tight end position ever since Pro Bowl TE, Jordan Reed, has had health issues. When he is not on the field, the team loses an impactful pass-catching dimension to the offense and, so far, no tight end that has landed on Washington’s roster has been able to fill Reed’s shoes. Only time will tell if Washington’s new rookie can eventually make a difference.
Wilson, 23 and out of UCLA, was the draft’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ and certainly has football in his blood. His father is Chris Wilson who, not only played for the Oklahoma Sooners and then coached there, he spent time at defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. In 2017, the TE’s father was a defensive line coach for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. He is still in the NFL as a defensive assistant in Arizona.
The younger Wilson initially committed to Old Dominion University to play QB but changed his mind and decided to redshirt as a walk-on tight end at Southern Cal. The Bruins offered him a scholarship and in 2016, Wilson played all 12 games as a reserve tight end as well as contributing to special teams. He recorded 16 receptions for 220 yards and a 13.8 yards-per-reception average that season.
In 2017, the college sophomore solidified himself as a major weapon, catching 38 passes for 490 yards (12.9 average) and a TD in five starts. Unfortunately, a University of Colorado (Boulder) defender rolled up on Wilson’s foot and he lost the rest of the season. However, in 2018, he came back strong, starting all 12 games. He caught 60 balls for 965 yards (16.1 yards per catch) and four TDs; and capped off the season by securing a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection.
Wilson, who many felt was going to be a developmental project, is a pass-catching tight end who wasn’t viewed as a guy that can also block well consistently. While he ran an impressive 4.56 40-yard dash at the Combine, he runs super-upright and without much flexibility. This causes his patterns to be knocked off-course at the top of routes.
The Texas native is probably not going to be dynamic in terms of high-pointing or leaping grabs. But he has a big catch radius, pretty good hands and he can catch low-thrown balls at an impressive rate. A lot of his production has been on simple catches over the middle… something that has been missing in Washington’s offensive attack for a while.