In the second day of non-contact practice for the Washington Redskins, there were positives to take away from the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Tight end Niles Paul, coming off a severe ankle injury that cost him all of the 2015-16 season, he had a strong performance today in practice. During one-on-one drills, Paul had no problem creating separation from the defenders to secure passes from quarterback Colt McCoy and during the team scrimmage, Paul made a nice two-handed catch falling out of bounds with the corner draped to his hip. There’s no question Jordan Reed is number one on the depth chart at the tight end position, but Paul has a good chance of getting the number two spot if he can show coaches that ankle injury is a thing of the past and that he’s a better receiving target than free agent pickup Vernon Davis.
Also during the team scrimmage, the running game looks to have shown some improvement from last season. Both Matt Jones and Chris Thompson were able to find the cutback lanes and gash the defense for some big runs and Head Coach Jay Gruden is expecting a lot from those two.
“Thompson is very dependable, accountable, and he’s everything you want…It’s been good to watch Matt progress, not just carrying the ball but knowing who to block and knowing all the little things about the running back position,” Gruden said.
Credit also goes to the Redskins’ offensive lineman, led by Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams, who created holes that made Jones and Thompson’s jobs a lot easier.
When asked about the chemistry of the offensive line, Gruden said,
“We have guys that have played together and we have a close-knit group and of course we have one of the best—if not the best—line coach in the National Football League [Bill Callahan].”
The competition between the wide receivers and cornerbacks will be an entertaining matchup all training camp. Pierre Garcon made a diving catch over Josh Norman today that had the crowd up in applause. However, Gruden wants to see competition at all the positions.
“I think one of the big things that is going to make us a better team is the competition, not just corners versus corners that are trying to make the football team, but also corners versus wide receivers, safeties versus tight ends, linebackers versus backs, offensive line versus defensive line,” Gruden said.
On the defensive side, linebacker Will Compton continues to be a bright spot and wants to prove he can be an every down linebacker for the Redskins. With that mentality Compton has raised the efforts of his teammates around him, specifically linebacker Perry Riley, who returned to the field today from the physically unable to perform list.
“It just seemed when Will got in there, Perry’s play was very, very good,” Gruden said.
Other Notes:
- The team will be in pads for the first time tomorrow
