Category: Redskins Rookies

Antonio Gandy-Golden can immediately help fix Redskins’ deep-ball problem

Antonio Gandy-Golden was an incredible deep-ball threat in college, and he ranks among the best WR’s when it comes to drops on long bombs.

One of the biggest knocks on the Washington Redskins offense is that they have a significant lacking when it comes to completing the deep ball. Whether it be a dearth of weapons, or quarterback Dwayne Haskins’ inability to fire the ball far downfield with any accuracy, the Redskins were near the last in the league last year when it came to passes that traveled more than 25-yards in the air. Haskins is one of the worst QB’s in the NFL when it comes to this type of throw.

Luckily, they tried hard to fix that this offseason by drafting wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. According to Pro Football Focus, he is uniquely skilled in that area.

No matter which start WR you want to compare him to in the NFL, it seems clear that AGG has a legitimate chance to become a power player in the league, and his addition to the receiving corps in Washington could be significant. If you add his deep-ball prowess to the burners possessed by Terry McLaurin, there could be something special brewing. The only piece that’s needed to complete that puzzle is Haskins’ ability to deliver the deep ball on target. I guess we’ll find out in a few months.

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Redskins rookie WR Antonio Gandy-Golden has recovered from COVID-19

Redskins rookie Antonio Gandy-Golden said that he tested positive for the coronavirus in late March, and was later cleared before the draft.

Washington Redskins rookie wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden has reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and has since self-quarantined and recovered fully.

According to a statement from AGG, which was released by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Gandy-Golden tested positive for COVID-19 on March 24, dealing with mild symptoms at the time. He isolated for two weeks ad followed all guidelines, and as cleared fully on April 7th. All of this took place in the weeks leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, where the Redskins selected him with the 142nd overall pick.

Earlier this week, Liberty Univiersity president Jerry Falwell suggested that Gandy-Golden had dealt with the virus while talking about COVID-19 on FOX News.

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Rivera says Chase Young has a chance to be the ‘Darrell Green at his position’

Rivera said that the Redskins are excited about Chase Young, and they think he can have a Darrell Green-Esque career in Washington.

Washington Redskins defensive end Chase Young has been compared to some pretty impressive players in his time, coming up in conversations with the likes of Nick and Joey Bosa, Vonn Miller, and even Julius Peppers. However, Redskins coach Ron Rivera made a comparison on Wednesday that might be a bit more significant for those who are fans of the Redskins.

He compared Young to Darrell Green, arguably the greatest Redskin of all time, playing 20 seasons with the Redskins, winning two Super Bowls, and making it to seven Pro Bowls.

While it may be a bit flashier for the common NFL fan to hear that Chase will be the next Julius Peppers or Khalil Mack, there likely isn’t a Washington fan out there who doesn’t feel a rush of adrenaline thinking that Young could go down as one of the all-time franchise greats with the Redskins.

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Redskins’ rookies are being forced to change how they learn the playbook

With team facilities shut down, rookies in Washington are being forced to change how they interact with teammates and learn the playbook.

It’s always tough to be a rookie in the NFL, trying to adapt to your life as it changes around you, and working to learn a new system and perform at the best of your abilities while the world around you watches intently, ready to call you out for any minor misstep.

For this new class of rookies, however, the learning curve will be a bit steeper than others, as they are forced to adapt to a changing NFL landscape that has the entire future up in the air, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. While most rookies are asked to spend hours in the team facility grinding through the playbook and working on their craft, this crop of rookies is asked to do it on their own.

“It’s just different,” Redskins tight end Thaddeus Moss said, via Redskin.com. “It’s just a whole lot different [way of] learning football.”

The weeks after the draft are usually spent meeting fellow teammates and coaching staff for most rookies, getting to take part in rookie minicamp, and eventually OTA’s. This year, however, team facilities have been shut down, and Moss admitted that the first time he got to interact with his teammates was via a video call.

“I’ve had to change just the way I’m learning this playbook. [It’s] just a learning curve, learning how to learn and learning how to study differently going from college to the NFL,” Moss said.

There’s a growing belief that things may be progressing in the league, and facilities may start to open up over the next month or so, allowing teams to get together and learn the new system. Until then, though, Zoom meetings and note-taking will have to do.

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Redskins TE Thaddeus Moss wants to carve out his own legacy in the NFL

Moss has some big shoes to fill after his dad, Randy, made waves in the league, and he’s ready to tackle the challenges in front of him.

You know his name because of his father, but by the time he ends his career in the NFL, Washington Redskins tight end Thaddeus Moss wants to have his own legacy to show for.

As an undrafted free agent, Moss’s signing with the Redskins in the hours after the 2020 NFL Draft made headlines across the league, with him standing as arguably the most intriguing undrafted player left on the board. According to Moss, he chose the Redskins over the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals, simply because Washington called first.

While he said that not being drafted was ‘a slap in the face,’ the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss is ready to tackle the extra obstacle in front of his way to add to the family legacy.

“I went ahead and just told him, ‘Look, this is no different from what I’ve had to do my whole life,'” said Moss, via Redskins.com. “‘The last name Moss, people have always had their eyes on me and always doubted me and always wanted to see what I could do and always had expectations. This is no different.”

Moss will have the chance to do so in Washington, where his first challenge is making the 53-man roster cut this fall. Luckily for the rookie, the depth at tight end is anything but dominant, as the Redskins head into the 2020 season with a group that includes Richard Rodgers, Logan Thomas, Hale Hentges, Jeremy Sprinkle, and Moss all vying for the top spot. The rookie may not be a shoo-in to take over as TE1, but he can absolutely make the squad. From there, he will work to be a part of the regular rotation, where he can become the next Moss to make waves in the NFL.

“Having the last name that I have, a lot of people think that I was handed a lot of things or that I was given a lot of things, but that’s actually the opposite,” Moss said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work for everything. Whatever my NFL career is, whether that be one year, two, three, four, five to 10, you’re going to have to respect it, because I worked for everything. I wasn’t given anything.”

He won’t be given anything in Washington, but he will surely have a lot of eyes on him as he tries to carve out his career.

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Top quotes from Redskins’ LT Saahdiq Charles press conference

Charles is one of the most polarizing players in the Redskis draft class, as many love his talent but are uncertain of his off-field issues.

One of the many surprise selections that the Washington Redskins made in the 2020 NFL Draft came in the start of the fourth round, minutes after the team finally traded away left tackle Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers.

With the second pick on Day 3, the Redskins took LT Saahdiq Charles out of LSU, a talented player who had been falling on the board due to a number of off-field issues. Some scratched their heads at this, surprised that Ron Rivera chose to take on a project player in his first year with the team. However, it has since become clear that the Redskins are comfortable with the struggles that have hindered Charles off the field, and confident in their ability to keep him on the straight and narrow while watching him blossom on the field.

On Wednesday afternoon, Charles sat down on a video call with local media members to discuss what life has been like since being drafted, and where he sees his future going from here.

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Top quotes from Redskins’ C Keith Ismael press conference

Nobody expected the Redskins to draft C Keith Ismael in the fifth round, but he plans to show everyone why they did as soon as he can.

With some solid tight ends and cornerbacks left on the draft board, the Washington Redskins made quite possibly their most surprising pick of the 2020 NFL Draft in the fifth round when they selected C Keith Ismael, from San Diego State.

Not only did it seem peculiar that Washington would pass on a couple of positions of need with that pick that was added via the Trent Williams trade to San Francisco, but the fact that they would draft a backup center to play behind Chase Roullier seemed odd. Still, both Ron Rivera and Kyle Smith seem very content with this pick, and many think that Ismael grades as one of the better interior lineman in the draft class. There’s a good chance that he can earn a starting spot on the Redskins line in the coming years.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ismael sat down on a video call with local media members to discuss what it was like to be drafted by the Redskins, and where he sees his career going from here.

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Redskins’ TE Thaddeus Moss says not being drafted was a ‘slap in the face’

Thaddeus Moss had to wait until after the NFL Draft was over to sign with a team, which he says was a slap in the face.

A total of 12 tight ends heard their names called during the 2020 NFL Draft. Thaddeus Moss was not one of those 12. Instead, he had to wait until after the draft was over when three teams called him and offered to sign him as an undrafted free agent. He chose to sign with the Washington Redskins, seeing as they called him before both the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals.

For Moss, this might be just the chip on his shoulder that’s needed to carve out a spectacular career in the NFL, just like his father, Randy Moss did years ago.

He may not be projected to be the starter in year 1, but there is no reason why Moss can’t work his way onto the 53-man roster and find a spot in the rotation, seeing as TE is an area of need for the Redskins. Once he gets a chance to prove himself, I’m sure he won’t be shy in letting all 31 other teams who passed up on him know that they made a mistake.

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Thaddeus Moss chose Redskins over Patriots and Bengals

Moss chose to sign with the Redskins after the draft simply because they called him before the Patriots or Bengals did.

The Washington Redskins were the big post-NFL Draft winners when they made headlines by signing undrafted free agent TE Thaddeus Moss, the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss.

Many expected Moss to be drafted somewhere in the later rounds, but he had to wait out the final picks of the draft without hearing his name called, which he said was a slap in the face. However, it was the Redskins who came calling first after the draft ended, and for that reason, he chose to sign with them.

This is interesting when you consider that both the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals also called, and Moss still chose Washington. Playing for Bill Belichick and the Pats is a dream for may tight ends, and Moss’ former college quarterback, Joe Burrow, is now with the Bengals.

Nonetheless, Moss ended up in Washington, and the Redskins are happy to have him.

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Top quotes from Redskins’ TE Thaddeus Moss press conference

Redskins tight end Thaddeus Moss talked with reporters over a video call on Wednesday afternoon to detail why he chose Washington.

He may not have been drafted by the Washington Redskins back in April, but far be it to let that temper the hype and expectations that tight end Thaddeus Moss will have to deal with in the NFL. As the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, the undrafted free agent made headlines when he signed with the Redskins in the hours after the 2020 draft.

Now, after a couple of weeks have passed, he met with the local media members in Washington over a video call to discuss what made him choose the Redskins, and where he sees his career going from here on out. Here are the best quotes from the interview.

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