Category: Redskins Rookies

Dwayne Haskins is ‘fired up’ to play with the two Antonio’s in Washington

The Redskins added both Antonio Gibson and Antonio Gandy-Golden in the draft, which has Haskins fired up for the season to start.

Throughout the 2019 NFL season, there weren’t many places for Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins to go with the ball. That’s not to say that he would have been able to perfectly get the ball to his weapons had there been more targets, but outside of Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims and Adrian Peterson, options were limited for the Redskins offense.

Coming out of the 2020 NFL Draft, and heading into the new season, Haskins has taken notice of the new teammates around him, and he’s excited to have a few new playmakers at his disposal.

“I’m excited about the additions,” Haskins said via NBC Sports Washington. “When [Antonio Gibson] said he was a playmaker, that got me fired up. He hit me up after the draft and he was trying to figure out any tips and things he can learn about the offense.”

With picks in the third and fourth rounds, the Redskins added RB Antonio Gibson and WR Antonio Gandy-Golden — two players who may not start in year 1, but will definitely have an impact on the offense.

So now, assuming that everyone around him stays healthy, Haskins will look at an offensive depth chart that includes both Antonio’s, McLaurin, AP, Sims, Derrius Guice, Kelvin Harmon, and Cody Latimer at the most basic level. Should he show the improvement that we all expect to see, that could be a pretty fun offense to watch.

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Redskins’ Chase Young among top selling jerseys since NFL draft

Young is the best draft pick for the Redskins in years, and the fans agree, seeing as they’ve made his jersey one of top sellers in the NFL.

For the first time in a long time, the fanbase for the Washington Redskins experiences a surge of hope in the past few weeks. It came on the night of April 23rd, when the Redskins used their No. 2 overall pick to draft Ohio State DE Chase Young — undoubtedly the best player in the draft.

Now it seems that those fans are looking to capture that feeling and give themselves a physical reminder of the joy by purchasing Young’s jersey, as it has popped up as one of the top-selling jersey’s in the NFL, according to NFL Shop jersey sales, tracked by Fanatics. Young’s jersey is on the list of top sellers on the site, though it is inexplicably a No. 1 Chase Young jersey, rather than the No. 99 that he plans to wear.

Regardless, it appears that Redskins fans are thrilled about the pick, and they’re waiting to welcome Chase to the #HTTR family with open arms once the season gets rolling.

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NFL Scout says Redskins reached and drafted Antonio Gibson too early

Many fans in Washington were happy about the Antonio Gibson selection, but an anonymous NFL Scout says it was “too rich.”

While the Washington Redskins’ fanbase was elated by the selection of Chase Young with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, many were also extremely excited to add RB Antonio Gibson in the third round at No. 66. As a young and versatile back who can play both RB and WR, a comparison to Carolina’s Christian McCaffery has been prolific in these past few weeks.

One anonymous NFL Scout, though, wasn’t a huge fan of the pick. When talking to The Athletic‘s Ben Standig, he admits that his team had a later grade on him, and he was a bit surprised with the Day 2 selection.

I was not impressed with him as a wide receiver. He played tailback mostly late in the year. I know he ran below a 4.4 40-time at the combine (4.39), but I didn’t ever think that speed showed up on tape. For us, we were talking about him in the back-half of the fourth. For me, it was very rich in the third round for what we viewed as a franchise. He’ll be a tailback. That’s going to be obviously where his future is. And if he’s a second or third tailback, change-of-pace guy that can return kicks for you, he’s going to have some value there. He’ll be a coverage player on special teams unit, but I don’t ever see him being a No. 1 tailback and maybe a player with no position. Hopefully, Derrius (Guice) can be healthy because (Gibson) would be a good complement to him, but the third round was pretty rich for me.

The pick may have been surprising to a lot of fans when it was announced as well, due to the Redskins need for a TE, CB or WR. However, as the draft went on, it became clear that Ron Rivera and Kyle Smith had a plan to draft who they thought was the best player on the board at the time, and think about need later down the road. If you have trust in those two guys, then you can find a lot of trust and confidence in this selection of Gibson. Not everyone may like it, but what matters is that the people who made the call to grab him in the third round are happy that they did so.

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Urban Meyer calls Chase Young ‘arguably the most talented guy’ to be drafted in years

Urban Meyer got the chance to watch some great pass-rushers in college, and he thinks Chase Young could be the most talented of the group.

Has anyone noticed former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer hanging around the Washington Redskins quite a bit as of late? Well before you think too much of it, like him gunning for an executive-level job or cozying up next to ownership — which he definitely could be doing — consider that three of Meyer’s best players over the past few years are now playing in Washington, and they have a great chance to find some success in 2020.

Dwayne Haskins, Chase Young, and Terry McLaurin are all together once again after sharing a locker room in Columbus while playing under Meyer. If you ask the coach about any of them, he’ll wax poetic for you quite a bit, but there’s no one who gets higher praise than Young, who was the No. 2 overall pick in 2020 and largely regarded as the best defensive and overall player in the class.

“You’re getting arguably the most talented guy to go to the NFL in quite a while,” Meyer said, via Redskins.com. “I’m not saying he’s the best player yet, because he has to earn that…but just as far as God-given height, size, strength, speed…you got it all.”

That’s a bold statement to make, obviously, but Young’s 30.5 sacks in college put him in rarified air, and have him being compared to top-end rushers like Nick and Joey Bosa, who both played at Ohio State under Meyer as well. Everyone around those players got a chance to watch greatness at the very beginning, and determine for themselves who was the best.

“In college, I felt like Chase was the most productive of the three,” McLaurin said during Super Bowl week. “That doesn’t take anything away from [Joey and Nick]. That just tells you how good he can be.”

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Is Chase Young a lock for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award?

Chase Young may be the best player in the 2020 draft class, and his fit with the Redskins defense has him set up to win DROY in a landslide.

It was largely agreed upon that Washington Redskins DE Chase Young was not only the best defensive prospect, but best overall prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft. With the No. 2 overall pick, the Redskins added Young to an already stout defensive line, immediately putting him in a position to succeed by surrounding him with highly-capable players who will take some attention away from him.

With the team as a whole still not expected to be world-beaters in 2020, many are looking to individual awards to find something to celebrate, and Young’s name atop the candidates for Defensive Rookie of the Year is something to watch. So is Young a lock to win that award, and who else is in the running? Here are a few of the names to keep an eye on, followed by ESPN’s pitch for why Chase might be the guy. 

  • Chase Young — DE, Redskins
  • Isaiah Simmons — LB, Cardinals
  • Kenneth Murray — LB, Chargers
  • Jeff Okudah — CB, Lions

Washington’s defensive front is actually pretty good, so Young can get some favorable one-on-one matchups. Taking advantage with eight to 10 sacks in Year 1 might be enough to snag DROY. Some NFL teams saw Young as a better prospect than Nick Bosa, and Bosa ran away with the award as a rookie last season. It’s Young’s turn now.

The main threat to Young is Simmons, who was selected No. 8 overall by Arizona. The versatile linebacker can move all throughout the defense, and his NFL Combine statistics were unbelievable. Still, though, it’s hard to find a rookie who landed in a better position than Young, and for that reason alone, he is the heavy favorite.

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Santana Moss says Washington ‘stole one’ with Day 3 pick of Antonio Gandy-Golden

Santana Moss was one of the last great Redskin receivers, but he thinks the team might have added one more by drafting AGG.

Historically, the Washington Redskins have had some of the best wide receivers in the game, dating back to players like Art Monk, and Bobby Mitchell, and Charley Taylor.

As of late, though, the production from the WR position has fallen off a little bit. We got to watch as Terry McLaurin burst onto our TV’s in 2019, but if you were to name the difference-makers who have popped up over the last decade in Washington, it’s hard to name more than a few — Santana Moss, Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, and Jamison Crowder.

That might be changing going forward, however, as one of those difference-makers thinks that the Redskins added a potentially transcendent player in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Santana Moss is a fan of Antonio Gandy-Golden.

“I think we still stole one this year,” Moss said via NBC Sports Washington. “When you look at Gandy-Golden, I have high hopes for him.”

Many of the Redskins’ fans feel the same way, knowing that they may have gotten a Day One contributor at the WR position on Day 3 of the draft. Gandy-Golden was selected with the 142nd overall pick, and many draft experts say that in any other year, where the WR class wasn’t as deep, he would have been a second-rounder, easily.

“I really think that we got the diamond in the rough,” Moss said. “I heard some NFL execs talking draft day saying ‘The Redskins stole one.'”

If Moss is right, and the Redskins did indeed find their next playmaker, the ability to pair him with Terry McLaurin will be something special to watch over the next few years.

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ESPN’s Todd McShay highlights WR Antonio Gandy-Golden as ‘instant-impact’ player

McShay was sidelined for the NFL Draft, but he highlighted Antonio Gandy-Golden as one of his favorite picks now that he’s back.

We were unable to hear from ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay last month during the action, as he was, unfortunately, recovering from the coronavirus. But now that he’s healthy, we’re hearing from him now, and boy does he have some good things to say about the Washington Redskins.

In a piece that was recently published to ESPN.com, McShay laid out his five instant impact players who were found in the middle-to-late rounds of the draft. On that list was WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, who the Redskins found with the No. 142 pick. To McShay, this was an absolute steal.

Terry McLaurin looks like the real deal, but Washington doesn’t have much at receiver for Dwayne Haskins or Kyle Allen beyond the sophomore speedster. But landing Gandy-Golden in the fourth round at 142nd overall gives the Redskins a big, physical possession target. A lot of teams had third-round grades on the Liberty receiver, and for good reason. He is a natural hands catcher, and while he doesn’t have a ton of speed, he can find pockets in zone coverage and break some tackles with his strength.

While McLaurin or Gandy-Golden may not have been able to carry an offense on their own, pairing them together will undoubtedly give the Redskins’ receiving corps some juice this season. With an improved ability to test the secondary, Haskins will start to look better and better, as well.

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Terry McLaurin named to Top 25 under age 25 list; Chase Young ‘name to watch’

McLaurin has been listed as one of the best 25 players under age 25 by PFF, making him the only member of the Redskins on the list.

We all know that the Washington Redskins have a roster that is loaded with young talent with a hopefully bright future ahead of them, but sometimes it’s important to note just how special some of their young players are.

Coming off of a 2019 season where their rookie class performed better than any in the NFL, wide receiver Terry McLaurin stood as the poster-boy for the 2019 Redskins draft haul. With an explosion onto the scene in the first three weeks of the season, it became apparent early on that McLaurin was something special, and the rest of the league slowly started to take notice. Now, almost a year removed from his break-out party in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, McLaurin has made a semi-exclusive list, being named to Pro Football Focus’s Top 25 Players Under Age 25 list, where he comes in at No. 22.

McLaurin entered the NFL landscape last season as an older rookie — a third-round pick with limited expectations. He quickly crushed those expectations, turning into the bonified top option in the Redskins’ passing attack. When you look at the company McLaurin is keeping when it comes to receiving grade as a rookie, it’s hard not to get excited about his prospects in 2020. This is the list of rookies with receiving grades of 80.0 or higher on 250 or more routes over the past 10 years: Odell Beckham Jr., Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Doug Baldwin and the two 2019 rookies A.J. Brown and McLaurin. Expect big things from McLaurin next year.

On top of the high expectations for McLaurin, the Redskins also have the only member of the 2020 rookie class who made the list — Chase Young.

Young’s mention here was earned here by just how dominant of a prospect he was — he’s the best edge defender prospect that PFF has scouted since 2014. He is coming off a 2019 season that earned a 96.0 overall grade, and he produced two consecutive seasons with an elite pass-rushing grade (90.0-plus) and over 50 quarterback pressures. PFF’s lead draft analyst Mike Renner said that Young was the second prospect he felt comfortable calling a future Hall of Famer coming out of college, joining only Quenton Nelson. Young could very well deserve a spot on this list without even playing a down in the NFL.

Of course, we’re yet to know exactly what type of impact that Young will have at the next level, but we can feel confident saying that it will be significant. If the Redskins can continue to build on these young success stories, the future will be very bright.

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How exactly do Redskins plan to use Chase Young in his rookie year?

We know that Washington will look to rotate Young in with different rushing groups this season, but how will they deploy him early on?

We all know that Washington Redskins DE Chase Young is a rare athletic specimen who has the ability to explode off the line and make life hard on the opposing quarterback, and we saw Ohio State use him well in 2019, spurring him on to a total of 16.5 sacks in 14 games. So how will the Redskins use him in the NFL?

That we don’t quite know yet.

While the coaching staff in Washington is obviously excited that they could bring Young to the Redskins with the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, they haven’t yet divulged how they plan to use him on defense. The team is in the midst of a scheme transition from a 3-4 front to a 4-3, and figuring out where Young fits there is a bit up in the air to the public at the moment, and the coaches won’t likely know the perfect way to utilize him until they get a chance to see him work in person.

“You have to be realistic about that and know that there are certain times and situations where you’ve got to rotate him out,” coach Ron Rivera said, via Redskins.com. “So, what we’d like to do is get him out there, get him going, see where he’s going to fit and then from that point use him, but use him the right way.”

One thing that the coaching staff does know, though, is that the embarrassment of talent they have on the front line will allow them to rotate in and out regularly, keeping players fresh while not missing a beat on the field. The Redskins depth up front consists of Young, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, and Ryan Kerrigan — that group with fresh legs deep into a game? Forget about it. So while he could stake his claim among the starters, don’t be surprised to see Young rotate in and out with the second unit as well.

“Chase could be in there with one group of guys and rotate, and the next thing you know he’s in with another group, but we’re going to use him to be a dynamic player,” Rivera said.

A dynamic player rushing alongside a dynamic defensive front, with arguably the perfect coach to overlook it all. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — the 2020 season can’t come soon enough.

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Redskins’ addition of DC Jack Del Rio and Chase Young is perfect synergy

Washington added the best player in the 2020 NFL Draft, as well as arguably the best coach they could get to oversee his formative NFL years.

Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has had the pleasure of coaching future Hall-of-Fame players like Julius Peppers, Von Miller, and Khalil Mack in his career, so when he raves about the skills that the newest Redskin Chase Young has, you know he means it.

After taking the DC job in D.C., Del Rio knew that he would be inheriting a defensive front-seven that is extremely talented, fit with a defensive line that is littered with first-round draft picks. Now that the 2020 NFL Draft has come and gone, Del Rio is able to count his blessings once again, knowing that he gets to mold Young’s NFL career as well.

“The best toolbox I’ve ever seen coming out of the draft,” Del Rio said, via Redskins.com. “I haven’t seen a guy come out with that many tools. I’ve seen talented players come out, but not with a complete toolbox like he has.”

It’s also comforting for Redskins fans to see the synergy in this pick. While it would have been nice to draft a player of Young’s magnitude any year, the fact that he came to Washington in 2020, when the franchise is in the pivotal stages of a rebuild, is special. With a chance to start fresh, with Bruce Allen and the old regime gone, the Redskins added the best player in the draft, and they arguably have the best coach to oversee his early years. Not only has Del Rio coached great players, but he’s been able to oversee their early years in the NFL, and help them to reach new heights. He was part of the coaching staff who drafted Peppers in Carolina, and he took over in Denver when Miller was in his second season, as he did with Mack in Oakland. All three players had some of their highest single-season sack totals with Del Rio as either their defensive coordinator or head coach.

So will Young be a star in the league, like the rest of those players Del Rio has coached? Well, we can’t say for sure. But we know that he has every tool necessary to succeed.

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