Tag: J.D. McKissic

Ranking the Redskins running backs by level of job security in 2020

With six viable candidates at running back, the Redskins will likely have to cut at least one or two players before the final roster is set.

One of the main questions surrounding the Washington Redskins offense is what they’re going to do when it comes to the running back personnel. Across the board, there are some concerns about depth at certain positions, with a hope that the players slotted on the depth chart at TE and WR can live up to the billing.

At the running back position, however, the Redskins have no shortage of bodies that they can throw in there, and a lot of the players should instill a good bit of confidence as well. So while Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice are seemingly locked, alongside offseason additions like Antonio Gibson (Draft), Peyton Barber (FA), and J.D. McKissic (FA), who will still be standing by the time week 1 rolls around? There’s also Bryce Love, who was drafted in 2019, hoping to make a return before long as well. With six viable options at the RB spot and a reasonable expectation that Washington may only keep four or five on the roster, somebody is going to get the short end of the stick. But who? Let’s break it down.

Tier 3 — On the Cut Block

Players: Bryce Love, J.D. McKissic, Peyton Barber

Is it harsh to say that any one of these three players are on the chopping block without having had a chance to even prove themselves in Washington yet? Absolutely. Do you feel confident staking your life that any of these players will be on the roster in Week 1 of the 2020 season? Absolutely not.

Let’s start with Love. The Redskins drafted Love in the 2019 draft, and he was meant to be a play for the future, seeing as he was recovering from a torn ACL, and not expected to play for much of his rookie season. That recovery has unfortunately taken a bit longer than expected, and we are still without a clear idea of when he will return to the field. Assuming that he can come back and play this season, it will be extremely interesting to see what he can do on the field. Judging by his time at Stanford, where he was nominated for the Heisman Trophy in 2017, the talent is there. However, if he can’t get on the field, then it becomes no question.

As for McKissic and Barber, both are coming into a tough situation. Both have had decent careers in the NFL, though nothing spectacular, and now they are being asked to crack an RB rotation in Washington where they’re playing from behind right out of the gate. While the Redskins are likely to deploy offenses that match both of their skill-sets — Barber is a power-runner, and McKissic is a great pass-catching third-down back — it seems highly unlikely that both men will get the job come September if either does at all.

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Sims, Gibson, and McKissic highlighted as playmaking threats in Washington

The Redskins gameplan is to get the ball to their most dynamic players and let them go to work in space, which should be fun to watch.

When you have talented and dynamic players on the offensive side of the ball, the last thing you want to do as a play-caller is to overthink things and try to scheme yourself to a victory. Sometimes, all you need to do is get the ball into your playmaker’s hands and let him go to work.

We saw that often last year when the Washington Redskins finally got an understanding of just what Steven Sims Jr. could do in open space. It started on the kick-return team and soon transitioned into the offense where OC Kevin O’Connell started to run quick swing- or screen-routes for him, sitting back and watching him make players miss. Now, for new OC Scott Turner, the plan is similar.

This plan was evident based on the Redskins offseason roster moves. We knew what Sims could do, but Washington also drafted Antonio Gibson, a do-it-all back who thrives on escaping the backfield and making people miss in the open field. J.D. McKissic is another player who can keep a defense guessing based on where he lines up in the backfield.

A great example of how Turner might use these players is to look at the Carolina Panthers offense in 2019, and how they used Curtis Samuel. The Panthers thrived on having Samuel catch the ball near the line of scrimmage and go from there, and he was able to rack up seven total touchdowns and over 40 first downs.

We don’t yet know who will serve primarily in this role for the Redskins, but we know that they plan on giving it to someone. In the new wave of NFL thinking, coaches want to find positionless offensive players and let them do what they do best — make people miss.

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J.D. McKissic agrees to sign with the Washington Redskins

McKissic caught 34 passes without a single drop in 2019

Former Detroit Lions running back J.D. McKissic has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Washington Redskins. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reported the pending move, which cannot be finalized until contracts can be signed after a physical.

McKissic spent one season in Detroit and primarily operated as a receiver out of the backfield. He caught 34 passes without a single drop, capably filling the role left behind by Theo Riddick.

McKissic was an exclusive rights free agent but the Lions chose not to tender him an offer, making him an unrestricted free agent free to sign anywhere. He joins old Lions teammate Logan Thomas, who has also agreed to terms with Washington on a new deal.

Redskins agree to sign free agent RB J.D. McKissic

The Redskins are adding another back to their depth chart with the signing of J.D. McKissic.

The Washington Redskins are adding to their stable of running backs, agreeing to a two-year contract with RB J.D. McKissic, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

McKissic will join the likes of Derrius Guice, Adrian Peterson, and Bryce Love, should he be healthy in time for the 2020 season.

It does not come as a big surprise that the Redskins are adding depth to their RB room, as Guice has struggled to stay healthy throughout his young career, and Peterson is likely to reach the end of his time in the NFL soon. The Redskins drafted Love in 2019, a player who is expected to be a dynamic playmaker when healthy, but he is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in college.

McKissic was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2016, but played all 16 games for the Detroit Lions in 2019.

Lions tender Mike Ford, elect to not offer RFA’s J.D. McKissic and Jamie Meder

The Detroit Lions have tendered exclusive right free agent Mike Ford and elected not to offer restricted free agent contracts to J.D. McKissic and Jamie Meder making them unrestricted free agents.

The Detroit Lions have tendered exclusive right free agent corner Mike Ford and elected not to offer restricted free agent contracts to running back J.D. McKissic and defensive lineman Jamie Meder, making them unrestricted free agents.

In addition to Ford, it was already announced that the Lions were also picking up the tender on corner/gunner Dee Virgin, who was also an exclusive rights free agent.

Both Ford and Virgin played key roles on special teams, rotating with undrafted rookie safety C.J. Moore as the primary gunners on special teams. Ford also held down a key reserve role at cornerback and stepped up when his number was called against the Chiefs.

As a tendered exclusive right free agents, Ford and Virgin can only accept a new contract from the Lions, unless the team chooses to release them. And because the Lions hold all the leverage in this negotiation, they will likely only offer them a league minimum contract with no guaranteed money.

The Lions claimed McKissic off of waivers on cut day last September and he played an important role on offense as a change-of-pace/gadget back. The Lions are interested in bringing him back but not at the restricted free agent tender level, which was roughly $2.1 million.

Meder was a late-season addition to an injury-depleted roster and he isn’t expected back at this time.

Lions barely ran the ball on 3rd down in 2019

On the bright side, the Lions were better than the league average on 3rd downs

There is a perception out there among Detroit Lions fans that the team never ran the ball on third downs in 2019. While that’s not technically true, the data backs up the belief that the Lions ran the ball on the critical third down less than almost every other team.

Only the Washington Redskins ran on a fewer percentage of third-down plays in 2019. Washington also had fewer total third downs on offense, so the Lions finished 31st in both run attempts on third down (30) and percentage of third-down runs (13.6).

Chart courtesy of NFL Inside Edge

Interestingly, the Lions were pretty good overall on third downs. Detroit ranked 14th in the NFL in converting at 40.9 percent. Bo Scarbrough picked up the first down on four of his five third-down carries. Kerryon Johnson converted 4-for-7, while J.D. McKissic was 2-for-4.

Given the QB issues after Matthew Stafford went down, the Lions probably should have run more often on third downs.

The Silver (and Blue) Lining: 3 positive takeaways from the Lions loss at Washington

This week’s Silver Lining identifies 3 positive takeaways from the Detroit Lions Week 12 loss, including Bo Scarbrough’s continued success, improved run defense, and the Lions trio of wide receivers reliability.

The Detroit Lions took their (3-6-1) record into Landover, Maryland to take on the Washington Redskins and their lowly (1-9) record, in what should have been a fairly routine Lions victory — someone must have forgotten to explain that to the team.

Perhaps I am the jinx for the Lions, as the third installment of the Silver (and Blue) Lining follows a third straight Lions loss. In a game that the Lions only helped their draft position — they’re currently slotted to pick 7th overall — there were some positive takeaways for the team.

Bo Scarbrough is the real deal

The Lions are still playing with a running back by committee, however, the snaps for Scarbrough are starting to lean in his favor as he saw 51% of the offense plays. In just his second career game, which was also his second career start, Scarbrough finished the game with 98 yards on the ground with 18 carries — averaging 5.4 yards per attempt.

With Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic both healthy, we haven’t seen what Scarbrough can do in the passing game yet, and may not as McKissic has made us completely forget about Theo Riddick.

Scarbrough brings an angry, downfield running attack that the Lions, who have struggled to run the ball for the better part of 20 years, has been missing. Scarbrough won’t outrun or make a lot of defenders miss him, but he will run through them — as he’s proved in each of his two career games.

As the Lions have completely fallen out of the playoff picture, the newly anointed starting running back should continue to see more playing time and get more reps under his belt.

Defense against the run is coming together

Over the years, the Lions defense has been used to getting gashed by future Hall of Fame running back, Adrian Peterson. This season was a different story, as the Redskins running backs were held to just 86 yards collectively for the game. The Lions mustered three sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery, not to mention they were missing Trey Flowers.

The Lions have yet to show a solid defensive effort on all levels, but with Damon Harrison and Mike Daniels holding the middle of the line in the last two games, they have shown that they can hold the rushing yards to a minimum.

Receiving trio causing problems for defenses

It is sort of a pick your poison when it comes to the Lions receiving corps — namely their top three options.

Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola have all been the game leaders for receptions and receiving yards at different points this season. While the stat lines for this particular game may not be flashy, the trio of receivers hauled in 12 of Driskel’s 20 completions and had 128 of his 207 passing yards — with the offensive line unable to give Driskel a clean pocket for most of the game.

  • Kenny Golladay — four receptions for 61 yards
  • Marvin Jones — five receptions for 46 yards
  • Danny Amendola — three receptions for 21 yards

Lions week 12 snap counts: Oruwariye steps up in Melvin’s absence

The Detroit Lions had 11 rookies active on game day, and for the most part, they all played significant or scheme-specific roles on Sunday.

When examining the Detroit Lions (3-7-1) snap counts from Week 12, a few key things stood out. Of the 46 players active for the Lions in Washington, 11 of them were rookies, including Isaac Nauta, Austin Bryant, Beau Benzschawel, and Michael Jackson, all making their NFL debuts.

That and more takeaways from this week’s snap counts below:

Jeff Driskel continues snap streak

Jeff Driskel — 75, 100-percent

Despite Driskel’s playing style leading to him getting hit with frequency, he still manages to stay on the field for every snap.

Lions use 7 of 8 active offensive linemen

LT Taylor Decker — 75, 100-percent
LG Joe Dahl — 74, 99-percent
C Graham Glasgow — 75, 100-percent
RG Kenny Wiggins — 68, 91-percent
RT Tyrell Crosby — 75, 100-percent
OG Oday Aboushi — 8, 11-percent
OT Tyrell Crosby — 5, 7-percent
OL Beau Benzschawel — 0, 0-percent

The Lions have nine offensive linemen on their active roster. With Frank Ragnow out due to a concussion, that left them with eight healthy — all of which were active on Sunday. Typically the Lions only deploy seven offensive linemen on game days and that held true again yesterday, with Benzschawel still waiting to see his first NFL snaps.

Scarbrough leads the backfield again

Bo Scarbrough — 38, 51-percent
Ty Johnson — 27, 36-percent
J.D. McKissic — 11, 15-percent

Scarbrough was once again one of the bright spots in the Lions offense and the Lions leaned on him for the second week in a row. Behind him, Johnson and McKissic flipped roles from last week, with the game plan calling for more of a ground presence.

WR snaps have been consistent

Kenny Golladay — 68, 91-percent
Marvin Jones Jr. — 67, 89-percent
Danny Amendola — 46, 61-percent
Marvin Hall — 10, 13-percent

This snap count distribution has been fairly close to what the Lions have deployed since Driskel took over at quarterback. The only difference being Hall’s snap counts declined a bit after he left the game early with a lower leg injury.

Hockenson see lowest snap counts of the season

T.J. Hockenson — 33, 44-percent
Jesse James — 32, 43-percent
Logan Thomas — 28, 37-percent
Isaac Nauta — 10, 13-percent

Most young quarterbacks rely on tight ends as safety valves, but that has not been the case with Driskel. That may not be the primary reason the tight ends snaps counts dropped this week, — Hockenson was added to the injury report late Saturday — but it was likely a factor.

Nauta, who was just promoted to the active roster on Saturday, saw several snaps out of the backfield filling in for injured fullback Nick Bawden.

Interior DL snaps

A’Shawn Robinson — 43, 72-percent
Damon Harrison — 38, 63-percent
John Atkins — 25, 42-percent
Mike Daniels — 9, 15-percent

These snaps counts are very similar to what we saw from this group last week, which begs the question — why isn’t Daniels seeing the field more?

EDGE players see a big bump in snaps

Romeo Okwara — 56, 93-percent
Devon Kennard — 55, 92-percent
Austin Bryant — 16, 27-percent

Last season, Okwara routinely had multiple games where he received over 90-percent of snaps, but his numbers declined with the addition of Trey Flowers. With Flowers missing this week with a concussion, Okwara was back over 90-percent once again.

Bryant began the game only seeing the field on third downs but saw his snaps increase in obvious passing situations.

Linebackers dip in snaps

Jarrad Davis — 51, 85-percent
Christian Jones — 30, 50-percent
Jahlani Tavai — 29, 48-percent
Miles Killebrew — 16, 27-percent

All three primarily off-the-ball linebackers saw a slight dip in snaps. This is only the fourth game this season where Davis saw less than 90-percent of snaps, Tavai saw his snaps drop after a month in the 60th percentile, while Jones saw his lowest snap counts of the season.

Like Bryant in the last section, Killebrew saw the field on third downs and obvious passing situations as the game wore on.

Oruwariye steps up in Melvin’s absence

Darius Slay — 60, 100-percent
Justin Coleman — 60, 100-percent
Amani Oruwariye — 45, 75-percent

Last week, Oruwariye took over for Mike Ford in the fourth cornerback spot, and this week with Rashaan Melvin unable to play due to injury, Oruwariye was once again promoted into a more prominent role.

Oruwariye flashed the skill level he showed off in training camp and secured his first career interception:

Safety use was clear and defined

Tavon Wilson — 60, 100-percent
Will Harris — 60, 100-percent
C.J. Moore — 7, 12-percent

With no Tracy Walker, the Lions leaned heavily on Wilson and Harris, only turning to Moore when they went into three safety sets.

Special teams

Miles Killebrew — 26
Dee Virgin — 26
Mike Ford — 23
Steve Longa — 21
Jalen Reeves-Maybin — 21
Isaac Nauta — 21
C.J. Moore — 20
Ty Johnson — 17
Logan Thomas — 15
Jesse James — 11
Amani Oruwariye — 11
Will Harris — 10
Christian Jones — 9
J.D. McKissic — 6
Jarrad Davis — 5
Tavon  Wilson — 4
Justin Coleman — 4
Marvin Hall — 3
Danny Amendola — 3
Michael Jackson — 2

With no Jamal Agnew available, the Lions turned to Ty Johnson on kick returns and Marvin Hall on punt returns, but when Hall went down, the team needed veteran Danny Amendola to field the final three punts.

Michael Jackson saw his first-ever NFL snaps yesterday, getting two looks on special teams.

Lions week 11 snap counts: Bo Scarbrough leads the way in the backfield

Detroit Lions Week 11 snap counts observations include Bo Scarbrough leading the way in the backfield and Amani Oruwariye getting first NFL snaps on defense.

When examining the Detroit Lions (3-6-1) snap counts from Week 11, a few key things stood out, including Bo Scarbrough leading the way in the backfield, tight end shifts, Amani Oruwariye getting first NFL snaps on defense and the reduction if three safety sets.

That and more takeaways from this week’s snap counts below:

Jeff Driskel stays strong

Jeff Driskel — 65, 100-percent

Driskel took a few hard shots in this game but was able to overcome them to play every snap.

Lions interior OL leans on four players

LT Taylor Decker — 65, 100-percent
LG Joe Dahl — 62, 95-percent
C Frank Ragnow — 56, 86-percent
RG Graham Glasgow — 62, 95-percent
RT Tyrell Crosby — 65, 100-percent
OG Kenny Wiggins — 20, 31-percent

Crosby replaced Wagner in the starting lineup and he, along with fellow offensive tackle Decker, was able to play every snap.

On the interior, it was a much different story. The rotation at guard continued, and like in previous weeks, it took an injury for it to stop — this time to Frank Ragnow, who is currently being evaluated for a concussion.

After Ragnow left the game, Glasgow shifted to center and Wiggins was promoted to right guard. Wiggins also took five snaps as a sixth offensive lineman.

Scarbrough leads the backfield

Bo Scarbrough — 32, 49-percent
Ty Johnson — 19, 29-percent
J.D. McKissic — 15, 23-percent
Nick Bawden — 2, 3-percent

Not only did Scarbrough start but he led the way in snaps out of the backfield. McKissic was the second option but was briefly sidelined in the second half. Johnson saw over a quarter of snaps, but you wouldn’t know it by the box score as he only received three touches. Bawden left the game early with a knee injury.

More of the same from the WRs

Kenny Golladay — 60, 92-percent
Marvin Jones Jr. — 57, 88-percent
Danny Amendola –36, 55-percent
Marvin Hall — 14, 22-percent

More of the same from the receiver group, these numbers match a recent trend as of late.

Hockenson’s snaps rise as James’ fall

T.J. Hockenson — 48, 74-percent
Logan Thomas — 22, 34-percent
Jesse James — 15, 23-percent

Hockenson broke the 70-percent mark for the first time since the first two weeks of the season. James’ decline continues and he saw his lowest snap count of the season. This is the fifth week in a row where James has seen 36-percent or fewer snaps.

Interior DL snaps increase with focus on the run

A’Shawn Robinson — 55, 74-percent
Damon Harrison — 49, 66-percent
John Atkins — 36, 49-percent
Mike Daniels — 29, 39-percent

With the team focused on stopping the run, the Lions went with a heavy rotation of interior defensive lineman. Both Robinson and Harrison saw their highest snaps count percentages of the season, while Atkins and Daniels saw their second-most.

EDGE rushers see higher snaps with Okwara out

Devon Kennard — 60, 81-percent
Trey Flowers — 55, 74-percent

Flowers was well on his way to leading the way in this group before he was forced to leave the game with a potential concussion. Both players had solid games.

Davis’ snap counts rebound, production stays high

Jarrad Davis — 67, 91-percent
Christian Jones — 53, 72-percent
Jahlani Tavai — 46, 62-percent
Jalen Reeves-Maybin — 5, 7-percent

Davis put together back-to-back impressive games, especially against the run. Reeves-Maybin saw the field on defense for the first time in a month, taking a coverage role in NASCAR sets during obvious passing situations.

Oruwariye sees first NFL snaps on defense

Darius Slay — 73, 99-percent
Rashaan Melvin — 72, 97-percent
Justin Coleman — 51, 69-percent
Amani Oruwariye — 9, 12-percent
Mike Ford — 5, 7-percent

Ford has steadily been entrenched as the Lions fourth cornerback all season but appeared to be replaced by the rookie Oruwariye in the second half. Oruwariye looked sharp in limited snaps and his performance could be enough to earn him more snaps moving forward.

3 safety sets leave with Walker

Tavon Wilson — 67, 91-percent
Will Harris — 59, 80-percent
Tracy Walker — 23, 31-percent

After three weeks of being unable to play due to injury, Walker was a surprise return to action on Sunday. Unfortunately, that surprise return was short-lived as Walker was forced from the game with a knee injury.

Harris started the game in a third safety role with Walker’s return, but after his exit, Harris was forced back in the starting lineup. Depending on Walker’s status moving forward, Harris may be starting for the foreseeable future.

Special teams

Miles Killebrew — 28
Dee Virgin — 27
Steve Longa — 23
Jalen Reeves-Maybin — 23
Logan Thomas — 23
C.J. Moore — 22
Mike Ford — 19
Christian Jones — 13
Jamal Agnew — 12
Jesse James — 11
Jahlani Tavai — 11
Nick Bawden — 11
Will Harris — 8
Amani Oruwariye — 8
Tavon  Wilson — 8
Marvin Hall — 7
Jarrad Davis — 6
Justin Coleman — 5

Lions Week 11 player of the game: Jeff Driskel

In his second start for the Detroit Lions, quarterback Jeff Driskel has earned himself Lions Wire player of the game honors in the Lions 35-27 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

In his second start for the Detroit Lions, quarterback Jeff Driskel has earned himself Lions Wire player of the game honors in the Lions 35-27 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite the final outcome, there were a few honorable mentions with recently called-up running back Bo Scarbrough putting up 55 yards and a score in his NFL debut, and J.D. McKissic making several plays to help the Lions move the chains, in what really turned out to be a high volume game in terms of scoring.

Driskel was under pressure all game and got sacked three times, however, he had no turnovers. Driskel showed poise while being under fire from the Cowboys defensive line and put together another nice day on the ground with 51 yards on eight rushes — including a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter (video below).

In the air, Driskel completed 15 of 26 passing attempts for 209 yards and two more touchdowns, giving him three touchdowns in total for the game. He connected with Kenny Golladay late in the fourth quarter on a deep 39 yard completion.

Congratulations to Driskel on earning the player of the game in only his second start for the Lions!