Tag: Khaleke Hudson

News and notes from Ron Rivera’s Monday presser

Ron Rivera talked injuries to Jon Allen, Kyle Allen & Jamin Davis. He praised Cole Holcomb & Khaleke Hudson.

Washington coach Ron Rivera covered several topics in his Monday press briefing. First, the COVID-19 talk; then, the head coach discussed other news surrounding the team.

When practice began on Monday, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen wasn’t with the first-team defense. With Matt Ioannidis and Daron Payne on the reserve/COVID-19 list, there was concern about Allen. Nothing to worry about as Rivera said Allen is dealing with a hamstring injury and is day-to-day.

Quarterback Kyle Allen, who is third on the depth chart, tweaked his surgically-repaired ankle over the weekend.

Kyle Allen is also day-to-day.

Another player not participating in team drills was rookie linebacker, Jamin Davis.

It turns out Davis was poked in the eye and was battling an infection.

Second-year linebacker Khaleke Hudson was getting some run with the first team, and Rivera addressed Hudson after practice.

The Buffalo Nickel spot is ideal for Hudson and his athleticism. Washington has several options there, but Hudson is certainly an intriguing one.

Speaking of linebackers, Rivera praised Cole Holcomb.

One issue that will certainly relieve fans is the condition of running back Antonio Gibson’s toe. Rivera said the toe is not an issue for Gibson now.

 

 

Ron Rivera reveals he brought Luke Kuechly in to speak to Washington linebackers

If there was one position on Washington’s defense that needed an infusion of talent in the offseason, it was linebacker. 

If there was one position on Washington’s defense that needed an infusion of talent in the offseason, it was linebacker.

So, with its first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, the Football Team selected Kentucky linebacker, Jamin Davis.

Outside of veteran Jon Bostic, Washington has a young group of linebackers pushing to start this season, including Khaleke Hudson, Davis and Cole Holcomb.

Head coach Ron Rivera, a former linebacker himself, understands the position like no other. Not only did Rivera play the position at a high level in both college and the NFL, but he has also coached some great linebackers in the NFL.

Luke Kuechly is perhaps the greatest linebacker Rivera has ever coached. After selecting him in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft, Kuechly would go on to play eight seasons in the NFL — all with the Carolina Panthers — before retiring after the 2019 season.

Rivera, a guest speaker at Joe Gibbs’ Youth For Tomorrow event on Saturday, revealed he brought Kuechly to talk to his linebackers over the Memorial Day weekend.

What did Kuechly say to WFT’s linebackers?

According to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, he spoke of the importance of being able to play all three linebacker spots — something Rivera has stressed since Washington selected Davis in April.

Since Rivera took over as head coach last season, he has often spoken about versatility. The players he targets in free agency and the draft are generally players who can play multiple positions.

Bringing in Kuechly was another smart move by Rivera. It’s a player who recently retired that all of his players watched at one time or another, meaning his words carry weight.

The battle at linebacker will be fascinating to watch this summer. Holcomb and Davis are two of the likely starters. Can a player like Hudson unseat Bostic, leaving Davis in the middle?

Ideally, that’s what Washington is hoping for in 2021.

 

 

 

LOOK: Former Michigan LB makes impressive one-handed INT in NFL OTAs

The Washington Football Team LB, formerly of Michigan football fame, is making sure he sees the field in 2021 with an impressive play.

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Despite being a lower-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, a former Wolverine has been making his presence known in the pro ranks.

A special teams player for most of the 2020 season, former Michigan football VIPER Khaleke Hudson earned a start late in the season after Washington sustained some injuries ahead of him. Now he’s working to cement his role in the rotation.

As Washington continues to engage in offseason training, Hudson made an impressive play as posted by the franchise on Tuesday, staying in coverage and reeling in a one-handed grab to turn the ball over. With plays like this in the offseason, it could ensure that Hudson gets more playing time on defense — not just on special teams.

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Grading the rookies in Washington at the halfway point of the 2020 season

With half of their rookie season behind them, we handed out grades to the young players in Washington who are starting out their careers.

With seven weeks of the 2020 season in the rearview mirror, it feels like a good time to take stock of the season and reflect on what we’ve seen thus far. For the Washington Football Team, things started out with a bang after a thrilling comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, but it’s been a frustrating watch ever since, minus the blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.

Fortunately for Washington, the young players on the team have been performing pretty well for the most part, and it seems to be yet another successful draft class that was put together in 2020. Here are our grades for the rookies class so far this season.

Redskins’ LB Khaleke Hudson can be a knock-off version of LB Isaiah Simmons

The Redskins took Khaleke Hudson in the fifth round, giving themselves a versatile defender who can line up anywhere on the field.

The Washington Redskins drafted Michigan LB Khaleke Hudson in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Saturday, adding a versatile defender to their secondary.

While some people may have thought that Washington should have drafted Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons over Ohio State’s Chase Young (believe me, there were a few calling for this to happen,) the Redskins seemingly got the next best thing in Hudson. Throughout his time in college, Khaleke lined up at five different positions in the Michigan defense, spanning from free safety to cornerback to defensive line. He can really be plugged in at nearly any position on defense.

So where will Hudson slot in when the Redskins eventually start the 2020 training camp? Well, wherever he’s needed, honestly. If new FS Sean Davis doesn’t pan out, Hudson can move there. Or maybe the linebacking core isn’t as stout as it needs to be? Hudson can move there. With a versatile guy like Khaleke, the Redskins ensure that they have a do-it-all guy that can be successful at more than one position on the field.

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Khaleke Hudson the fourth Wolverine picked in 2020 NFL Draft

The fourth Wolverine is off the board and headed to the nation’s capital.

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And like that, Michigan’s fourth player is off the board.

While he didn’t have the same flash as Jabrill Peppers did coming out of the VIPER position, if anything, Khaleke Hudson perfected it.

An athletic freak who showed out in the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine last month, Hudson showed a ton of capability at the hybrid safety/linebacker role, and unlike Peppers, could truly play either.

It’s something that the Washington Redskins certainly saw, as Hudson was selected on Saturday with the No. 162 pick overall in the fifth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

What NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein sees in Hudson:

Overview

Undersized safety turned linebacker who summons toughness and spunk to counterbalance his lack of traits. The production has been fairly impressive in two of the last three seasons, but he’s quicker than fast and his range is limited. Hudson’s lack of size shows up near the line of scrimmage and he’s not as sticky in coverage as he needs to be. His talent for blocking punts should garner attention, but may not be enough to overcome deficiencies at linebacker or safety.

Strengths

  • Robust production in 2017 included 17.5 TFLs and eight sacks
  • Commendable toughness against consistently bigger foes
  • Early run diagnosis triggers race to beat blockers to the spot
  • Downhill flow into the gaps looking for work
  • Sees gaps develop in blocking scheme and fits them downhill
  • Tremendous burst out of his stance as punt blocker
  • Twitchy, short-area change of direction in space
  • Adequate balance in coverage
  • Instant get-off in race to the punter
  • Finished career with five blocked punts

Weaknesses

  • Got mauled by Army’s rushing attack
  • His GPS sends him to heavily trafficked areas
  • Frequently pinballed around by blockers
  • Hip tightness and short strides prevent recoveries against bounce-wide runs
  • Has to work overtime to pull away from blocks
  • Lacks length and pattern anticipation for man coverage
  • Needs abundance of steps to close downhill from his drops
  • Average response time to what he sees in zone

Hudson had some issues with consistency at times and all but disappeared in his senior year.

But he’s a player that could be a plus for the Redskins once he gets going.

2020 NFL Draft: Most underrated prospects at every position

Luke Easterling’s picks for the most underrated prospects at every position in the 2020 NFL draft class

We’re two weeks away from the 2020 NFL Draft, and while there are plenty of top prospects getting their well-earned attention in the first-round conversation, others are flying under the radar.

Here are my picks for the most underrated prospects at every position in this year’s draft:

QUARTERBACK

Jalen Hurts | Oklahoma

It’s hard to imagine a player with Hurts’ resume being underrated, but he’s still not getting enough respect as a top quarterback prospect in this class. Hurts made huge improvements as a passer in his senior year, similar to what we saw from Dak Prescott in his final season at Mississippi State.

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Hurts has a similar skill set to Prescott, too, and has the ability to make a similar impact at the next level. Hurts should be in the second-round conversation after one of the most incredible careers of any college quarterback in history.

Runner-Up

James Morgan | FIU

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DraftWire predicts 7 Michigan players selected in four-round NFL mock draft

Our counterpart at USA TODAY Sports predicts more Wolverines to be selected in the first four rounds than any other mock draft.

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While we’re mostly looking at NFL Draft gurus such as ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. or NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, here at USA TODAY Sports Media Group, we have a great resource as well in DraftWire.

And our sister site, which put together a four-round NFL mock draft this weekend sees a lot more Michigan players coming off the board later this month than some of its competitors.

We already can expect center Cesar Ruiz, who left Ann Arbor with a year of eligibility remaining, to be an early-round pick, but there’s little-to-no consensus about the other dozen-plus players who could be selected. While other sites who have four-to-seven round mock drafts foresee three-to-four former Wolverines get selected in the first two days and about eight total, DraftWire predicts there could be seven maize and blue players selected, including some surprises.

Starting with the first-round pick of Ruiz and DraftWire’s evaluation:

26. Miami Dolphins (from HOU)

Cesar Ruiz | OL | Michigan

Let’s keep with the “protect Tua at all costs” mentality here. Yes, it would be tempting to take the top running back off the board here, but the depth of this year’s class should give Miami better value on Day 2. Instead, they grab this year’s best interior blocker in Ruiz, who is just 20 years old and already as athletic and physical as they come.

While DraftWire didn’t see any Michigan players being selected in the second-round, they do have a mass of former Wolverines being selected in the third and fourth:

Third Round

  • 85. Detroit Lions (from PHI) | Donovan Peoples-Jones | WR | Michigan
  • 92. Baltimore Ravens | Josh Uche | EDGE | Michigan
  • 101. Seattle Seahawks | Ben Bredeson | OL | Michigan

Fourth Round

  • 137. Jacksonville Jaguars (from SF) | Khaleke Hudson | S | Michigan
  • 140. Jacksonville Jaguars (from CHI) | Lavert Hill | CB | Michigan
  • 145. Philadelphia Eagles | Jon Runyan | OL | Michigan

Right now, we have little idea if that will happen, but given the high level of play and/or athleticism from all of the aforementioned, we see it as being more likely that some could come off the board sooner than some of the other experts think.