NFLPA Bowl and Newberry alum Corey Washington wins third straight game for Giants
It’s just the preseason but when a player stands out like Washington, everyone takes notice.
When Newberry wide receiver Corey Washington first showed up at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl we must admit that we had no clue who he was. We were wondering where Newberry College is.
It didn’t take long until we began asking. Washington stood out showing great hands, size, and the ability to make vertical plays so well in the end zone.
For those who didn’t see our pro day piece or follow his career, Washington began at Georgia Military College due to his grades and ended up at Newberry because of them as well.
Washington was a two-time first-team All-SAC selection and was selected as an honorable mention All-American by D2football.com in 2013, the only media outlet to name him an All-American.
He then caught our eyes and that of 32 NFL teams in Los Angeles. We were so impressed that we made the trek to Newberry’s pro day just before the South Carolina pro day, when we went to cover Jadeveon Clowney and Connor Shaw.
At his pro day Washington measured at 6’4, 214 pounds, and ran a 4.50 40-yard dash in front of several NFL teams. He put up 14 bench reps, a 33 inch vertical, 10’5 broad jump, 4.39 short shuttle, and 6.83 3-cone.
Because of his outstanding postseason we expected Washington to be drafted. Seven rounds went by and his name was not called. He then received a phone call from the Arizona Cardinals where he went out to camp and was one of three small school rookie wide receivers.
Less than two months after the draft the Cardinals made a decision that was the first domino in the recent events. They waived him on May 28th. The Giants then picked him up.
Washington was focused and knew that he must perform or else he could be waived again.
On August 3rd in the Hall of Fame Game Washington hauled in a pass to win the game for the Giants 17-13 over the Bills. That was a 73-yard pass from Ryan Nassib for the win.
Then last week against the Steelers he did it again by catching a 3-yard touchdown pass with just over 3 minutes to go on a fade route to win the game.
You would think Washington was out of magic but then on August 16th against the Indianapolis Colts he did it again. The Colts were ahead 26-0 but the Giants made a furious comeback with 27 pounds in the 4th quarter. Washington had three catches but none bigger than the 4-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Nassib with 59 seconds remaining.
The Giants will play 5 preseason games and Washington has caught the winning pass for the G men in 3 games so far. After coming in and just hoping to earn a practice squad spot Washington has just about guaranteed he will make the 53-man roster and the only question now is who will he replace that many people expected to make the team? We believe that Julian Talley, Mario Manningham, and Marcus Harris were all expected to make the roster before Washington’s arrival but now it looks like one or two of them will not due to the emergence of the rookie. Washington not only has the upside but he is the only receiver on their roster who is taller than 6’2, which gives them a much needed big target.
