From Minicamp through OTAs, Gruden Observes Monumental Potential in Redskins’ Roster

The Washington Redskins had a colossal 59 eligible players, 33 of which were tryouts, at their rookie minicamp at Redskins Park in Loudoun County, VA.

The 33 tryouts plus the 7 drafted players, and the 14 undrafted free agents all needed to stand out and impress the coaches. As a result of the minicamp, the Redskins added four players to their 90 man roster; OT Al Bond, Guard Nila Kasitati, LB Mike Wakefield, and RB Kelsey Young.

Last season Bond signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions, but the 6’3”, 303 lbs lineman has yet to appear in an NFL game.

First round draft pick Josh Doctson naturally stood out at 6’2”, 202 lbs. Doctson said the Redskins’ pass routes differ from those at Texas Christian mainly because the pro game has deeper breaking in and out routes. He also said he probably has run more double-move routes in the past two days than he did all of last season.

There are a few injuries on the roster that both coaching staff and fans are worried about but Coach Gruden gives some reassuration on each of the men and their progress through OTA’s.

“[Junior] Galette we’re going to hold off until training camp. [Josh] Doctson, just a little sore Achilles. We’re just trying to be smart with him. Make sure he’s 100 percent because we don’t want that to reoccur. He should be back next week. A lot of the other guys – Fuller is limited. We’re just taking it slow with them…Niles Paul same thing. And then, who else do you want to know about?” Gruden said. “Yeah, Perry [Riley, Jr.] he’s getting rechecked. He has some issues with his foot, a little soreness. We’re keeping him in a boot to protect it, and then we’ll consult a doctor and then hopefully get him back soon. They just started at the bottom a little bit more. He’s been down there getting treated on, so we just want to keep him in a boot protected until we get him checked out and get the final report on it.”

Quarterback Kirk Cousins looked over the films and highlights of the draft picks as well as the other new players on the team. As far as Josh Doctson goes, he could see he was a special addition to the team.

“Sure, I went back and watched some of his highlights from TCU and he is a special player. Looks like he can make the contested catch, very natural for him to go up and catch that type of pass. He can run well, he has got great size. I almost thought he was a tight end when he showed up because of his size and again just excited to have a weapon like that and I think we go back to the red zone and talk about the tight ends having a guy like Josh (Doctson) could also be a great weapon in the red zone.” Cousins said. “So, we will continue to try build that chemistry as he is here and work together and learn what he does well and what fits him, what he is natural at and try to get him the football and you know we certainly it’s get better around this year with all of the talent at the outside positions. “

Now that there is a full 90 man roster, working on developing the defensive and offensive lines is an important factor the team has to assess. How has the defensive line looked so far through OTAs?

“Yeah, I think you talk about a big splash and a high-paid free agent but I think we made some splashes. We added Ziggy Hood and Kendall Reyes you know these are guys we are going to add to the mix. We have Stephen Paea coming off of injury, you know, we have [Chris] Baker coming back, Ricky [Jean Francois] and Matt Ioannidis coming back as well. We got some players on defense and we are moving Trent Murphy in there, so we got some big players in there that can compete and play.” Gruden said. “There’s no question about it that I’m not too worried about that. Now we add Junior Galette at defensive end, we got [Ryan] Kerrigan, we got Preston Smith who you watch him out there he looks pretty dang good. And some of the young guys, Houston Bates looks very good, so I’m not too worried about it. We don’t have a big named pro bowler at defensive tackle in the interior and that’s fine, but we are going to have four, five, or six of these guys that are going to play compete and play well.”

Gruden threatened to throw passes during drills at minicamp if the quarterbacks couldn’t whip it into shape. I think that message stuck with the players. “That was a meaningless threat right there [laughter].”  He had something different to say during OTAs.

“Yeah, it’s been aggressive you know. It’s been two days of practice, but really you know all the other stuff when they weren’t in practice and the weight room or the meeting, they’ve all been very attentive. They work extremely hard in the weight room, and the last two days of practice have been very good, spirited. You know what; we’ve got a lot to prove still. You know, the guys trying to make the roster, number one trying to learn a system, trying to establish themselves, trying to be a consistent team. We’ve got some new players trying to get gelled together. We’re at the beginning stages of next season, but it’s fun to watch those guys compete and play.”

Cousins definitely sees the intensity increase as OTA’s went on. It didn’t seem to be much more or much less than before but the level may have been slightly different.

“I don’t know if it’s more or less. I know I’ve always tried to practice with a lot of intensity. I think it’s always been intense in the spring, so for me it’s probably the same as it’s always been. We definitely play at a high-level and have a high sense of urgency because that’s what game day feels like and we need to mirror game day as much as possible.” Cousins said.

Nobody wanted to see Jordan Reed go and luckily nobody will have to. Reed’s contract was extended and he will be sporting the red and white once more.

“It’s great. You know, it’s a great testament to him and the work that he’s put in, obviously learning the system, production and then in the weight room. He’s worked extremely hard, and he’s earned that contract. You know, I love the fact that when you have guys that you draft and you build through the system that perform, you reward them and he’s a perfect example of that. It’s a great message to send to the rest of the guys, man. You work hard, you produce, good things will happen and it did for Jordan. He’s a great kid and obviously we have high aspirations for him.” Gruden said.

“Well with Jordan Reed, you know he was so talented last year I mean how do you build on a season where you were as successful as he was? I think he may have set the Redskins’ record for receptions by a tight end so it is hard to build on that but, I think what we are talking about a little bit is sustained success.” Cousins said.