With a new Head Coach and philosophy, the Washington Redskins will bring in a different mold of players in 2014. Tracing back to even his days as offensive assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jay Gruden has always been around long, tall receivers. Guys like Keyshawn Johnson, Keenan McCardell and Michael Clayton were all long, tall receivers who were athletic. For the past several seasons as the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator, Gruden’s receivers were mostly over 6ft tall — long and lanky with an athletic skillset.
While Gruden will adapt to the WR(s) already on the Redskins’ roster, he will infuse guys who fit his mold. Every coach has a specialty and having an eye for WR talent appears to be Gruden’s. It may stem from how he thinks — from a quarterback’s perspective, having played the position. A big target who is long and has a large catching radius makes it easier for the Quarterback to make plays.
Another attribute I’ve noticed with the receivers Gruden has worked with in the past is most have not weighed more than 215 lbs. Take Cincinatti Bengals’ stud receiver A.J Green for example — he’s 6ft 4, 207 lbs — tall and lanky. I think Jay Gruden values quickness. While Green is tall, he’s quick. There’s a difference between quickness and speed. If you’re a taller receiver, often times the guy is a long strider with build up speed and not much quickness. Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson and a few others are the exceptions. It’s hard to find a big receiver with both speed and quickness. Quickness allows receivers to do more things in a offense. Jay Gruden values versatility. AJ Green lined up all over the field, including slot. I’d imagine that’s what Gruden will want to do with his receivers in Washington.
Along with versatility, Gruden values receivers who can get vertical, make physical catches and create yards after the catch. Although he’s been on a coaching staff that had to deal with the personality of Keyshawn Johnson, his receivers in Cincinnati have also been relatively selfless guys. You’ll never hear his guys complaining about not getting touches. Gruden likes to spread the football around a bit and it’s difficult to do that with divas.
We won’t get into which receivers will likely be retained in this first installment. But we will rank a few options available in both free agency and the NFL Draft. It’s important to note that Washington will likely dabble in both free agency and the draft. Although Gruden has had success with young receivers early, it wasn’t instant success for most. He’ll bring in a variety of guys to compete. Below we’ll rank players I think are most likely to be signed or drafted by Washington and who fits the criteria we discussed.
Free Agents:
1. Brandon LaFell, 27 years old, Carolina Panthers (6ft 2, 210 lbs)
2. Jerome Simpson, 28 years old, Minnesota Vikings (6ft 2, 190 lbs)
3. Brandon Tate, 26 years old, Cincinatti Bengals (6ft 1, 195 lbs)
4. Jeremy Maclin, 25 years old, Philidelphia Eagles (6 ft, 198 lbs)
5. Re-sign Joshua Morgan, 28 years old, Washington Redskins (6ft 1, 220 lbs)
The free agent wide receiver success rate isn’t high. It’s often times better to take a “risk” on a WR in free agency, sign the player to a short term deal and let him compete. It should be more about upside than past success or failure. Regardless of who Gruden brings in, developing those guys will be highly important.
2014 NFL Draft (assuming Kelvin Benjamin is a 1st round pick):
2. Paul Richardson, Colorado (6ft 1, 172 lbs)
3. Brandon Coleman, Rutgers (6ft 5, 220 lbs)
4. Martavis Bryant, Clemson (6ft 5, 200 lbs)
5a. Jalen Saunders, Oaklahoma (5ft 9, 164 lbs)
5b. Tevin Reese, Baylor (5ft 10, 170)
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I really like Brandon Coleman and Martvis Bryant in this draft. Also Mike Campanaro would be a great addition to the Redskins.