Rich Tandler’s five things possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.
5. According to my man Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan, Niles Paul has been meeting and working out with the tight ends during the early days of the preseason program. At 6-1, 224 it is difficult to picture him lining up next to Trent Williams and mixing it up in the trenches. But perhaps if he can put on a few pounds in the weight room he can become an H-back type player. Paul earned playing time last year by being an effective blocker from the wide receiver position so it is possible that he could get it done at tight end. But keep in mind that this is the time of year for experimentation. Paul may or may not be working with the tight ends when OTA’s start or when training camp rolls around.
4. So, all of a sudden Robert Griffin III has a selfish streak and other character issues. Such revelations are typical in the weeks prior to the draft. Scouts and draft analysts spend so much time looking at players that they think that they have to find something negative. RG3’s refusal to conduct private workouts for any NFL teams, including the Redskins, could be interpreted by many as being arrogant. But one man’s arrogance is another man’s confidence. And, truth be told, quarterbacks are not the most humble group of players out there. Many of them thrive not in spite of having super sized egos but because they do. How are the other guys on the team going to believe in their leader if he doesn’t have supreme confidence in himself?
3. The fact that the Redskins are looking to trade Jabar Gaffney does not necessarily guarantee Santana Moss a spot on the roster. Mike Shanahan and company will be keeping a close eye on Moss, who will turn 33 on June 1, during OTA’s and minicamp to see if his struggles in 2011 were an aberration or a sign of a precipitous decline. It would not be surprising to see them take a wide receiver at some point during the draft and that would put even more pressure on Moss. There is no rule that a team has to keep a receiver over 30 years old and even if Gaffney goes, Moss could be departing, too.
2. Multiple reports that the Colts have informed Andrew Luck that they will take him with the first pick in the NFL draft next week came out yesterday. Since the decision was made a few weeks ago, maybe earlier, why did word of this leak out on Thursday? It’s because Colts GM Ryan Grigson had his league-mandated pre-draft press conference on Wednesday. He will not be meeting with the media between now and the draft, meaning that he won’t have to answer any questions about Luck being told he’s the top guy. Only after Grigson held his press conference and went behind closed doors for the duration of the time between now and the draft were the people in Luck’s camp permitted to leak the news that the Stanford quarterback will indeed have his name called first by Roger Goodell next Thursday night.
1. Let’s conclude with a few notes about our draft coverage. I will be in New York on Thursday night for the formal selection of Griffin and for his press conference that night. Then it’s back to Ashburn on Friday morning for RG3’s formal introduction to Washington at Redskins Park. I’ll cover the draft from Redskins Park on Friday and Saturday. We might squeeze a chat in at some point but in any case there will be constant updates on the draft and everything surrounding it on Twitter via my handle @Rich_Tandler and on the Real Redskins Facebook page so give them a follow and a like, respectively. Keep it right here for all of the news and analysis you can handle.
Days until: NFL draft 6; Start of OTA’s 31; Minicamp 52; Season opener Redskins at Saints 142
Rich Tandler blogs about the Redskins at www.RealRedskins.com. You can reach him by email at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.
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