Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Redskins draft radar: CB Brandon Boykin

The Redskins’ 2012 draft will rise or fall based on the success of their picks in the third and fourth rounds. They are getting their quarterback of the future with their top pick, they traded away their second rounder, and anything you can get from the fifth round on is gravy. Those middle-round picks will be important, especially since the team is without its first-round picks in 2013 and 2014.

Between now and the draft, we’re going to identify some of the players who the Redskins might target when they come on the clock for those three picks (one in the third and two in the fourth). Yesterday, we looked at cornerback Dwight Bentley and today we continue to look at CB’s with Brandon Boykin.

Brandon Boykin
Georgia

Height/Weight: 5-9 1/4, 182 lb.
40 time: 4.45

Best attributes: Very athletic and quick, can return kicks
Needs to work on: Not an instinctive player

The Redskins are searching for a slot corner, which is becoming a critical and sometimes undervalued position in the NFL with all of the three wide receiver sets that are used every game. Boykin played the slot at Georgia and he has the skills needed to play it at the NFL level.

He will need some work on his tackling technique because he can be too aggressive and he takes bad angles. Any third-round pick is going to have flaws in his game and you can teach technique but not athletic ability. Boykin could be a great fit who could contribute quickly.

Boykin played for the South team at the Senior Bowl so Jim Haslett and Raheem Morris got several days up close with him. He sustained a leg injury in the game that kept him out of activities at the NFL Combine and at Georgia’s pro day. At the combine, Boykin said that he would schedule a pro day for April but that has not yet happened.

Boykin on Boykin

(on his Senior Bowl experience and what they told him to work on) I got a chance to play with some of the best [players] at the Senior Bowl. Of course there were some juniors who weren’t there. Some of the guys that people consider to be high picks. I feel like, me personally, for the most part that I’m right there in the midst of those top guys. I feel like what I offer is my versatility and the things that I can do on both sides of the ball and special teams. That might give me an advantage that I have that other people don’t . . . They just wanted to see me be more aggressive. They said that on film, with the type of scheme we played, it allowed me to play off a little bit. I wanted to go the Senior Bowl and show how aggressive I can be mainly by playing a lot of press technique and getting into the bigger receivers and trying to jam them. I got a lot of positive feedback from doing that. They told me that I did a pretty good job.

Summaries

Pro Football Weekly

Explosive, highly athletic, versatile cornerback with quick feet, short-area burst and outstanding leaping ability who offers slot experience and impact kick-return value. Has two concussions on record, and durability could be an issue, but has a terrific makeup.

Wes Bunting, National Football Post

Plays much bigger/strong than his frame would indicate. Has the ability to press on the edge, but might be better suited to play as a slot guy in the NFL. Either way can play a role on a defense in either a man or zone scheme. 

 

Redskins draft radar: CB Dwight Bentley

The Redskins’ 2012 draft will rise or fall based on the success of their picks in the third and fourth rounds. They are getting their quarterback of the future with their top pick, they traded away their second rounder, and anything you can get from the fifth round on is gravy. Those middle-round picks will be important, especially since the team is without its first-round picks in 2013 and 2014.

Between now and the draft, we’re going to identify some of the players who the Redskins might target when they come on the clock for those three picks (one in the third and two in the fourth). Today, we start with cornerback Dwight Bentley.

Dwight “Bill” Bentley
Louisiana-Lafayette

Height/Weight: 5-10, 182 lb.
40 time: 4.43

Best attribute: Instinctive in coverage
Needs to work on: Tackling

Bentley played for the South team in the Senior Bowl, which mean he practiced under Jim Haslett and Raheem Morris in Mobile. By all accounts he had a good week, both in practice and in the game.

He is on the small side and at Louisiana-Lafayette he did not have a reputation for being a very physical player but he had no issues hitting and tackling at the Senior Bowl. Bentley is very athletic and has good awareness in coverage.

It looks like Bentley will have to spend some time in the weight room but he is a player who could get some work in the slot this year and develop under Morris.

Bentley on Bentley

 My best attributes are my route recognition and playing fast. Once I know what I have to do, playing fast is the key to get the edge over people and beat them to their routes . . . I'm a hard worker, I get along with my teammates and I've tried to help everyone I played with get better.

Summaries

Pro Football Weekly

Undersized, confident, fluid, finesse corner who consistently held receivers in check and showed well at the Senior Bowl, solidifying his standing. Most comfortable angled to the QB and seeking to pounce, and can play zone or off-man. Durability could be an issue.

Wes Bunting, National Football Post

A thinner corner with some natural range and click and close ability. However, he isn't real physical, isn't a great tackler and needs some work from a technique standpoint.

 

Corner strong in draft, will this affect Redskins strategy?

Earlier this week, I wrote that the Redskins best course in the draft might be to look to taking a cornerback in the third or fourth round of the draft instead of trying to address the safety need. This article from NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter also suggests that might a wise course of action.

Reuter broke down the strengths and weaknesses in the draft and the strongest area was cornerback. “Dwight Bentley (Louisiana-Lafayette), Jamell Fleming (Oklahoma), Jayron Hosley (Virginia Tech), Josh Robinson (UCF) lead a strong contingent of top 100 cornerbacks,” he wrote.

With the Redskins first pick after they take their quarterback of the future second overall coming at the 69^th selection there seems to be a very good chance that a cornerback will be the best player available when they pick. And it certainly is possible that one or two of those top 100 talents could slip back to one of the Redskins’ fourth-round picks (102 and 109 overall).

Reuter warns that teams looking for a safety aren’t going to find much. “General managers have known most of the year that they should not rely on this year's draft class to produce a ton of playmaking safeties,” he wrote.

There are only two safeties Reuter thinks will go in the top 100. Alabama’s Mark Barron has missed the entire pre-draft workout process as he recovers from hernia surgery and Harrison Smith of Notre Dame has elevated into the second or third round thanks to a strong workout at the combine and a sheer lack of quality competition at the position. 

 

Report: Ross visit still on

Aaron Ross is still scheduled to visit the Redskins today, according to a report on Twitter from Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan.

The free agent cornerback who played with the Giants last year was reported to be visiting today earlier this week. However, there were doubts that he would come to Redskins Park after he spent Thursday night in Cincinnati after visiting the Bengals. Often that is a sign that the player is about to sign.

Ross, who will be 30 shortly after the season opens, started 15 games for the Super Bowl champion Giants last year. If he came to Washington he would serve as the third corner along with starters DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson.

 

 

Westbrook not tendered, slated to be a UFA

By Rich Tandler

On Friday, the Redskins announced that they had tendered restricted free agent guard Kory Lichtensteiger and exclusive rights free agent Graham Gano. The moves assure that Gano will be a Redskin in 2012 and that either Lichtensteiger will be a Redskin or the team will receive a fourth-round draft pick as compensation.

The team elected not to give the restricted free agent tender to their other eligible player, Byron Westbrook. If the Redskins don’t change their minds by 4 p.m. today the will become an unrestricted free agent.

The 26-year-old cornerback has been with the organization for five seasons. He was on the practice squad in 2007 and 2008 and on the active roster from 2009-2011.

Last year, Westbrook played just a handful of snaps on defense in the first half of the season. He did make a game-saving play in the second game of the season when he forced a fumble that ended the Cardinals’ potential game-winning drive.

Westbrook played more later in the season. After playing 48 snaps on defense in the first 13 games, he played 79 in the last three as Jim Haslett said that he wanted to see what he could do. His trial period went fairly well; he didn’t make any big plays but he did not give up any, either.

Regardless of how much or how well he plays on defense, his speed makes him a valuable asset on special teams. Valuable, yes, but not irreplaceable.

The decision to not tender Westbrook does not necessarily mean the end of his tenure as a Redskin. The tender would have given Westbrook a 2012 salary of $1.26 million, which is the level for right of first refusal. He still could have offered his services to another team but the Redskins would have had a chance to match offer. Since Westbrook was undrafted, there would be no draft pick compensation if the Redskins decided to let him go.

It is possible that the Redskins would like to have Westbrook back but with a contract that pays less than $1.26 million. The minimum salary, which is about what a reserve and special teams player like Westbrook can expect, is $700,000 for a fourth-year player.

The Redskins could sign Westbrook prior to free agency or they could let him test the market and then bring him back. Or, he could sign elsewhere. The team apparently did not think that it was worth the $506,000 difference between the minimum salary and the restricted tender to retain him so they may not go much higher than the minimum to keep him.

 

Strong combine cornerback class will give Redskins options

By Rich Tandler

The Redskins will go to the combine in search of cornerback help. However, they may not go into the draft targeting a CB.

That is because the free agent market at the position is loaded with solid talents and many of those players are just entering their prime years. None are true game changers, as Morris Claiborne of LSU, the draft’s top corner, could be. But in Indianapolis the Redskins will be weighing their options in the draft against what they might be able to land in the free agent market. Teams can sign other teams’ free agents starting March 13 and the draft is on April 26. 

There are 37 cornerbacks on the NFL combine invitation list. The position is one of the deepest in the draft. According to the grading system used by Wes Bunting of the National Football Post a grade of 6.0 or higher means that the player has the potential to be a starter at some point. There will be 19 corners at the combine with a starter grade.

Many mock drafts have linked Claiborne and Dre Kirkpatrick of Alabama to the Redskins with their first-round pick, the sixth overall. While both are very talented players (and Kirkpatrick has been cleared of marijuana possession charges), using the top pick for a corner would be considered a luxury for the Redskins. They have two solid starting cornerbacks in DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson and while depth at the position in important there are other needs, particularly on offense, that would be better places to spend a premium pick.

But later in the draft, from the second round on, a corner could come into play if the Redskins did not get their fill of them in free agency. They particularly could use someone who can cover in the slot, as both Hall and Wilson are more comfortable on the edges. Players such as Stephon Gilmore of South Carolina, Brandon Boykin of Georgia, Asa Jackson of Cal Ply, and Dennard Alphonso of Nebraska are potential slot cover corners who should be on the board in rounds two and three.

An intriguing combine corner to watch for in the late rounds is Coryell Judie of Texas A&M. He is a track athlete who is just learning to play football. If the Redskins think he has some potential they might take a seventh-round flier on him.

The complete list of cornerbacks invited to the combine is below. They are in the order of Bunting’s scouting grades.

CSN Washington will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine starting Feb 23 and our Rich Tandler will be in Indianapolis. If there are any players on the list you’d like to know more about, let us know in the comments or hit Rich up on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

 

 

Top 2012 free agents: Cornerback supply could drive prices down

By Rich Tandler

Our friends at Rotoworld have come up with a comprehensive list of players who will be free agents when the new league year starts at 4 p.m. on March 13. We’re going to go position by position and take a look at the top players who may be available and how they might fit with the Redskins.

See below for a list of positions previously analyzed. Here is a closer look at the top cornerbacks available.

• Brent Grimes, Falcons 
• Cortland Finnegan, Titans 
• Brandon Carr, Chiefs 
• Carlos Rogers, 49ers
• Terrell Thomas, Giants
• Rashean Mathis, Jaguars
• Aaron Ross, Giants
• Eric Wright, Lions
• Richard Marshall, Cardinals
• Tracy Porter, Saints

The list of available cornerbacks is already starting to expand as Pittsburgh’s Bryant McFadden and the Raiders’ Stanford Routt have been released since this list was compiled.

The Redskins could be in the market for a cornerback as they were not happy with the performance of Kevin Barnes as the nickel corner. Josh Wilson and DeAngelo Hall are set as starters but in the NFL you really need three starting caliber corners. This is especially true in the NFC East, which is loaded with playmaking receivers like Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Dez Bryant.

For obvious reasons Rogers is not in the mix for Washington. Even if the history was not there his age—he’ll be 31 before training camp starts—would probably have the Redskins shy away from him.

Grimes (age 28) and Carr (26) are the top corners currently available. Under normal circumstances they might command contracts that would be prohibitive for the Redskins. But with the ample supply of quality cornerbacks still growing the laws of supply and demand could push the asking price down to a level where the Redskins could afford to take a closer look.

Thomas just turned 27 and had five interceptions in both 2009 and 2010. He missed last year with a torn ACL (reports are that his rehab is ahead of schedule) so he could be a good bargain. Signing him or Ross would have the double benefit of adding a quality player while weakening the division rival Giants.

Porter (26) has only seven interceptions in four years but he came up with the biggest play in Saints history with his pick six of Peyton Manning to sew up Super Bowl XLIV.

Previous free agent analysis

• Quarterbacks
• Wide receivers
• Running backs
• Offensive tackles
• Guards
• Centers
• Tight ends
• Defensive line
• Linebackers

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. 

 

Stanford Routt brings good and bad

By Rich Tandler

The Raiders released cornerback Stanford Routt a year after giving him a five-year, $54.5 million contract that supposedly contained $20 million guaranteed. By releasing him at this time, the Raiders have no further financial obligation to Routt after having paid him $10 million in salary and bonuses in 2011.

The finances are important here because although the Raiders didn’t think he was good enough to justify his contract that doesn’t mean he can’t play. He played nearly every snap for Oakland last year and opposing quarterbacks completed just 51 percent of their passes when throwing to Routt’s area. Routt allowed just 11 yards per receptions and defensed 10 passes.

That’s the good Routt. The bad Routt committed 17 penalties including eight for holding and seven for pass interference. The total number of penalties committed was the highest on the Raiders and the highest among NFL cornerbacks. He also allowed nine touchdown passes, the most of any cornerback.

The penalties are not a new issue. He has committed 38 in the past three seasons. To be fair, Routt’s issues with penalties may be connected to the culture in Oakland. They annually are among the league leaders in penalties committed and in 2011 they set the NFL record for both penalties and penalty yardage in a single season.

Even if the penalty issues can be cleaned up, he doesn’t appear to be a very good fit with the Redskins. He is best in press coverage and the Redskins don’t utilize scheme that the majority of the time.

In fact, the Redskins already have a cornerback who was once released by the Raiders who is best in press coverage, commits some key penalties from time to time, and both makes and gives up big plays. It can be useful to have one player like DeAngelo Hall on the team but having two could be dangerous. 

 

Steelers release McFadden, should the Redskins take a look?

By Rich Tandler 

The Pittsburgh Steelers have started the process of trimming their salary cap with the release of cornerback Bryant McFadden. The release saves them $2.5 million against the salary cap.

The move means that McFadden, 31, is free to sign with any team effective immediately. The Redskins could be in need of depth and possibly a nickel corner this offseason. Would McFadden be a fit?

The fact that the Steelers released him does not necessarily mean that he has no value. He was a 19-game starter on the 2010 Super Bowl team so he clearly has some ability. Pittsburgh is pressed up against the salary cap and often when a player who makes as much as McFadden does is cut it is due as much to money as it is to the player’s ability. But there are signs that McFadden might not be a good fit with the Redskins

The age is the first red flag here. The Redskins have been trying to get younger both through the draft and by signing free agents who are on the younger side of 30. McFadden will be 32 before the season ends and he doesn’t fit the profile.

Still, on a one-year deal, which is all that McFadden is likely to be able to land, the Redskins might consider it. They signed a 30-year-old Phillip Buchanon to play corner in 2010 and re-signed him last year. So they could sign him as a short-term stopgap and not worry about the age.

But is McFadden worth even a one-year deal? He was a 19-game starter when the Steelers went to the Super Bowl in 2010. Last year he started the season opener against the Ravens and played most of the game. But he was benched after that 35-7 shellacking delivered by Baltimore and he rarely saw the field on defense after that. McFadden played 52 defensive snaps in the opener and just 19 the entire rest of the season.

The fact that the Steelers didn’t just demote him to nickel corner but benched him altogether should be taken as a sign that he has lost whatever ability he had. Pittsburgh is well known for letting players go at just the right time in their careers. It’s probably better that the Redskins steer clear of Bryant McFadden.

 

Rookie review: Thompson's athletic ability could open doors

 

 

By Rich Tandler

During the course of the year, 11 of the Redskins’ 12 draft picks from 2011 were on the active roster. Here we take a look at each of them, how much they played, what they accomplished and what their future prospects are.

See the links below for the previous rookie reviews. Today, it’s cornerback Brandyn Thompson

Brandyn Thompson, CB
Drafted in 7^th round, 213 overall
On roster 11 games, played in 6, played 4 defensive snaps

2011: Thompson made his case for a roster spot in the preseason game in Indianapolis when he made an athletic, diving interception. He made the roster coming out of training camp due in part to the suspension of Phillip Buchanon. During the course of the year he bounced between the practice squad and the active roster, getting little action on defense and some on special teams.

Prospects: There could be opportunity in the Redskins’ defensive backfield this year. Kevin Barnes was disappointing at nickel back and Byron Westbrook was just OK when he played. It seems unlikely that the coaches will give him a real shot at the nickel spot, but he certainly could earn some time when the Redskins are in dime coverage and in other packages. He needs to refine his athletic ability into coverage skills and he will have an offseason to work on that.

Previous rookie reviews

• G Maurice Hurt 
• LB Markus White 
• NT Chris Neild