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Five Questions about Brandon Jenkins and Chris Thompson with Tomahawk Nation

Tomahawk Nation's site manager, Bud Elliott, gives Hogs Haven some great insight on new Redskins Brandon Jenkins and Chris Thompson.

By Dan Ciarrocchi
Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

I'm not ready to stop parsing every move the Redskins made during draft weekend. So to keep the ball rolling, I asked five questions to Bud Elliott, site manager for SB Nation's Florida State football blog, Tomahawk Nation. Bud is also a national recruiting analyst for SB Nation, and offered great insight on two of the newest Redskins, Brandon Jenkins and Chris Thompson:

1) On both Jenkins and Thompson: If not for injuries, what type of impact could they have had on Florida State's offense and defense, and how high may they have gone in the draft?

Bud Elliott: The loss of Thompson and Jenkins was pretty big.

Thompson was Florida State's best player. The level of speed, power and agility with which he was running had me wondering if he had discovered some new form of HGH in his recover from back surgery. Kidding, of course, but it was freakish. Thompson was running as well as anyone in the storied history of Florida State's program. Thompson took the home run element out of FSU's offense. If he hadn't torn his ACL, I expect he would have gone roughly 45 picks earlier.

Jenkins wasn't quite the blow, because FSU had great depth there. But FSU definitely missed him, particularly on the pass rush. If he hadn't had the Lisfranc, I think he goes about 70-90 picks higher.

2) What kind of role could you see Thompson having in the NFL? We know he's speedy and an asset in the passing game, but noticed he runs with a lot of ferocity for his size. Could he be more than a change-of-pace back?
You really nailed it. Thompson is going to keep defenses honest on the backside. If not, he'll be out the gate for long touchdowns.

3) Do you have a favorite game moment for each player?
My favorite moment for Thompson is definitely the run against Clemson in which he trucks the defender and gives FSU the lead to cap the comeback. They best moment for Jenkins is probably the sack against Florida in 2010. FSU had lost six straight to Florida, and Jenkins sack ended the drive, and effectively, Florida's chance to win the game. Streak over.
Thompson's play can be found at 4:43


Jenkins was credited with two drive-stopping sacks on third down in this game. The first can be found at 1:22:20 and the second at 1:37:30.




4) Both had impressive college careers, but let's narrow the scope a bit. How would you rate their performances versus better teams on the Florida State schedule (i.e. Florida, Clemson, Oklahoma, etc.)?

Thought it was quite good. Jenkins and Thompson weren't players who stand out as beating up on bad teams more than other college players.

5) Alright, assume the title of General Manager Elliott. Now, in building your 3-4 defense, which of these three would you want on your NFL team the most? A healthy Brandon Jenkins, Bjoern Werner or Tank Carradine?
This is very tough. Wow. I feel like all three have qualities that could fit the 3-4, but questions as well. I'd probably go with Werner because of his ability against the run and pass, but Jenkins was an excellent pass rusher when healthy, though he wasn't all that good from a two-point stance.

For more, follow Bud Elliot @TomahawkNation

Also, check out:

Chris Thompson Talks About His Back and ACL Injuries

Breaking Down Redskins Draft Pick, Running Back Chris Thompson

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