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Spencer Long
Guard
Nebraska
Height: 6’ 5", Weight: 320 lbs
Stats: Do lineman have those? I’m not Nate Leggacy so I have no clue…
If you are like me, you were demanding that the Redskins draft a guard in the 3rd round. If you are still like me, you had never heard of the guard they selected. After being confused for a few minutes, I started to dig for information on this former Nebraska guard. Side note, has anyone noticed that Bruce has a thing for huskers? While I could ramble about that observation for a few paragraphs, I will move on instead.
Spencer Long’s draft stock was greatly damaged by a season-ending knee injury early during his senior season. Based on the limited game tape I have seen, Spencer is a quick and aggressive lineman that does not quit on plays. He plays on the right side of the line. He was the pulling guard on just about every running play in Nebraska’s 2012 game against Penn State. Spencer does a pretty good job keeping his defenders in front of him and directing the defenders to where he wants them to go. Long is quick and impact blocker off the line, but his overall balance could use some improvement. I saw him fall down a few times in situations that did cost his team some rushing yards. Spencer also looks lost in space, and it was really obvious on a screen play. He may be best suited to be a short-range blocker, and that may work well with our zone-blocking scheme. Long’s skill set also could translate well to pass protection, which is good news for Robert Griffin III. He also looked good in pass protection in the game tape I watched. While the game of his that I watched was an older game, I still really like what I saw.
Long was projected to be a later round pick due to his injury, but he is currently in good health. It is strange that the Redskins drafted Long, who has some question marks, and passed up on higher rated guards that were still on the board. Lineman are all about scheme fit anyways, and maybe Long was in fact the best guard on the Redskins board when they went to pick. Time will tell, but Long looks like a good offensive lineman and he has the size that Head Coach Jay Gruden is looking for.