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Earlier this week, we took a look at the Redskins 4th round pick Bashaud Breeland. Today, we are going to take a look at the player who was selected with the next pick the Redskins owned, Ryan Grant. At the time of the pick, there was a large grumbling from Redskins nation about us not needing any more receivers and how Grant didn't fit the "Jay Gruden WR mold." Time has passed since the draft and fans have accepted the fact he now wears burgundy and gold. Jay Gruden praised Ryan Grant after rookie mini-camp saying he "ran routes like a 10-year vet." A quote largely mocked by NFL personalities as your typical May optimism. Let's take a look at the tape and see what he DOES bring to Washington:
Receiving
#1. Ryan Grant is at the top of the screen and runs a deep comeback route against man coverage on a designed QB roll-out. Notice the separation Grant gets by the end of the play. A well run route that gains 11 yards.
#2. Ryan Grant works out of the slot on this play. He runs a little stick route to get the coverage to come up on the route and then he runs the out route (The point of this is to get the defender to take a bad angle). The QB puts the ball way out ahead of him but he is able to pull in the one handed catch.
#3. Ryan Grant is the WR at the top of the screen. He runs a hitch route against quarters coverage. He doesn't push the CB far down the field but makes his break very quick. He comes back to the ball to avoid any chance of the CB jumping the route. He makes a soft hands catch and fights for yards but isn't able to break away.
#4. Grant is lined up as the WR off the line of scrimmage. Grant runs a double move (out and up) against zone coverage. When he breaks on the out route, it causes the CB on the outside to take a few false steps and that is all he needs. Unfortunately, the QB underthrows the ball and allows both the CB and S get back into coverage. Ryan Grant goes above both of them and brings down the catch.
#5. In my opinion, this is how Ryan Grant is going to be used in Gruden's offense when he earns playing time. He runs a little stick route in the middle of zone coverage, makes the catch in traffic, and picks up a chunk of yards.
#6. Ryan Grant is the WR at the top of the screen. He runs a deep hitch route into zone coverage. Once again, he does a good job finding space and sitting down, giving his QB a large target. Once again, he snatches the ball out of the air with his hands.
#7. Ryan Grant is the WR on the outside. He runs a deep-in route against zone coverage. What I like about this is the way he goes to the middle of the field without fear of being hit. He makes the catch with his hands again, in stride, and gets some yards after the catch.
Run Blocking
#1. Ryan Grant is the WR at the top of the screen. He does a good job at getting out in front of the CB and taking away all angles to the ball carrier. It's good to see that he is a willing blocker but you can tell he isn't aggressive or overly physical while doing it. Corners in the NFL aren't going to be as passive as the CB he is blocking on this play.
#2. Ryan Grant is working from the slot at the top of the screen. This time, he tries to get the slot CB to think he is running a route. The CB doesn't bite. Even though the RB still scores a TD, you still want to see Ryan Grant get a body on a body. With the scouts I've talked to, teams don't really knock a WR for their run blocking. They feel it is something that can be taught.
Things I Hope I Never See
#1. Annnnnnnnnd I hope we don't use him for throwing. Ryan Grant is the WR at the bottom of the screen and is in motion. He takes the short reverse and tosses the ball into double coverage. It is intercepted.
While Grant isn't the most gifted athlete, he is very smooth in his movements and he has football intelligence to gain advantages. He is a hard worker, a lunch pail-type, which falls in line with the profiles of most of the Redskins draft picks this year. While he may not get a large amount of playing time this year, he could push for a role in the slot sometime down the road.