Washington Redskins 2014 Player Profile: Jeremy Kimbrough, Inside Linebacker

Jeremy Kimbrough

Linebacker

Appalachian State University

Undrafted Free-Agent

Twitter: @iam_that_guy

Career Stats:

via http://www.ncaa.com/content/jeremy-kimbrough-stats

2014 Outlook:

Jeremy Kimbrough is an interesting prospect for the Redskins. Although fellow Inside Linebacker Keenan Robinson has been the stand out during OTA's, Kimbrough has quietly impressed as well. Kimbrough and Robinson both give the Redskins athletic linebackers that are fast and can cover opposing backs and tight ends well (Robinson ran the 40 in 4.79 whereas Kimbrough ran it in 4.8). Kimbrough has shown his strength in coverage having multiple interceptions in OTA's. This is an area that the Redskins have to improve upon in 2014.  In 2013 future Hall of Famer London Fletcher had clearly lost a step, and opponents made it look easy to throw over the middle of the Redskins defense. Robinson has the ability to be an asset in this area, but he has to show he can remain healthy throughout a full NFL season, Sharpton was brought in for his athletic coverage ability, however, he also has injury concerns, and Kimbrough could also be a potential solution.

Roster Bubble: Training Camp Player

The Linebacker position, both inside and out will be one of the biggest training camp battles to watch this summer and pre-season, the coaching staff has made it clear that a quality player, one that will likely be picked up by another team once cut will not make the Redskins 53-man roster this season. At the very most there will be 10 linebackers (including both outside and inside) on the 53-man roster. However, there will likely only be 9 on the 53-man roster. So that means the Redskins can only keep 4 or at the very most 5 inside linebackers this season. Assuming that Perry Riley Jr., Keenan Robinson, Darryl Sharpton, and Akeem Jordan essentially locks to make the roster, there is at most one spot open on the 53-man roster. Kimbrough will battle with Adam Hayward, Gabe Miller, and Will Compton for the final roster spot.

I know I write this about just about every defensive player's profile, but special teams will be Kimbrough's ticket to making the roster. When your special teams unit was as bad as the Redskins one was in 2013, any backup player has to be a special teams contributor if he wants to even have a chance to make the roster. Kimbrough will likely be a training camp player, and not make the 53-man roster. However, if Kimbrough shows promise in training camp and the pre-season, he could be a dark horse candidate to make the roster. Kimbrough will be a fun player to watch during the pre-season, he is a young talented player with a lot of potential who will challenge for a roster spot in 2014.