How Lynden Trail Can Make an Impact on the 2016 Redskins

Lynden Trail, LB

School: Norfolk St. | Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic

Years Pro: 1 | Age: 25

Height / Weight: 6-7 / 269 lbs

Projected Redskins Status: Cut before the final 53

College Statistics

Player Overview

Lynden Trail immediately stands out on the football field because of his impressive size. At 6 foot 7 inches and 270 lbs he is a tall linebacker with impressive length coming off the edge who can play standing up or with his hand in the dirt. Trail had a prolific career at Norfolk St. with over 250 career tackles, 8 FF, and 19.5 sacks. He looked to be a terrific piece of small school clay to mold for an NFL defensive coordinator.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get past linebackers coach Mike Vrabel when he was a member of the Texans as an UDFA during the preseason. Trail was eviscerated by Vrabel on several occasions seemingly drawing critique for not knowing simple defensive concepts or even where to line up at times. His struggles were well documented on HBO’s Hard Knocks last season and he was released by the Texans before the regular season last year after reaching an injury settlement with the Texans.

As it pertains to the Redskins I hope Trail has taken the year to study and ask any player or coaching contacts he made how he could improve. Some of the instances where he was called out by Vrabel were downright embarrassing. Trail clearly has the physical talent to play in the NFL his issues seem to directly stem from the mental aspects of things.

If Trail has improved and can take to coaching provided by the Redskins he can provide real competition in trying to lock up a backup OLB position. But even if Trail has improved he faces formidable competition from Houston Bates, Ejiro Ederaine, and Shiro Davis. There are some serious battles taking place in the linebacking core and best players will earn their spots even if Trail can’t make it here he will want to show other teams in the league he has improved if he wants to stay in the NFL.

Strengths

• Impressive physical skills. He has the athleticism to play standing up or with his hand in the dirt. Showed ability to bend the edge frequently in college and has the wheels to drop in coverage if necessary.
• Aspiring player who seemed to show real desire to learn and improve.
• Length is a real asset even if he can't get home off the rush he has the awareness to get his hands up or make the QB very uncomfortable forcing bad throws.

Weaknesses

• Extremely raw player doesn’t seem to even fully grasp the ins and outs of the position.
• Unfocused and unaccustomed to NFL play speed can't get completely turned around on a play.
• Mental barrier in learning football concepts?

Let’s see his work:

How He Can Impact The Redskins

It would be amazing if Lynden Trail could improve enough to challenge for a backup role. The Redskins could have potentially two outside linebackers who are ridiculously long and have impressive physical skill sets in Preston Smith and Trail. He would potentially provide impressive physically imposing depth off the edge. I would really like to know what the coaches think of Trail. How much has he improved from your initial notes when he was coming out of college? Trail faces a tough road as a said before but if the light switch turns on for him he could see a few sack parties in the preseason at the minimum.