Washington Redskins 2017 Draft Profiles: Chad Hansen, WR

Chad Hansen, WR
School: California | Conference: PAC-12
College Experience: Junior | Age: 22
Height / Weight: 6-2 / 205 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 3rd Round
NFL Comparison: Michael Crabtree

College Statistics

Player Overview

Chad Hansen waited until QB Jared Goff and WRs: Trevor Davis, Kenny Lawler, Bryce Treggs, Darius Powe and Maurice Harris left Cal to show people he knows how to play the wide receiver position really well. Hanson was the seventh receiver on the depth chart before this mass exodus at Cal. He quickly ascended to the starting Z receiver role and quickly developed a chemistry with new QB Davis Webb and is catching the attention of some scouts.

Hansen was an unknown a year ago, he started his career at Idaho State the only school to give him a scholarship. He racked up 1,999 receiving yards and 15 TD’s in his true freshman season. He transferred to Cal which was an ordeal you can read more about here . Once at Cal, he had to redshirt his true sophomore year but quickly got to work after the opportunity of a lifetime.

Cal’s coach Sonny Dykes saw Hansen’ potential despite the receivers raw play at the time and thought he was a player that could be developed. Well, he was right. Hansen came in 3rd just under Keenan Allen for Cal single-season records in receptions and receiving yards. With the right team and development, Hansen can be a solid #2 receiver in the NFL and perhaps more.

Strengths

• Excellent athlete, Hansen is rumored to run a 4.41 40 yard dash. This is a guy that can get some YAC. In addition to his speed, he also has excellent jumping ability and vision to track the ball and come down with the catch.
• Great body control. When Hansen goes up and gets it he is aware of where he is on the field often getting a foot down. He leaps over defenders and attacks the ball in the air to come down with the catch displaying a good catch radius.
• Natural catcher than makes the difficult catches look much easier than they are.
• Has a natural talent for getting open especially on outside go routes and middle crossers.

Weaknesses

• Played in an Air Raid offense which some would argue makes QB’s and WR’s look better than they actually are due to its pass-heavy nature.
• Questions about his familiarity with a more complex route tree due to the scheme he played in. Keep in mind I don’t have access to the all 22 for all his games.
• One year of starting experience, one year of great production.

Let’s see his work:

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

There is no question in my mind that Hansen would excel in Jay Gruden's offense with Kirk Cousins at QB. The athletic ability, awareness, effort, and smarts Hansen plays with are all qualities that coaches and GM covet at the position. The real question is will the Redskins continue to spend relatively high picks to address the position. On one hand, it makes sense, your top two receivers are free agents, your first round pick a year ago has only played in one game due to injury, you may still feel like you need to add depth and talent to the position for those reasons. On the other hand, the Redskins have a heck of a lot of other holes elsewhere. Hansen’s stock will rise or fall with his showing at the combine. I for one would put money on it going up. If the Redskins want to bolster the WR position again Chad Hansen is a fit.