Can We Grade The 2015 Redskins Draft Now? Austin Reiter Edition

Two years have passed and I think it's safe for us to air our collective judgments about the successes and failures from the 2015 Redskins draft class. As many recall this was a highly anticipated draft as it was the first of Scot McCloughan's short tenure in Washington. The pre-draft excitement was at a high not just because of the players in the class but because for the first time in many years a well-known, well-respected, and proven talent evaluator was helping lead the team in what was the beginning of a rebuild for the team. McCloughan outlined a plan for the team and for the type of player and talent he wanted to fill the team with. By now we all know the what he was looking for. A football player. Size, talent, toughness, someone with innate instincts for their position and understands its not about the individual but about the sum of its parts.

Austin Reiter was the Redskins last selection in the 2015 draft. Reiter was selected to provide depth to the offensive line at the center position. At the time, a lot of fans had a very positive outlook for Reiter in part because Kory Lichtenstieger was on borrowed time with the fan base at the center position. The wish was that working with Coach Callahan would bring Reiter along to a level where he could compete for the starting job. It never happened.

Reiter was waived his rookie year just before the start of the season and was signed to the practice squad where he remained the rest of the year. In 2016, he signed a futures/reserves contract but was then released again before the start of the season to make room for Cullen Jenkins. He was resigned to the practice squad the next day. A few days later the Cleveland Browns signed Reiter off the Skins practice squad.

He started his first NFL game for the Browns against the Redskins during the 2016 season filling in for an injured Cam Erving. Unfortunately, Reiter himself ended up getting injured. He suffered a torn ACL and his second season can to an abrupt end.
Currently, he seems to be in good spirits.

With the way Cam Erving has played it's not out of the question that Reiter can turn up the heat on the presumed starter in Cleveland. As a 7th round pick my expectations on him certainly weren't high but I do wish him much success in Cleveland.