Christian Kirk Is A Playmaker In The Slot But Does He Have A Place On The Redskins?

Christian Kirk, WR
School: Texas A&M | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Junior | Age: 21
Height / Weight: 5-11 / 200 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 2nd Round or 3rd Round
NFL Comparison: Golden Tate

College Statistics

Player Overview

Christian Kirk has been the Aggies biggest playmaker on offense since Johnny Manziel. Kirk came to Texas A&M as a 5-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona and got to work immediately. He posted a career high in receiving yards working with former QB Kyle Allen his freshman season. Kirk has had a new QB each year he’s played at A&M but has kept his production totals relatively consistent which is a plus. He is quicker than fast and has excellent agility and footwork which makes him particularly dangerous after the catch. Most importantly for a wide receiver, Kirk is sure-handed and hauls in catches and tucks them away quickly into his body and gets upfield. He also runs crisp and precise routes. As a returner, he is also very dangerous when he has space and he has the vision to make intelligent cuts and enough top end speed to take it to the house. He primarily lined up in the slot position but A&M set him in motion a lot and he even lined up a few times in the backfield next to the quarterback. I view Kirk as a very effective possession receiver who lines up in the slot. Because of his athleticism and versatility NFL offenses that have creative offensive coordinators will no doubt be excited about the prospect of adding Kirk to their offense and be comforted that he does the little things well and has a grasp on his fundamentals.

Strengths

• Good size for the position and is compact and well built. Uses his size and build to play physically after the catch and doesn't hesitate to fight for the extra yards.
• Good athlete who I think is plenty fast but also uses his agility and quickness to his advantage. Dangerous on punt and kick returns.
• A methodical player who has good pace across his routes and can make some good adjustments. Generally understands space and takes evasive angles from defenders during and after the route.
• Solid hands and is reliable as a receiver.

Weaknesses

• Catch radius is noticeably small - he may have shorter arm length - targets are usually right in his chest not sure how he would fair having to stretch out for certain throws.
• Does most everything well but doesn't have any elite traits to really take over games from a physical standpoint.
• Not sure of his ability to “sell” the route in his set up will get challenged by NFL corners who can sniff that stuff (or lack thereof) out.

Let’s see his work:

More Christian Kirk videos

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

I like Kirk as a player but I’m not sure he is what the Redskins need in their receiving core as a complimentary piece. I tend to think the Redskins need to invest in a guy that can take the top off a defense with his speed or presents a size and athletic mismatch. Kirk is going to be a productive slot receiver in the league but ultimately I think he is a more thickly built version of Jamison Crowder and I actually like Jamison’s athletic ability a bit better as well. If the Redskins consistently ran 4-WR sets I would be on board with a Doctson / Crowder / Kirk / Grant/Harris/FA grouping but I don’t think the team uses that personnel grouping enough to warrant taking a slot guy so high in the draft. An argument for depth can be made for the slot position in particular as Crowder is the only receiver on the team that consistently lines but there but again at what price considering the assets we have throughout the group? Another argument can be made that you draft the most talented player and make/find a place for him but I’m not sure I trust the coaching staff to do that. I hope Kirk stays out of the division though as I think a team like the Cowboys may be interested in him.