Washington Redskins UDFA profile - De’Mornay Pierson-El, WR/PR, Nebraska

The Virginia native will be staying close to home, as he was picked up by the Washington Redskins. The Huskers have had plenty of success with the franchise in the past, and Pierson-El will get his crack at wide receiver and helping on special teams.

— 247 Sports

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As a freshman, De’Mornay Pierson-El earned co-special teams player of the week for chalking up 134 yards in punt return yardage, including an 80-yard return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put Nebraska in a position for the comeback win. It was the second such honor for De’Morney Pierson-El in the ‘14 season when he led the nation in punt return yardage with 589 total yards and was third in average with 17.85 yards per return.

— Corn Nation

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Here’s the film breakdown from Gibbs4potus:

De’Mornay Pierson-El is a tough, physical receiver who looks like a running back once he catches the ball. He isn’t a very big player at 5’9” and 190 pounds but he has a strong build and isn’t afraid of contact.

Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images

Receiving

Pierson-El will probably be limited to playing slot receiver in the NFL. He is quick but doesn’t have the size or speed needed to play an outside receiver position. His quickness and physicality could make him a mismatch for some smaller slot cornerbacks.

Playing to the whistle

Pierson-El puts his body on the line as a blocker also. He is an active player with a high motor. He competes to the whistle even chasing down a defender who intercepted an errant pass.

Creative film procurement

Pierson-El has no cutups but his quarterback, Tanner Lee, does have three from 2017. Pierson-El only started one season for Nebraska so he won’t be in the older cutups much. The Cornhuskers had a lot of receivers and probably overlooked Pierson-El somewhat due to his size.

Punt returner

Pierson-El was also a very good punt returner. He dominated as a freshman with three touchdowns and a 17.5 yard average. The Redskins seem to be stocking up on quick players who can help in the return game.

How would he fit with the Redskins?

With so much competition at wide receiver for the Redskins, I don’t think he has much chance of making the 53 man roster. The practice squad is a possibility but I don’t think the Redskins will devote more than two or three spots to the wide receiver position.

I give Pierson-El a less than 50/50 chance of being on the practice squad simply because of the glut of rookie free agents at receiver. He probably has an outside chance as a specialty return man who could be called up in case of injury to the primary return man.

Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Career Stats

Redskins wide receiver depth

Player returning who were on the 2017 Redskin roster

• Josh Doctson
• Jamison Crowder
• Brian Quick
• Maurice Harris
• Robert Davis

(one website lists Byron Marshall as a WR, though I have him as a running back)

Veteran free agent acquisition

• Paul Richardson

Draft pick

• Trey Quinn

UDFAs

• Simmie Cobbs
• Mikah Holder
• Shay Fields
• Cam Sims
• De’Mornay Pierson-El

Here are some Tweets from De’Mornay Pierson-El’s Twitter feed:

You can always tell who’s coming home, because there’s no learning curve on the meaning of HTTR!