Washington Redskins UDFA profile - Cam Sims, WR, Alabama

Sims has the size, length, and build of a potential NFL prospect, but his tape just isn’t up to par. Sims failed to find consistent playing time and production in Alabama’s crowded receiving corps over the years which speaks to the issues he has with separation, contested catches, and route-running. Sims has physical traits that should get him into camp, but it’s unlikely he sticks around for the long haul.

— Lance Zierlein, NFL analyst

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On a team with receiving talent in spades, Sims had a big hill to climb to get on the field offensively. Undeterred, he embraced a role in kickoff and punt coverage, and managed to gain significant time on both units as a freshman. Sims developed a reputation as an outstanding blocker and continued to show out on special teams.

— Josh Chatham, Roll ‘Bama Roll

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Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

On SB Nation’s Roll ‘Bama Roll website, they published a “Salute to the 2017 Seniors” series, which spotlighted Cam Sims back in January.

We say goodbye to a dedicated, team-first player who didn’t mind doing the dirty work.

When Cam Sims committed to Alabama out of Monroe, LA, he was hyped as a tall WR with great speed and hands.

Turns out he offered much more than that.

On a team with receiving talent in spades, Sims had a big hill to climb to get on the field offensively. Undeterred, he embraced a role in kickoff and punt coverage, and managed to gain significant time on both units as a freshman. With Amari Cooper leaving for the NFL Draft, Sims was expected to compete for a starring role on offense in his sophomore season.

Unfortunately Sims suffered an ACL injury in the spring of 2015, but battled back to get on the field that September. By his junior year, he was in the rotation at receiver. While he never had many balls thrown his direction, Sims developed a reputation as an outstanding blocker and continued to show out on special teams. Finally, as a senior, he was able to haul in his lone touchdown pass. It was a great grab, too.

He leaves Alabama as a proud father with a degree in hand. Cam will undoubtedly get a shot to show some NFL team what he’s made of, but if a football career isn’t in the cards he has much to fall back on and wonderful memories to cherish.

Congratulations on a fine career, Cam.

Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s see what Gibbs4potus had to say about Cam Sims:

Cam Sims looks the part of an NFL Receiver if you watch any of his highlight reels on YouTube. He has excellent size (6’5”, 214 pounds) and decent speed (4.52-4.59) for that size. What Sims doesn’t have is any cutups of his games.

Sims missed a lot of time at Alabama, playing in only 23 games over his four years there. Sims suffered ACL and MCL tears in 2015 and a shoulder injury in 2016. He was able to stay mostly healthy in 2017.

Sims played in 11 games in 2017, catching 14 passes, including a nice leaping touchdown vs Mercer.

I watched various Alabama cutups from 2017 to try to get a good breakdown on Sims. The only video that he saw the field enough in was Jalen Hurts vs Fresno State 2017.

Sims played very well vs Fresno State and most of my opinion of him was formed by watching that game.

Sims is a tough player and shows good to great blocking ability. That trait is important in order to get on the field with run-heavy Alabama.

Sims has good receiving skills also. He showed good hands as he made the leaping touchdown vs Mercer. Sims also has great balance which he displayed by making a nice spin and toe tap to catch a sideline pass.

Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

In reading up on Sims, I saw questions about his route running. I didn’t notice any such problems vs Fresno State. His route running looked fine to me but it is a small sample size.

Sims showed nice run after the catch ability. He looked to gain extra yardage on every catch and showed some nifty footwork. He had a nice 60 yard catch and run vs Mississippi in 2017.

Overall, my outlook on Sims is that he is a talented prospect who was well worth signing as an UDFA. Sims played special teams for Alabama and he could make the team doing that if he does it well.

With Injuries keeping Sims sidelined so much, he is a very raw player. After recovering from his ailments, Sims had to fight for playing time with a deep wide receiver group at Alabama. Calvin Ridley received most of the passing targets and rightly so.

How would he fit with the Redskins?

The Redskins showed their desire to improve depth at wide receiver by signing five receivers out of a total of 14 UDFAs. Add in drafting Trey Quinn with the last pick in the draft and the Redskins have six rookie wide receivers.

I expect that the Redskins will keep at least three out of the talented group of rookie wide receivers between the 53 man roster and the 10 player practice squad. Sims could certainly earn a spot on the practice squad if he shows his talent during training camp and the preseason. I doubt very much that Sims could make the roster, as he has a lot of learning to do.

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

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 Cam Sims’ Twitter feed: