Washington Redskins UDFA profile - Timon Parris, OL, Stony Brook

Parris started 41 games at FCS-level Stony Brook and earned respect from scouts, but he missed the final five games of 2017 with a fractured fibula in his right leg. The injury kept him sidelined for the Senior Bowl.

— Dane Brugler, NFL DraftScout.com

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Parris is a developmental prospect with medical concerns that could cause him to drop some, but he has the potential to move inside and become a solid backup guard with eventual starter ability if healthy.

— Lance Zierlein, NFL analyst

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Background info

I’ve seen two draft projections on Parris — one that projected him as 5th to 6th round, and the other as a 7th rounder. At least one analyst suggested that he would have likely been drafted had he not suffered the fracture in his right leg late in his senior season.

Parris may be one of the better UDFA linemen available this season.

While he played in the Colonial Athletic Association and suffered the late season injury, Parris had caught the eye of scouts early. He was, for instance, invited to the Scouting Combine and the Senior Bowl, and may be an excellent Practice Squad candidate that will benefit from a year or two of coaching, along with strength and conditioning work to develop into a proficient NFL lineman.

Timon Parris was an offensive tackle in college, but projects as a guard at the NFL level.

In 2017 Parris started the first eight games of the season before he suffered a season-ending leg injury in the first half at Richmond. He was the top performer on the Seawolves’ offensive line that helped Stony Brook average 29.2 points and 351.2 yards per game.

The Seawolves ranked fifth in the CAA in rushing (161.2 ypg) and had three backs who rushed for over 400 yards. Parris earned AFCA first team All-America honors and was also named second team Associated Press, second team STATS FCS and second team by Phil Steele. He was also named first team All-CAA Football for the third straight season.

Parris is a good looking physical specimen with thick arms and weight distributed properly throughout his frame. While he has a tendency to lose his knee bend and overall pad level too often, it’s hard to ignore his impressive foot quickness in his pass sets. Even with those pretty feet, his delayed punch and propensity to play too far out over his toes could cause a balance issue that coaches will need to correct.

Here’s an excellent personal interview with Timon Parris. He seems like a pleasant, serious young man with a good story.

Measurables

Because of his leg injury, the only event Parris participated in at the Combine was the bench press, where he put up 27 reps.

Let’s find out what Gibbs4potus saw on film:

From basketball to football, Parris brings power

Parris was a good basketball player in High School which is where he caught the attention of the Stony Brook coaches. He stayed healthy through most of his college career until late in the 2017 season when he broke his leg. That leg injury helped to cause Parris to slide out of the draft as he wasn’t able to work out at the NFL combine.

Parris has excellent lean in the run game. He drives opponents off the ball and back from the line of scrimmage. He is excellent at sealing the edge on outside runs like this touchdown play.

Inconsistency that can be improved through coaching

Parris does a good job in pass protection, using his long arms to control rushers. He isn’t consistent though and loses his technique sometimes. Here, instead of sliding his feet, he bends at the waist to give a punch to control a rusher.

Parris gets too upright sometimes also. His wavering technique would be taken advantage of at the NFL level. He shows much better knee bend and slide here.

Parris is susceptible to inside moves in both pass and run blocking. He has good pro potential but is in need of a lot of quality coaching.

Parris has grown quite a bit since high school and there is even a very noticible difference with him even from the 2016 to the 2017 season.

How would he fit with the Redskins?

Timon Parris is exactly the type of player teams want to have on the practice squad. He is smart and talented but raw. With a season spent learning while on the practice squad and an offseason in the Redskins strength and conditioning program, Parris could be a real find.

Parris has a tackle’s physique but could be moved inside to guard if he doesn’t get more consistent with his pass protection. He gets to the second level quickly, which you want out of a guard, but sometimes misses his target. Parris gets to the outside well which would fit what the Redskins like to do in their short passing game.

I think Parris is close to a lock to make the Redskins practice squad. His potential alone dictates at least a season to allow him to learn to be a pro. The chances of Parris making the 53 man roster are very slim however, unless the Redskins suffer multiple injuries on the offensive line.

Some Tweets about Timon Parris from Stony Brook Football Twitter:

Amazingly, I couldn’t find a Twitter account for Timon Parris, himself