Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards: 2020 WFT Preseason Week 2 Edition. Who’s got the hype!?

The Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Award has been given out unofficially by the fans for years to each preseason’s most hyped players, but now we’ve made it official, and will bring it to a vote.

This year, without pre-season games, things will be a little different. This week’s vote will cover the hype including the couple of weeks of training camp. Place your vote for who you feel has been the most hyped player up to this point, whether the hype is deserved or not.

The Rules:

1. Player must have been drafted late (6th or 7th round) or signed by the Washington Football Team as an undrafted free agent. Players that have only been on other teams practice squads that are signed by the team are also eligible.

2. A player that has been on the team for several years is still eligible if most of that time has been spent on the practice squad, inactive, or with very limited productivity/time

How have past Mason/Brennan winners done in pro football after receiving this glorious award?

With one of the early Mason/Brennan winners, tight end Thad Moss, already waived with an injury designation, things are already getting interesting.

The Candidates

S, Kamren Curl

The WFT 7th round pick out of Arkansas has been fairly quiet this pre-season, and from his Twitter activity, seems to be spending at least as much time “vaccine truthing” as he is practicing football. If he wants to contend for the M/B Award (and have a chance of making this pro football team), he would do well to set down his smart phone and get some more quality time in with the Jugs machine instead.

DE, James Smith-Williams

Another 2020 7th round pick, Smith-Williams got some early mentions in training camp as interesting defensive line depth. He’s got some of the toughest competition on the team, however, in the form of Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Tim Settle, Nate Orchard, Jordan Brailford, and Ryan Bee.

WR, Isaiah Wright

In a year where the WFT picked up very few UDFAs after the draft, Wright, the dynamic return man/WR out of Temple, was an acquisition that created some serious buzz (for an UDFA). In the past week, he’s received special recognition from Coach Rivera and several of the beat reporters. Could he be the one UDFA who sticks?

CB, Greg Stroman

Stroman, out of Virginia Tech, was taken in the 7th round of the 2018 draft by the WFT. His inclusion on this list may be considered marginal by some, as he played in 15 games and started 3 during his rookie season. However, he only played in 1 game in 2019, and was placed on IR very early in the season. This could be a make or break year for Stroman.

TE, Marcus Baugh

Baugh, one of Dwayne Haskins’ teammates at Ohio State, was picked up as an UDFA after the 2018 draft by the Raiders. He was waived before that season began. He spent some time in the Alliance of American Football before being signed by the Carolina Panthers later in 2019. He was put on IR before the 2019 season and waived in February 2020. Thus far, Baugh seems to be turning some heads in pre-season.

WR, Cam Sims

Picked up by the WFT as an UDFA after the 2018 draft, Sims is verging on a perennial M/B candidate at this point. Sims has 2 receptions for 27 yards in his two years on the team, and he has spent most of his time with the WFT either on IR or the practice squad. He’s the beneficiary of injuries and legal trouble among the WR corps this year, but will that be enough for him to stick?

OT, Timon Parris

Parris was taken by the WFT as an UDFA after the 2018 draft. He was on the WFT practice squad for nearly all of 2018, playing just one game for the team that year. He spent most of 2019 on the practice squad, but was elevated to the 53-man roster late in the season to avoid being poached by the Colts. Given the WFT’s thin manpower at tackle, there may never be a better opportunity for Parris to make an NFL roster.

DE, Jordan Brailford (late addition)

Brailford, the 2018 BIG 12 sack leader out of Oklahoma State, was a 7th round pick of the WFT in the 2019 draft. He spent the 2019 season for the WFT on injured reserve. Brailford is in a very crowded defensive line room, but his performance so far this pre-season (albeit often against second and third stringers) has gotten some notice.