The Washington Redskins retooling at quarterback cost them one of the premier up-and-coming slot cornerbacks in the NFL. After just two seasons that included a breakout second year, Kendall Fuller is now with the Kansas City Chiefs as he was traded along with a third-round pick to land the Redskins Alex Smith. That shifted their focus to needing a suitable replacement in the slot. They feel they found that solution in former Dallas Cowboys CB Orlando Scandrick.
Scandrick is coming off three consecutive injury-plagued seasons. His shining moment was his All-Pro season in 2014. Despite the recent setbacks, there is no debating that when healthy and, in the slot, Scandrick has potential of being formidable. That’s what drew Washington to him when the Cowboys designated him a post-June 1 cut.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the NFL’s coaches breakfast in Orlando, Jay Gruden called Scandrick “the total package.”
“You don’t really get the full appreciation for Orlando until you sit down and meet with him and talk to him about what he knows about pro football and defenses. He’s just the total package…,” Gruden said, per Kimberly A. Martin of the Washington Post.
Scandrick is versatile in his abilities. He can play the slot and outside corner positions. He is an above-average blitz off the edge, and has shown his awareness to be above par. However, he is 31 and his play of late has shown a great deal of regression that would argue he is on the decline at this point in his career. Not to mention the list of injuries that have hampered him the past three seasons.
Replacing Fuller with Scandrick, the Redskins improve their awareness in the secondary compared to the younger in-house options of Fabian Moreau and Joshua Hosley. However, can Scandrick still translate that knowledge into his on-field abilities remains to be seen. One of the best abilities in a player is availability — something he has struggled in recent past.
