Ryan Grant: What Can Redskins Fans Expect Next Year?

By: Justin Partlow

While there was the prevailing thought around Redskins fans that they didn’t need to add at all to the WR core after the DJax signing, the Redskins still added another young receiver in Ryan Grant from Tulane. Ryan Grant is a gifted WR who doesn’t have the high-end speed that one would look for, but he also is someone who is already polished as a WR and can be used in different ways on offense. Coming from Tulane, Grant wasn’t really seen as a top end WR who would go early, but for what I watched of him, I saw someone who showed the ability to play as both a slot WR and an outside WR. What makes Grant special is his ability to understand how to play the position and knows the different depths and ways to set up defensive backs to get open. Below I’ll take a look at what Grant does well already and what Redskins fans can expect next year out of Grant in his rookie year.

As I mentioned earlier, Grant is a savvy receiver who uses his technique and refinement to become successful in all ways possible. When I watched the little bit of film that was available on Grant, I saw someone who basically took what he knew of the game and would use it to his advantage over others. Another thing that Grant does very well and it shows on film is his ability to bring his hands up at the same time and play very poised. Rarely on film did you see Grant show bad form catching the ball, and he never really would drop the ball. What also is interesting when watching Grant was how he used his speed to make plays. Grant didn’t run a high 40 time, but he showed very good short area quickness and ability to get YAC even with him not being the fastest guy possible. What Ryan Grant really has in innate to him, he’s not someone who is a freak athlete, and he’s not going to wow you in any way possible. Grant is going to get the job done and do it very well without having the elite measurables that teams will seem to look for.

So what can Redskins fans then expect from Grant as they watch him next year? I look for Ryan Grant to make his name as the possible #4 WR and also as a special teams guy. What Grant will bring to the team early on is another moveable piece that Jay Gruden can use along with guys like Pierre Garcon, DJax, and Andre Roberts at the WR core. Having those 4 guys and a guy like Jordan Reed at TE allows for teams to have to account for others and could allow for Grant to have more opportunities early on. As well I expect Grant to make his name on special teams. Before he became the big name player he was at Tulane, Grant was first a special teams player. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be a kickoff return guy or have the ability to be a special teams player along with coming along and being the #4 WR that he can be early. Overall, while he was given as a bad rap as someone who was seen by few as a “7^th round or priority free agent guy” I personally had a 5^th round grade on Grant and wasn’t surprised when the Redskins took him. Grant has potential to make his name for a while in the NFL, he’ll be fortunate to have the ability to be brought along slowly, but also get his chances to be successful.