The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a look at Washington Redskins offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, who will look to build on his top-five pedigree in 2016.
There are exactly 75 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.
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The Countdown to Kickoff series began with a look at No. 99 Joey Bosa and has continued on everyday since (check out all of the posts here).
There were plenty of strong choices to profile at No. 75, including Kyle Long, Joel Bitonio and Vinny Curry. However, it was a recent top-five pick who stood out here.
Let’s take a look at Washington Redskins offensive lineman Brandon Scherff.
The Redskins made a relatively surprising choice when they took Brandon Scherff with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Scherff was a dominant left tackle at the University of Iowa who won the 2014 Outland Trophy award for the best offensive lineman in college football. However, in selecting Scherff, the Redskins passed on an opportunity to draft defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who was considered by many to be the top prospect in the entire draft.
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In the end, Scherff’s ability and pedigree from an offensive line factory ran by Kirk Ferentz at Iowa allowed the Redskins to bring Scherff in to the fold. While Williams is great, with one year in the books, it is hard to blame the Redskins for making that call.
The Redskins plugged Scherff in at right guard, and the rookie dominated from the get-go. With ridiculous strength and a fantastic mean-streak, Scherff has always been an elite run blocker, and that has continued at the NFL level. He continually opened up holes on the inside in the run game, and would physically man-handle opposing defensive lineman on a consistent basis.
While the run blocking skills were expected to translate well to the NFL, there were plenty of questions about Scherff’s ability to protect the passer in the NFL. While I do not think he would be a great NFL tackle, Scherff’s pass protection skills are top-notch as a guard.
He shows quick feet and brings the same kind of physicality when protecting the passer, as you can see here:
Scherff was not perfect as a rookie, but as the season went along it was clear that the Redskins have found a true impact player up front. Along with right tackle Morgan Moses, the Redskins have an incredibly young and talented right side of the offensive line that is going to dominate opposing defenses for many years.
Leonard Williams had a great rookie season for the New York Jets, but if they could do it over again, I think the Redskins would still make Scherff their choice. You simply cannot teach the kind of physicality and toughness that he brings to the table up front.
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Scherff is a big-time talent at the offensive guard position, who is likely to receive Pro Bowl and All-Pro consideration sooner, rather than later.