Nico Marley faces an uphill battle to make the Washington Redskins 53-man roster, but the undersized rookie linebacker is having a tremendous training camp.
If you missed the Washington Redskins preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens last week, you didn’t miss much. The Redskins offense was offensive. Starting quarterback Kirk Cousins barely played and looked rusty. The offensive line looked lost. And the backup quarterbacks looked incompetent.
However, Washington did have some bright spots in the 23-3 loss at Baltimore. Young defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Anthony Lanier had big games. But it was a 5-8, 200-pound undrafted linebacker from Tulane who stole the show. Nico Marley, the grandson of reggae legend Bob Marley, was arguably the Redskins’ top performer in Week 1 of the preseason.
Pro Football Focus named Marley its top performer for Washington after the rookie recorded five tackles and a sack. And it wasn’t just the numbers he posted, Marley was active. He proved to have terrific instincts and was all over the field. He diagnoses plays well and gets downhill fast, imperative for an inside linebacker at the NFL level.
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The only problem for Marley is something he cannot control; his size. The Redskins will likely carry four or five inside linebackers on the roster. Will Compton, Zach Brown and Mason Foster are locked in. Martrell Spaight, Josh Harvey-Clemons, and Marley are battling for one — or two — spots. And Harvey-Clemons flashed, too. He has outstanding length and was a draft pick this year.
Head coach Jay Gruden has certainly paid attention to Marley and had plenty say about him after the Baltimore game, per Peter Hailey of CSN Mid Atlantic.
"He’s an energetic fireplug, that’s for sure. He makes plays. He has to continue to do it. We have three more games left to evaluate all these guys. This is a good start in the evaluation process, so now we gotta look for guys who consistently play well and get better."
Gruden’s description certainly sounds like the ideal special-teams’ standout. And that’s where Marley is going to have to make his mark over the next three weeks. Regardless of how well Marley plays at linebacker, he doesn’t have the type of body to withstand the rigors of playing the position on a consistent basis. However, he could truly see his star rise if he shows the coaching staff he can be a difference-maker on special teams.
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Marley has certainly endeared himself to Washington fans this summer. If the young linebacker has three more weeks like he did last week, he’ll make it nearly impossible for the Redskins to keep him off the final roster.