Redskins 2009 Preview: Tight Ends and Fullbacks

Through July, I will be running positional breakdowns for the Washington Redskins. Each assessment will be broken down into four areas: Past Statistics, Experience/Potential, Positional Competition, and Intangibles.

Today I’ll be taking a look at the Tight Ends and Fullbacks on the Redskins’ roster for the 2009 Season. 2008 was a Pro Bowl campaign for Chris Cooley as well as Mike Sellers, so many believe that it was a successful year. However, depth at both of these positions has been called into question, and filling the gaps behind the two pro bowlers will be a big priority in the preseason.

Past Statistics

Cooley was arguably one of the top three or four tight ends in the game last season, as he finished towards the top of the league in receptions (2^nd with 83), yards (4^th with 849), yards per game (5^th with 53.1) and first downs (4^th with 43). Although Cooley set career highs in catches and yards, he has publicly acknowledged that he feels he could do much better, and was extremely disappointed with only catching one touchdown on the entire season. He could use a little improvement in yards per catch (49^th), as well as fumbles (tied 1^st), but it’s hard to argue with the kind of consistency that Captain Chaos brings to the table. Fred Davis’s season was extremely disappointing (as documented here), and I won’t go through the specifics again, but he must pick up his numbers from his rookie season if he plans on avoiding ‘bust’ status. Todd Yoder only finished the season with eight catches and one touchdown, but he’s one of the most consistent blockers on the roster and a great locker room guy.

Mike Sellers was the only true fullback used on the roster in 2008, and he came out with reasonably pedestrian statistics, considering he only had six carries for 24 yards and one touchdown (as well as 12 catches for 98 yards and another TD). However, Sellers’ value was in his blocking for Clinton Portis, who had one of his best seasons as a Redskin running behind Sellers.

Experience/Potential

Cooley is now entering his sixth season as a pro, and seems to be improving (albeit slightly) each season. His route running has been strong and he continues to take his job seriously, even though he doesn’t always take life seriously. Now one of the longest tenured Redskins, Cooley must begin to take on a leadership role and try to help out guys like Fred Davis in order to give Jason Campbell more weapons. Davis has spectacular athleticism and all the tools to be a dominant tight end in the NFL, but his reps will be limited as long as Cooley is in front of him on the depth chart. I don’t see Cooley relinquishing his spot to Sleepy Fred anytime soon, but Davis could improve enough to scare defenses when the Redskins run a two-tight end set. Yoder is now in his tenth season, so don’t expect his role or production to change too much unless it’s diminished due to Davis’s play, and Robert Agnone (Rookie UFA out of Delaware) frankly has an extremely small chance of making the team at all.

At fullback, Sellers is only entering his tenth season (not counting his CFL career), but he just turned 34 on Tuesday and doesn’t look to be bringing anything new to the table anytime soon. He is a bruiser, so you have to think his body isn’t far from showing some wear and tear (although I still wouldn’t want to hit him). Vinny drafted rookie Eddie Williams for the purpose of learning the ropes from Sellers, and seems to have a bit of potential. Williams played tight end, fullback and h-back at Idaho and was relatively effective both running and catching the ball out of the backfield. He has good size (6’1” 245lbs) and should be a nice fit for the offense in the next couple of seasons if he can impress the coaching staff.

Positional Competition

The most intrigue here lies between Davis and Yoder. They serve two very different purposes in the offense for Jim Zorn, but if Davis improves a great deal before the season, we’ll see Yoder lose some reps to the second year player. As much as the Redskins like Yoder for his character, it would be ideal to see Davis flourish and see the field more in 2009. At fullback, Sellers shouldn’t have to worry about losing his job this season, but he should work hard to try and develop Williams into a guy that deserves a practice squad spot.

Intangibles

As mentioned before, Cooley is now entering his sixth year, and is one of the longest tenured Redskins. At this point, he should start to see himself in a leadership role. I don’t expect that Cooley is one of the ‘rah-rah’ types in the locker room, but his work ethic on the field and close relationships with his teammates should pay dividends for the offense this season. He remains Jason Campbell’s safety blanket, and his calming presence will continue to help his quarterback’s development. He’s easily the most popular player on the team, and as long as he has a good year, he will continue to put butts in the seats and keep the fans pacified. Sellers is also a leader in the locker room, albeit a little louder than Cooley, and will need to be a mentor to Williams this season. This is one of the best character positions on the entire Redskins roster.

Final Assessment

Tight End is a position with a lot of potential within Jim Zorn’s offense, and they should continue to excel this season. Cooley will have a more difficult time making the Pro Bowl this season with guys like Kellen Winslow and Tony Gonzalez switching over to the NFC, but he should still make a strong case for himself. Look for him to play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder this season, especially in the red zone. I have a feeling that he’s very anxious to prove that he’s still one of the top tight ends in the conference. Fred Davis will have a better campaign, but he must improve his overall work ethic to expect to see the field a lot more. Sellers should have another good season, but it may go unnoticed if the offensive line in front of him does not hold up. These should be two quality positions week-in and week-out for Jim Zorn’s offense.

Last Week’s Poll: Evaluating 2nd Year Receivers

Sorry for the delay on the post…I’ve been up in West Virginia visiting family the last two days. I thought I’d offer a little insight on last week’s poll and what you all thought of our now second year receivers. First of all, let’s get a little more voting in next time! I’ll try and have a little variety to cover all of your favorite teams over the next few months. If you feel strongly about your answer or don’t feel like your answer is there, tell me why I’m wrong in the comments section. It will help when the time comes to look at the results.

Before we predict where how many catches Messrs Davis, Thomas and Kelly will haul in 2009, let’s take a quick look at each of their individual 2008 campaigns.

Devin Thomas:

Thomas had the best season of this group in 2008…that’s not saying much. Thomas finished 20^th in the NFL for all rookies in receptions (15), 24^th in yardage (120), and 38^th in average yards per catch (8.0). This was not exactly spectacular for someone who was expected to have a quick impact on the outside for the Redskins. Thomas had only one touchdown on the season, which was on an end-around and didn’t manage to make a big impact in the red zone or on third downs (only 46.7% of his catches were first downs, good for 33^rd among rookies). Overall, Thomas showed a few small flashes of talent but had little to no consistency whatsoever.

Fred Davis:

Sleepyhead Fred had a dreadful 2008 after getting everyone’s hopes up on tape. In his defense, Davis often found himself with limited snaps and limited opportunities with the presence of Chris Cooley on the roster, but not beating out Todd Yoder for the 2^nd spot is inexcusable for someone with his skill level (and don’t get me wrong, I love Yoder). Davis hauled in 3 balls for 27 yards on the season with no touchdowns. It’s not even worth listing his rankings among NFL rookies.

Malcolm Kelly:

Kelly rarely dressed during last season, and when he did, he failed to make any impact. For the guy that was supposed to help the diminutive Redskins receiving corps the most in terms of size (6’4”, 227 lbs), Kelly came up small. He only found himself dressed for five games after a prolonged bout with knee problems (as a result of poor offseason conditioning), and caught 3 balls for 18 yards. Kelly managed to catch one ball that amounted to a first down on the season.

Analysis of the Poll: Where do we go from here?

Considering that these three totaled nine first downs, one touchdown (not even receiving), and no stats in the top 20 among NFL rookies, it’s pretty safe to say that last year was a bust. I was a little surprised to see that half of the voters thought the guys would total between 60-79 catches next season, considering that they would all fall somewhere between 10 and 30 catches each. I was among this group, but I felt like I was being extremely optimistic. The only way I believe that this group reaches this milestone is if one can crack the starting lineup and rack up at least 35 catches. I do believe that Thomas is perfectly capable of this, but I’m also not hedging my bets on it. I don’t look for a lot out of Kelly with his reputation to slack a little, and Davis has an uphill battle ahead of him while playing second fiddle to fan-favorite Chris Cooley. Davis’s numbers were obviously affected a little bit by Cooley’s career season last year (in yards and catches), and you’d better believe that Johnny White Guy won’t back down next season. Cooley only caught one touchdown last season (five less than his previous low), and racked up a career high in fumbles (3), most of which took place during key possessions. That’s not favorable for a guy like Davis, who has a reputation for being a practice wonder and a game spectator. A guy like Cooley is going to outwork him any day of the week, and it will continue to pay off on the field. If I had to make a prediction right now, I’d guess that Thomas will fall somewhere in the 25-35 range, Davis will grab 10-20 and Kelly will probably get about the same. Let me know what you think!

Next Week’s Poll: Where is Tech most likely to fall in-conference this season? Vote in the right-hand column.

Poll of the Week

Image Courtesy of Daylife

I've decided to add a new poll of the week section to the blog, so this week we'll try and get our holiday weekend kicked off right. It's now July, so it's almost time for training camp buzz to begin. How do you all think the second-year receivers will fare with a little better knowledge of Jim Zorn's offense? Will they mesh and all have a large impact this season or will one step up as a viable weapon opposite Santana Moss? Will they be all bust just like last season? Please vote and comment on how you think their seasons will go! Happy 4th of July (and sorry for the funhouse mirror fonts, but we're housesitting and I'm not on my computer)!