Redskins Draft Special Round 4 (Pick 123)

There are a lot of directions the Redskins can go with this pick, but I propose choosing a player who may not be as obvious.

Note: All scouting information comes from CBS Sports, NFL Combine Results Page, and the NFL Draft Tracker.

Round 4 (123rd Overall Selection):  Wayne Gallman    RB    (Clemson)
Height: 6'0"   Weight: 215 lbs   40 yd: 4.60   20 yd Shuttle: 4.28 sec

He is no Joe Mixon, but I could not in good conscience take THREE players who had to miss a year in college due to disciplinary reasons.  Hence the choice of Wayne Gallman, and he may fit the Redskins scheme better than you would think.  Gallman is a hard runner who has good bursts through the tackles and can make quick cuts at the line of scrimmage.  His 20 yard shuttle time was 5th at the combine for RB's, and was only .06 seconds slower than Christian McCaffrey who is listed as being almost 15 pounds lighter than his Clemson counter part.  Gallman has used that size to be a hard runner who always falls forward and fights for the extra yards.  He is noted as being trustworthy in fourth and short situations as well as goal line packages, which can be seen in his 28 rushing touchdowns over the past 2 seasons at Clemson.  The knocks on him are that he has trouble finding lanes and he slows down at times to try and find the hole.  He is not a shifty type back and has trouble moving in tight spaces, and his pass protection is average at best.  Scouts state that he may need large lanes to run through at the NFl level, and his pass catching ability is spotty.

So why waste a pick on a possible Matt Jones 2.0?  Because Matt Jones 1.0 may have fallen out of favor with the coaching staff, and they need another power back with a little extra.  Gallman's profile sounds like that of Rob Kelley, but he has a little more speed and quickness that can add an extra element to the Redskins running game.  His negatives are all somewhat ameliorated by the fact that the Redskins offense can provide big one cut lanes he needs when working properly.  Gallman also worked out of the shotgun a lot at Clemson, which may limit his ability as an every package type back but it could also make him an intriguing option on 3rd downs if given the proper coaching.  Gallman could push Matt Jones to either fix his fumbling issues or push him out of the depth chart all together.  Either way, it would add competition to a position that needed some new talent to invigorate it, and Gallman could eventually become a steady go-to option for the Redskins