The Redskins RB Depth Could Be Upgraded; Ryquell Armstead Could Be What They’ve Been Looking For

Hogs Haven takes a look at 2019 NFL Draft prospects that could contribute to the Redskins

Ryquell Armstead, RB
School: Temple | Conference: AAC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 22?
Height / Weight: 5-11 / 215 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 6th or 7th Round
NFL Comparison: Ken Dixon

College Statistics

Player Overview

It’s not everyday I get to write about a player who played both offense and defense in a single season. Ryquell Armstead did just that during his time at Temple. Though he wasn’t called on often for defense throughout his career he did manage to record a sack this year as well as rush for over 1,000 yards on offense. He was a 3-star prospect from New Jersey before signing with Temple. He saw some action during his freshman season but really got in the mix his sophomore year. This was the best year yet for him statistically regarding rushing yards and he performed very well against the top competition Temple faced this year including Boston College, Houston, and UCF. He’s has been praised by his position coach who says he is a complete player with good vision who is explosive and can catch. His head coach praises his competitiveness. Armstead has a physical style of running and has been banged up here and there throughout his career. Both coaches expressed their desire for him to remain healthy. If he does remain healthy he could be late round value in the backfield as more of a power runner. His a north / south style can get the tough yards and he has the athleticism to take one to the house if he gets space.

Strengths

• Good size, proportions and musculature for the position. Has a powerful lower body and keeps his legs moving through contact.
• Not shy on delivering a hit to the defense and he is decisive behind the LOS. Not a dancer and will always try and get the ball forward. Vision is decent and he can find the outlets more times than not.
• Capable of high volume carries and production. Nearly had a stretch of 7 games this year where he tallied 947 rushing yards off 165 carries (5.7 yard avg). Is able to wear defenses down and keeps himself in good condition.
• Competitior and hard worker who did what he was asked of at Temple including splitting out wide mostly as a decoy and playing defense! He is a decent receiver, and also decent in pass protection.

Weaknesses

• No particularly special athletic traits, I like a bit more elusiveness, agility, and balance out of starting caliber backs but a role could be carved out for him at the next level and he could fill it quite well depending on the offense.
• Ball security is potentially something to watch. He has improved and only had one fumble this year. He has had at least 4 in his career with two being lost. He can get himself amped up anticipating his next move and wont tuck it completely.
• Nagging injuries could be a concern he has missed some time and some games with various strains and tweaks.

Let’s see his work:

More Ryquell Armstead videos

Someone run the numbers for me on this —- Who is the last player to rush for 1,000+ yards and record a sack in a season? I know Shaq Thompson and Myles Jack weren’t close.#Temple RB Ryquell Armstead accomplished it this year.

— Steve Frederick (@_SteveFrederick) December 15, 2018

Man it’s about time #DraftTwitter starts talking about RyQuell Armstead. I’m not kidding when I say he’s up there with the top RBs of this class. My sleeper draft crush right now, I have him at RB5, and he’s in my top 60. Burst, balance, vision, pass pro, receiving, he’s got it. pic.twitter.com/HXq8KKLaot

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) December 2, 2018

I thought I’d check out the one Senior Bowl invite I haven’t watched — Temple RB RyQuell Armstead. I like him. Contact balance and burst are prevalent and this guy can just cut on a dime my goodness. #DraftTwitter pic.twitter.com/7isMPUI2B5

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) November 15, 2018

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

His fit on this team depends a lot on what happens with the position during the offseason. I assume Guice will be healed and ready to go. I assume Adrian Peterson will be brought back given his price his not very high. Chris Thompson will be in the mix. Typically the Redskins only keep 5 running backs on the roster so under this scenario I could see Armstead making the roster with someone like Perine or Marshall. I don’t expect Rob Kelley to be back and it’s possible the team could cut ties with Kapri Bibbs as well. I think its easy and obvious to say Armstead wouldn’t get much action given a healthy duo of Peterson and Guice but if AP goes to another team next year Armstead may be able to get a decent workload and potentially could make a guy like Perine expendable. Given the injuries the team has experienced at the position lately it would be more of a luxury to have a guy like Armstead waiting in the wings instead of scrapping the barrel of the FA pool whenever a guy went down. The bottom line is there are room for upgrades beyond the top two or three RBs on the roster. If that upgrade costs only a late round pick at a position thats needed depth lately I’m all for it. We’ll find out a lot more about Armstead during the Senior Bowl in about a month.

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