Niles Paul... Tight End?

[warriorzpath]

The Niles Paul and Lorenzo Alexander experiments say a few things to me with Mike Shanahan and the Redskins.

1) The Redskins are deficient with blocking at the TE position.
2) He values Special Teams play and rewards the ST standout players (and the team) by trying to find playing time for them on the offensive and defensive units. Effort and working hard = Special Teams performance
3) Paul and Alexander appear to be guaranteed to be on the 53 player roster as long as they continue to put at least the same amount of effort.
I'd be shocked if Paul is not on the roster for the first regular season game.
4) All roads and decisions lead to RGIII -- especially this early in the offseason. These experiments say more to me with their adjustments and the things they are planning with Griffin III, more than anything Shanahan has said in the media (which is a bit surprising in itself, since he usually doesn't reveal much).
5) If these experiments don't work out -- I wouldn't be surprised if they traded for or signed a TE, whose strength is blocking.

To expand a little more with #4 and #5 -- I think Mike Shanahan is genuinely excited with all the different things that he is envisioning with RGIII. And in order to do that, he needs to have at least one good blocking TE. With a good blocking Tight End and RGIII, I think Shanahan will be able to implement what he already has said -- to show the NFL what it's never seen before. I, for one, can see the same thing -- with (advanced) designed boot-legs, roll-outs, stretch-running plays designed for RGIII headed toward the sidelines.

What's the cornerback going to do with these plays headed right for him? Play the wideout or play RGIII, who is sprinting full 4.41 speed designed to beat him and gain at least 10 "easy" yards?

This is the reason why I'm hoping and I think that the Redskins are hoping that 6th-round draft pick Alfred Morris shows the NFL potential that he showed in college. That strong, bruising style will complement the speed of RGIII and the one-cut style running backs already on the roster.

As of Cooley, I think that he isn't in danger of being cut unless he is not healthy -- because they will need him to contribute in the passing game, and as the main backup to the starting "receiving" TE, Fred Davis.