
Austin Reiter to Washington Redskins: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown
Getting bigger and tougher up front. It's the tag line that could accompany all bar one of the Washington Redskins' 10 selections in the 2015 NFL draft.
The same theme was evident with Scot McCloughan's final selection, Austin Reiter. Washington's new general manager took the former South Florida center off the board in the seventh round with the 222nd overall pick.
What's he got is a big and bulky pivot man for the heart of a revamped offensive line. At 6'3" and 296 pounds, Reiter is a beefy anchorman who generally plays with more strength, scrap and physicality than veteran starter Kory Lichtensteiger.
The 30-year-old is a product of the zone-style, stretch scheme Jay Gruden's predecessor, Mike Shanahan, implemented back in 2010. But McCloughan and Gruden want more drive blocking in the trenches this season.

Reiter fits that change in philosophy. He has a solid history of paving the way for running backs to produce on the ground.
Mike Jones of The Washington Post noted how this highly durable blocker was at the heart of a productive Bulls' ground attack: "Reiter started 12 games in 2014, missing only one snap. He helped pave the way for running back Marlon Mack to top the 1,000-yard mark."
Reiter's proficiency in blocking for the run was also evident a year earlier, according to Stephen Czarda of Redskins.com, who also cited some figures from the UF Bulls official site: "During the 2013 season, Reiter was on the field for 735 plays according to USFBulls.com while also helping running back Marcus Shaw go for more than 140 yards on two different occasions."
So Reiter certainly has the core skills to make an impression in Washington's new power-based blocking schemes. Obviously though, he's extremely raw and will need to lean on the tutoring of newly acquired line coach Bill Callahan.

It will be a testament to Callahan's expertise and teaching if Reiter not only makes the final roster, but also works his way into the regular rotation along the interior.
Frankly, the chance is there for him to do just that. The Redskins lack credible cover behind Lichtensteiger, where natural guards Spencer Long and Josh LeRibeus are the only obvious options to fill in over the ball.
The interesting thing about Reiter's arrival is how it offers further proof of this team's commitment to keep adding bodies to a perennially weak offensive line. It's a commitment that's been most obvious during the last two years, per ESPN's John Keim:
That approach didn't work a year ago when Bruce Allen used a pair of third-round picks on Morgan Moses and Long. Hopefully, McCloughan's faith in Brandon Scherff, Arie Kouandjio and Reiter will be rewarded by significant improvement from a group that surrendered 58 sacks in 2014.
Reiter's selection wraps up an interesting first draft running things for McCloughan. It's a draft that's been defined by adding solid players at key positions in every round.
For a rare time, the Redskins stayed faithful to a definite plan and didn't waver no matter how the board changed.
.png)
.jpg)








