Press Release: #Redskins Quotes - Gruden, Doctson

[TK]

April 28, 2016

Redskins Park

Head Coach Jay Gruden

On his first impressions of WR Josh Doctson:

“Josh is obviously a very productive receiver out of TCU. Made a lot of big plays in his career. He’s got height. He’s got the mad leaping skills, which are very appealing, especially in a red zone obviously. He’s another guy that is going to bring great athleticism to this offense. We’re excited to have him.”

On selecting Doctson:

“Well, when you are sitting at 21, there’s a lot of scenarios you play out. Scot [McCloughan] and the scouts did an excellent job. There were a lot of guys taken before... It’s about taking the best player on the board and Josh was clearly the best player on the board at that time for us. We traded back a spot with Houston, obviously. Still Josh was there and he was clearly the best player. Scot has been preaching that and we went with the board.”

On if he was tempted to select a player to help the defense:

“There’s arguments there – you could take defense, but, you know, like I said before we took the best player. We addressed defense the other day with Josh Norman. We gave them a first-round pick, so they should be happy [laughter]. It’s about building a football team and taking the best players to help us and we thought Josh was a perfect fit.”

On if the signing of CB Josh Norman changed their draft plans:

“It played into it a little bit, getting Josh Norman the other day. Obviously it helped with the defensive back depth. I don’t know if it would’ve matter, really, because like I said before we’re going to take the best player on the board and he was clearly up there. We’re happy to get him.”

On if the depth of the draft gives the team flexibility:

“Yeah, you look into all that – depth of other positions on defense. It is a good draft for that. We’ll address other positions obviously later, I don’t know which ones yet, we’ll see who’s available. But, it is a very deep draft at a lot of positions for that matter. We feel like we can still add to this roster and get some quality players – second, third, fourth, fifth rounds.”

On if he knew Doctson would be available after the trade with Houston or if they were taking a chance:

“It was a chance we were taking. We knew there was a couple really good receivers on the board. We knew teams behind us wanted receivers. We had a couple other guys in mind that we could’ve taken with that pick also. It worked out in our favor. We made the trade and obviously landed the guy we wanted.”

On Doctson’s size:

“It’s not just height, it’s a 41-inch vertical too. He makes quarterbacks right. They had a very good quarterback at TCU, obviously, and Kirk [Cousins] is very accurate also obviously. He’ll get plenty of opportunities down there in the red zone. He’s got to earn his stripes. We have a very good receiving corps, no question about it. We’ve got Pierre [Garçon], we’ve got Ryan Grant, we’ve got DeSean [Jackson], [Rashad] Ross came on and played big for us, Jamison Crowder’s a good player. But adding a guy with his height gives you a little different dimension, and we’re excited to work with him.”

On trading back one spot:

“There was a lot of phone calls being made and Bruce and Scot were talking to a lot of different teams and a lot of different options. That’s the best one that we felt was available to us.”

On signing Norman:

“Well, it’s one of those things that just fell into our lap, man. It was an unbelievable couple of days. Get him down here, fly his family in here, get a chance to meet him. Then Eric Schaffer battling with the agent trying to get the contract done and keep him in the building. It was an exciting 24 hours there and we’re happy as heck to get him. I think he’s one of the premier corners in the National Football League. He can matchup with receivers, he can play inside/outside, he’s got great ball skills, he’s a ball hawk. You can’t coach that – you really can’t. There’s a skillset you have to have as a defensive back that he has all that skillset, but he also has the ability to get the ball back for the offense, and that’s the most appealing thing. Plus he’s a great guy and we’re excited to get him.”

On how the selection can affect future contract situations at the position:

"I try not to worry about all that stuff. I’m worried about the next season here coming up. I’m worried about Phase 2 coming up on Monday, when we get on the field with these guys. Then the rookie minicamp and then our OTAs and then we get into training camp, and we’re just going to coach our players up, whoever is here, and get them right and get them ready for the Steelers on Monday night."

On if he believes he can rely on Doctson to contribute immediately:

“I think so. He’s a great kid, number one. You check all the boxes with him as far as ‘person,’ off the field. He’s a great person. He has got great work ethic, too. We did our due diligence on that. So you’re bringing in a receiver with the great skillset that he has and a guy that is willing to get better, learn and work. That’s really appealing. I anticipate him challenging for a lot of balls in this offense. I think Jordan Reed will be happy, put another safety over top of him. DeSean [Jackson] will be happy and Pierre [Garçon] too. You only have one ball, but the ability to spread it around like I like to spread it around, will help Kirk out, the offensive line, the running game, all of it.”

On safety Kyshoen Jarrett’s injury:

“We’ll wait and see. He’s still seeing some doctors and getting some more opinions on what’s going on. We’ll get to the bottom of it. We’re going to do what’s best for Kyshoen and our fingers are crossed. We’re going to do what’s right by him and he’s going to do his best to get ready, whatever happens.”

On if his interest in Doctson grew during the evaluation process:

“I think when you put on the tape your interest grows. Ike [Hilliard] met with him at the combine, obviously. We have our scouts that know a great deal about him. Scot knows a great deal about him as a person and as a player obviously based off the tape. Just because we didn’t interview him at the combine at a formal interview really doesn’t mean anything. A lot of those interviews are trying to get guys that we’re not sure about character-wise and all that stuff, trying figure out more about maybe juniors or what have you. But for Josh, we already knew what type of guy he was and what type of guy he is and will be.”

On the standout qualities Doctson possessed:

“Well, his big play ability, number one. I think he’s the most polished receiver of the group personally. I think he can do a lot of different things across the middle, and when the ball is in the air, he has got the jumping ability and leaping ability. He has great hands. I think he’s got the best hands in the draft also. He’s a great pure route runner. Ike graded him out very, very high. Our scouts had him graded out very high. Scot loved him. We all loved him obviously based on his production at TCU – his consistent production. Big play after big play after big play, big game after big game. No game is too big for him. He’s just a solid all-around football player with that great body control. You can’t coach that. If the ball is in the air he can twist all kinds of different directions. Reminded me a lot of AJ [Green] that we took a couple years ago in Cincinnati. He’s six-foot-two, AJ was six-foot-four, but he’s got that same type of body control and the ability to high point it which is big time.”

On Norman and how much the team game-planned for him last season:

“You know where he is. You game plan for that entire defense at Carolina. They’re very good. But he was a main part of it. His side of the field, you have to be aware of if he’s in the cloud or if he’s playing a third or man-to-man. You’ve got to know where he eyes are. But Josh is really good because he plays great with his eyes. He’s got the ability cover his receiver while looking at the quarterback and having a great feel for route concepts and breaking on the quarterback’s throws, which is another thing that’s very hard to coach. So he’s a dangerous guy and Kirk I know was very aware of him, where he was all the time.”

On the team’s outlook going into Day 2 and Day 3:

“We’ll see. I feel good about it though. I feel good about what Scot has done and what the scouts have done. I’ve sat in all the meetings and feel very good about where everybody is ranked and the positions that we have available. And there’s a lot of very good football players left. We’ll see. I know we’re going to get a couple really good ones.”

Wide Receiver Josh Doctson

On his emotions after being selected by the Redskins:

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting it at all. I saw them [Redskins] flip-flop back-and-forth and really didn’t think anything of it. You know, the phone gets to ringing, so it really was sudden. I’m really appreciative and fortunate to be able to be over there and be a Redskin.”

On if he was surprised the Redskins selected him:

“Yeah, I met with them one time and it was an informal interview at the combine. I really didn’t think they were interested in me at all. That’s what I was saying – it was so sudden and really abrupt being picked by the Redskins, but, man, hey, I’m happy and ready to get to work.”

On what he knows of WR DeSean Jackson:

“Oh, yeah, man, he’s just a dynamic player, a player that I’m going to be able to learn a lot from. So I’m excited to see what he has got in store and see all the receivers and quarterbacks over there and the whole offense… make sure I listen and be ready to go.”

On his strengths:

“My game starts with the most dominant trait a receiver should have and that’s catching the football. I want to make sure that I catch the football in all situations if the quarterback tries to throw it to me and trusts me to catch it. I want to make sure that I have all that trust. I’ve showed that over my years at the collegiate level. I’m looking to build on it and learn from the other guys and build more strengths and get better and better each day.”

On what teams want to see from him:

“Just the different route tree. I think that just goes with the TCU offense. We were limited on some things. On pro day, some teams pulled me aside and told me to run some different routes that they wanted to see that they haven’t seen me run before. That’s just one of the small things, one of the little hiccups that will easily be able to be developed come day one.”

On if he needs to add strength:

“I’m going to get in and talk to the guys who matter – that’ll be the coaches. They can tell me what I need to work on, what I need to improve on, all that. So, like I said, I’m ready to work. I’m ready to get to it and I’m open for anything.”

On his wrist:

“I was full strength, man, by the end of the combine. There’s nothing wrong with my wrist, nothing wrong with my body. Everything is working 100 percent, and like I said, I’m ready to get back on the field.”

On if he patterns his game after any player:

“Like I said, I’m going to be at a team where I’m fortunate to have veterans on there that I’ll be able to learn from starting day one. I’m just looking forward to that and looking forward to seeing how they can help me develop my game to be successful.”

On if he was a Cowboys fan as he grew up in Texas:

“I really didn’t grow up a fan of any NFL teams. I was a basketball kid growing up, so I didn’t really have much involvement with football or a liking of a certain team. I wasn’t a Cowboys fan, to answer that question.”

On when he realized he could make football his profession:

“I started playing football pretty much competitively in high school, my freshman year. I was just playing it because everybody was playing it. When I got to the college level, I got the opportunity to play with got a scholarship. I still wasn’t really thinking about continuing on to the next level and then it kind of hit me my junior year when Jason Verrett left, and I had seen how many hours I had put in this sport and this craft for nothing to come about. I just really took the initiative that if I was really going to play football then I was really going to get after it and just put my head down and work. Now I’m on the phone with you guys.”

On the pre-draft process:

“It’s a crazy process. It’s a different process. It’s obviously my first go-around and my last go-around doing this. Everybody in there was level-headed. Everybody was calm, everybody was happy to be here. Whether they went to the first, high-up pick in the first round or low pick, middle pick, I think everybody will be happy at the end of the night.”

[Wildbunny]

Damn, we just landed a WR that thinks catching the ball is the most important trait for a WR.

Who guessed that?

Great kid.

[Koolblue13]

Humble, hard working, eloquently spoken tall, fast WR, who understands the fundamentals.

I couldn't be happier with the pick. I was high on Treadwell, because of his Hines Ward comparison, but Doctson comes off like a Jerry Rice.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

Damn, we just landed a WR that thinks catching the ball is the most important trait for a WR.

Who guessed that?

Great kid.

You wouldn't know it by a lot of the WRs drafted each year

[Wildbunny]

You wouldn't know it by a lot of the WRs drafted each year

So true. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love his anwer even if I may sound ironic here.

Some of those WRs out there should meditate on this, stop acting like the superstar they aren't each time they catch a ball. And focus on catching the damn ball.

[Est.1974]

Sounds to me like Scot was all over this guy. Hard to argue with the notion he's goes BPA after this one. Great pick.

[Riggo-toni]

But he's not as tall as Anthony Mix....

[johnboy99]

But he's not as tall as Anthony Mix....

And he cant jump out of a swimming pool and into the back of a pickup truck. What the hell was scottym thinking?

[DogofWar1]

You gotta be Josh'in me.

 

With all these Joshs.

 

Joshii.

[SkinsGuy]

On safety Kyshoen Jarrett’s injury:

“We’ll wait and see. He’s still seeing some doctors and getting some more opinions on what’s going on. We’ll get to the bottom of it. We’re going to do what’s best for Kyshoen and our fingers are crossed. We’re going to do what’s right by him and he’s going to do his best to get ready, whatever happens.”

 

Not much info there.