Redskins Training Camp Profile: LB Martrell Spaight

Martrell Spaight is entering a critical year in his Washington Redskins career. Here’s a look at what he’ll need to accomplish during training camp in 2018.

Redskins training camp is rapidly approaching. July is officially the last month in the NFL calendar without any actual games, though it can be debated just how competitive preseason contests are. Either way, football is just around the corner, and training camp signifies this.

In 2018, the Redskins have a lot of quality depth on their roster, and it is going to make it difficult for the team to choose their 53-man roster. That means that there will be a lot of competition among their depth players as they fight for roster spots, and the linebacker position will be particularly interesting.

The Redskins have a lot of young depth behind their starters at linebacker, and they’re unlikely to keep all of the candidates there. One of the players on the bubble right now is Martrell Spaight. The former fifth-round pick out of Arkansas is entering a make-or-break year and will need to show a lot in training camp to avoid being on the outside looking in when roster cuts roll around. And here’s an in-depth look at why that’s the case.

2017 season review

Spaight had one of the best seasons of his career in 2017. He notched 69 combined tackles in 15 games with six starts. And during the season had one of the best impact rates, per Pro Football Focus.

This means that Spaight was able to make a lot of tackles and generate pressure, and he was certainly able to do that at times. As a downhill playmaker, Spaight flashed solid ability. And that was certainly growth following a decent second season that saw him mostly serve as a backup and special teams player.

That said, Spaight still has to do some work to improve. And there’s one particular skill he needs to focus on improving to succeed in training camp.