Five players for the Redskins to watch closely at 2020 Senior Bowl

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 01: Cam Brown #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates his sack with Ayron Monroe #23 of the Penn State Nittany Lions on September 1, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

If there’s one position that the Redskins desperately need both starters and depth players at, it’s linebacker.

With Washington moving to a 4-3 defense, they’re going to have to find some true starters to compete. This is especially true with Reuben Foster’s return being uncertain after he just regained feeling in his foot after a couple of months without it. As a result, he can’t be counted on, so guys like Cole Holcomb, Ryan Anderson, Shaun Dion Hamilton, and free agent Jon Bostic will need to step up.

That said, the Redskins are likely to target some free agent linebackers. They’ll also address some of their key needs during the NFL draft. And while this year’s linebacker crop doesn’t have a lot of top-end talent, there are some potential-packed pieces that could work well for teams.

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One of those guys is Cam Brown. The Penn State linebacker is supremely athletic and with a good week in the Senior Bowl, he could be on the rise. Our own Ian Cummings wrote about Brown in a recent piece and discussed his best traits as a prospect.

"Similarly to [Akeem] Davis-Gaither, Cameron Brown is a linebacker who excels in coverage. That’s where the similarities end, of course. Brown is 6-foot-5, 230, with a 79-inch reach, and while he offers exciting athleticism and upside, he needs to add strength to be a complete player, and it’s unclear if that would sap some of his mobility. That said, as it stands, Brown offers a nice combination of speed and length, a mix that equates to range at the next level, and he could be an effective coverage specialist."

Six-foot-five? Long arms? Exciting athleticism? That’s about as intriguing as a prospect gets. Couple that with his consistent production over the course of his final two years at Penn State (67.5 tackles, 6.0 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, and five pass defenses per season) and you have the making of a potentially solid pro.

If Brown can show off coverage skills in the Senior Bowl, that should really intrigue the Redskins. They don’t have a lot of players that excel in coverage at linebacker so they may try to draft a role player with upside. And Brown has the tools needed to be that, it’s just a matter of showing off the skills.

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