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Evaluating Redskins draft picks: How Antonio Gandy-Golden fits into WR corps

By Jacob Camenker

MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 25: Wide Receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden #11 from Liberty of the North Team during the 2020 Resse's Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Mobile, Alabama. The North Team defeated the South Team 34 to 17. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 25: Wide Receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden #11 from Liberty of the North Team during the 2020 Resse's Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Mobile, Alabama. The North Team defeated the South Team 34 to 17. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 25: Wide Receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden #11 from Liberty of the North Team warms up before the start of the 2020 Resse’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Mobile, Alabama. The Noth Team defeated the South Team 34 to 17. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 25: Wide Receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden #11 from Liberty of the North Team warms up before the start of the 2020 Resse’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Mobile, Alabama. The Noth Team defeated the South Team 34 to 17. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

What Antonio Gandy-Golden does well

When watching Gandy-Golden play, it’s clear that the young receiver knows how to utilize his size to his advantage. Gandy-Golden has a nice 6-4, 228-pound frame and was able to leverage that consistently during his college days.

Because of his size, Gandy-Golden knows how to body up against smaller players and box them out of chances to get to the ball. This is especially true on short routes like slants and curls that allow him to stay in front of his man. Simply put, it was hard for corners to time runs properly to disrupt Gandy-Golden on those shorter routes without committing penalties.

Speaking of Gandy-Golden’s ability to create space on short routes, it is solid. He has good feet and is frequently able to get a step on his opponents at the line of scrimmage when running slants. On curls, his ability to stop on a dime and turn back to the quarterback is impressive, especially when he recognizes that he’s playing against zone coverage. And thanks to his size, it makes it very difficult for players to stop him.

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Further downfield, Gandy-Golden shows a penchant for making contested catches. He’s big, strong, and can high-point the ball very well. He has soft but strong hands that allow him to make these grabs as well. That’s something that the Redskins will surely appreciate.

With the ball in his hands, Gandy-Golden has decent elusiveness and he can use his strength to drag defenders forward for extra yards. He shows a willingness to fight for those yards too, so that will certainly be a positive.

The production was there for Gandy-Golden at Liberty. In his final two seasons at Liberty, he totaled 150 catches for 2,433 yards and 20 receiving touchdowns as the primary weapon on the Flames roster. And though he played against mostly lower-level competition, he did find success playing against Syracuse as a senior, so that shows that he can hang with higher-level players.

One final note: Gandy-Golden proved to be a solid blocker from his receiver position as well. That’s not all too surprising considering his frame, but it’s still a definite positive for the Redskins.

So, Gandy-Golden’s skill set is intriguing. But what are his potential weaknesses that could slow his development? There are a couple of notable ones.

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