Washington football training camp profiles: Offensive line
By Ian Cummings
Saahdiq Charles
Experience: 1st season
Draft Status: 2020 fourth-round pick, 108th overall
2019 Stats: N/A
2020 Outlook: He was ultimately a Day 3 pick, but there’s a heightened amount of excitement around Washington football team rookie Saahdiq Charles, who will be given a legitimate chance to enter the 2020 season as the team’s starting left tackle, filling the Size-17 shoes left by Trent Williams.
Charles is a very good athlete for his 6-foot-4, 320-pound frame, and reports early on in the draft process suggested that his stock took the biggest hit due to his perceived maturity issues. Assuming he’s grown since then, as the team suspects he has, he could outperform his draft status early.
Expected Role: There’s been speculation that Charles could move to left guard if things don’t work out at left tackle, but first and foremost, he’ll be tried out as the team’s blindside blocker. That was the position he played at LSU while helping Joe Burrow break NCAA records, and that’s the position he has substantial upside at in the NFL.
Status: Regardless of whether he starts or not in Year 1, Charles is a roster lock. The team spent a mid-round pick on him, and views him as a player with the developmental potential of an eventual productive starter. In the short-term, there are questions around whether or not he’ll earn the snaps he needs to grow in 2020. But long-term, Charles’ development will span past the immediate sixteen-game slate.