Virgins Safety Quin Blanding
Welcome to the B&G Report’s first installment of “Reader Request Draft Prospect Spotlight”. Today’s request came from BlockSquadmusickeysBsm hailing from Norfolk, VA. His request was for Virginia University Safety Quin Blanding to go under the B&G Spotlight. Let’s get started!
First Impression
I was pleasantly surprised after watching multiple game tapes on the Virginia Beach Native. He concluded a tremendous career at Virginia, becoming the All Time leading tacklerin school history. The record was previously held by Virginia/NFL Linebacker Jamie Sharper. A tackling record at any level is impressive for a safety. Quin wasn’t just satisfied with breaking the long standing Virginia record though. He was the clear playmaker on the Cavaliers defense, tallying 121 tackles with 4 ints & 1 TD during his senior year. What you want from an NFL prospect is to see growth every year, Blanding certainly displayed that during his final year posting career bests. Walter Football.com currently ranks Blanding as the #18 rated safety prospect. Their early projection is that he’ll potentially be drafted somewhere in rounds 4-6. At this point, I’d say a 4th round grade is about right. Blanding loves the violence of the game and knows how to deliver the big hit, but also knows how to play the ball on deep routes as well. He’s rumored to be clocked at an unofficial 40 yard dash time of 4.62, but I’m more interested in his 20 yard short shuttle time. Track speed rarely translates to speed on an NFL field, but short area quickness does. I’ll wait for the Virginia products short shuttle time before I make any final NFL Draft projections. His unofficial measurements are 6’2 215, but he looks a bit leaner than that. I love weight room junkies who play defense, so hopefully he dedicates himself to bulking up prior to the combine. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get an invite to the annual NFL combine.
Final Thoughts
Quin Blanding is projected as a Strong Safety, but he has the talent to play centerfield as well. The knock on Quin is he takes bad angles at times. That’s something that can be cleaned up though, but he’ll have to find the right teacher. I always like to hear former NFL Players working with potential rookies and hope that’s the route Blandin takes. What will be key for him during the Pre-Draft process is to focus on conditioning, as well as potentially adding 5-10 lbs of lean muscle to his slender frame. I really like this kid’s ability and fire on the field. His final game will be in the Military Bowl vs Navy. Unfortunately he will not be displaying his pass break up/coverage skills, since Navy runs a variation of the “Wishbone” run heavy offense, known as the “Flexbone” formation. He can show scouts his tackling ability against the Navy potent run scheme. He’d be a good prospect pickup for the Redskins in my opinion, if he’s still available in the late 5th to 6th Rounder. With the recent news that Sua Cravens has been cleared medically, that could make things interesting in 2018. It could also complicate drafting a player at that position again though. The Skins selected safety Montae Nicholson in the 4th round, during the last NFL draft. One thing I’m sure of is the Virginia youngster is a playmaker, as he would easily replace current SS Deshazor Everett onthe Redskins current depth chart.
Hope you enjoyed the first and hopefully many more B&G Report Reader Requests. Over the next few weeks and months The B&G Report will focus on “Dark Horse” type draft picks, that the causal fan might not know much about and their potential fit in Washington. Also the current Redskins rookies, will be put under the Spotlight as well. As the B&G Report continues to make this an interactive blog, all questions and requests are welcome and encouraged!
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