Redskins draft T Saahdiq Charles and WR Antonio Gandy-Golden in round 4

April 25, 2020

by Steve Thomas

The Washington Redskins drafted LSU tackle Saahdiq Charles with pick 2, 108th overall, and wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden with pick 36, 142nd overall, in round 4 of the NFL draft.

Charles, 6’4” and 321 pounds, is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and went to high school in Jackson, Mississippi.  He was a 3 star recruit for LSU in 2016.  Charles spent a full 4 seasons with the Tigers, winning the national championship in 2020, and has significant experience, including playing in 13 games as a freshman and then starting his final 3 seasons.  Charles also was a source of controversy at LSU, however, having been suspended for 3 games in 2018 and 6 games in 2019, reportedly both due to failed drug tests.

Charles ran the 40 yard dash in an unofficial 5.05 seconds at the NFL Combine, which is an outstanding time by offensive line standards, but did not perform any of the other drills.  He is known as a developmental tackle with high, starting-quality upside who was hurt in the pre-draft process because of his character concerns resulting from his suspensions and the lack of team interviews due to the coronavirus pandemic.  He is athletic and agile, but is viewed as lacking power and in need of improvement in his technique in order to excel at the professional level.  Character concerns aside, Charles is clearly a need pick in response to the Redskins’ trade of long-time stalwart Trent Williams to the 49ers.  The Redskins are doubtlessly expecting him to develop into Williams’ replacement in a hurry, although it seems unlikely that he will be ready to take over the role right away.

Gandy-Golden, who stands 6’4” and is 223 pounds, is a small school prospect from Liberty.  He is experienced and was highly productive in college, having played 44 games in four seasons for Liberty, with a total of 231 receptions for 3,722 yards, for an average of 16.1 yards per reception, and 32 touchdowns.  In 2019, he made 70 receptions for 1,304 yards and 9 touchdowns.

At the NFL Combine, Gandy-Golden ran the 40 yard dash in an unofficial 4.6 seconds, did 22 bench press reps, ran the 20 yards short shuttle in 4.55 seconds, the 3 cone drill in 7.33 seconds, and jumped 36 inches in the vertical leap and 10’7” in the standing broad jump.

His main strength is his massive catch radius and ability to grab contested “50/50” balls.  He has above-average hands and ball skills, but doesn’t possess plus-level athletic measurables and will need work on his route running for certain portions of the route tree.  In college, he was known for a series of highlight reel, contested and one-handed catches (partially caused by Liberty’s sub-NFL level quarterback, Stephen Buckshot Calvert, which isn’t Gandy-Golden’s fault) that should bode well for him in the NFL.  Right now, Gandy-Golden is more of a vertical and slant route type of receiver, but one who lacks elite acceleration and top end speed.  He will have to learn to deal with bigger, faster, and more physical NFL defensive backs who will not yield on contested balls as easy as did his collegiate competition.

Gandy-Golden will likely compete with Kelvin Harmon and others for playing time as an outside receiver next season, and will be expected to produce on special teams.  He is yet another playmaker who has the potential add significant pressure to a defense in the coming years.