The Redskin Report

Horton (14) makes a tackle (Photo from Greg Burmann)

Another safety, this time Christopher Horton from UCLA is coming to Washington with the Redskins final pick in this year’s draft.  Horton, like Moore picked earlier has a shot due to the lack of safeties currently on the roster, but he will need strong special teams skills to make the team.

VITALS

Height: 6′0.5
Weight: 212lbs
40 yard time: 4.54

DRAFT PROFILE

Scouts Inc (ESPN Insider)

Strengths: Reads keys well, shows good awareness and rarely gets caught out of position. Takes good angles to the ball, has good top-end speed and can cover the deep half of the field. Gets good hand placement and flashes the ability to effectively jam tight ends. Reads quarterback’s eyes, appears to read routes and can get into position to make a play on the ball. Times the blitz well, takes the shortest path to the quarterback and shows adequate closing speed. Tough and fills hard when reads run. Squares up to the ball carrier, wraps upon contact and is a reliable open field tackler that flashes the ability to make the big hit. Always seems to be around the ball at the end of the play, has experience covering kicks and has the motor to develop into a valuable special teams player.

Weaknesses: Takes too long to regain speed when forced to open hips and turn and run and protects himself by giving receivers a cushion. Doesn’t show great burst coming out of cuts and is going to have problems matching up with explosive slot receivers. Lacks ideal ball skills and drops some passes that should catch. Lacks ideal upper body strength, doesn’t show a violent punch and takes too long to shed blocks when lined up in the box. Missed first six games of the 2005 season with what had been considered a potentially career-ending wrist injury, isn’t expected to regain full range of movement in the wrist and durability is a concern.

Overall: Horton arrived at UCLA in 2003 and redshirted the year. In his first three seasons (2004-’06), he appeared in 28 games (15 starts) at strong safety and on special teams, recording 148 tackles (six for losses), three interceptions and seven pass breakups. As a senior in 2007, he started all 13 games and had 90 tackles (seven for losses), three sacks, one forced fumble and four pass breakups. Horton missed three games in 2004 after suffering a foot sprain. In 2005, a wrist dislocation cost him six games. Horton is an instinctive, high-motor player who rarely makes mistakes and tackles well. However, he’s also a straight-line player who is going to have problems holding up in man coverage, isn’t much of a playmaker and has some durability concerns. With all of that in mind, he projects as a late sixth or early seventh round pick.