RICHMOND — Niles Paul is relishing every moment at the Washington Redskins’ training camp facility. He is often one of the first players on the field for practice and always acknowledges the raucous cheers from the crowd, even when it looks as if he’s hiding behind the smoky visor clipped to his facemask.
The tight end’s competitiveness has been obvious, most notably when the 6-foot-1, 242-pound Paul stiff-armed inside linebacker Martrell Spaight to the ground after making a tightly-contested catch last Saturday. Spaight wasn’t all too pleased and a small skirmish ensued, but the two made peace shortly after.
At the end of each two-hour practice in the sweltering Richmond heat, Paul catches footballs from the JUGS machine and then signs autographs before finally exiting the field. On Saturday, he invited two young fans to help out and tossed them the football after each rep so he could get the ball to the assistant feeding the machine faster.
After all, it beats being home, which is where Paul spent most of last season, relegated to the couch after breaking his left ankle in the first preseason game.
“Aw man, I keep saying to myself throughout the day,’ I’d rather be here than home,’” Paul said last Friday. “That’s a big thing for me, because I was home during summer training camp and the season and I hated it. It was miserable. Being out here on this field, I’m grateful. I feel blessed. I’m just out there giving it my all.”
Paul’s return to the Redskins has helped boost the team’s tight end group, which lacked depth behind Jordan Reed after it was ravaged by injuries in 2015. Logan Paulsen, who re-signed on a one-year deal, also missed the season after having surgery on his right big toe just days after Paul was injured.
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Derek Carrier was a solid addition to the team after he was acquired in August from the San Francisco 49ers, but he tore his right ACL and MCL in Week 14 against the Chicago Bears.
Now, the Redskins have Reed, Paul, Paulsen, Carrier, 11-year veteran Vernon Davis and Marcel Jensen on the roster. It’s likely Reed, Paul, Davis and Paulsen all end up on the 53-man roster, considering the team opted not to bring back fullback Darrel Young, which clears a roster spot.
Reed’s role is defined as the most threatening option in the Redskins’ passing game and the hope is that Paul and Davis’ are more diverse. Paul had a breakout year in 2014 when he caught 39 passes for 509 yards and a touchdown after Reed was limited to 11 games because of a hamstring injury. Paul, who also has been taking reps at fullback, is the team’s truest dual-threat tight end and is a strong blocker.
It’s not likely that Davis, 32, emerges as the pass-catching threat he was with the 49ers. Though he still believes he can be an effective target for quarterback Kirk Cousins, Davis has dedicated himself to doing whatever the team asks, which includes more run-blocking.
Paulsen, entering his seventh season, will reprise his role as the team’s primary run-blocking tight end and is a strong special teams contributor, as is Paul. The Redskins could have a difficult decision to make once Carrier, who is on the physically unable to perform list, is ready to return.
Either way, the Redskins are poised to have strong depth at the position, which is relied on heavily in an offense that features multiple-tight end sets.
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“If you have an athletic tight end that can get in and out of breaks or can run, you know, it’s a matchup nightmare,” coach Jay Gruden said Saturday. “Flipside of it is they have to be able to block, otherwise people won’t respect the run. Vernon, he’s a good blocker and Jordan is obviously getting better at blocking and Niles is a good blocker, so they have to respect the running game. Play-actions are great off of them. They’re good pass blockers, and it opens up a lot of things for us.”
While Paul was sidelined last season, he said he watched over 100 movies. His favorite was “City of God,” which depicts organized crime in Brazil. He also watched “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Concussion,” the latter of which he said was scary to watch.
“It was a little scary to see what could happen after football,” Paul said. “But I’m a football player. I knew what I signed up for and I knew why I was here. I’ve gotta feed my family.”
Most importantly, Paul gleaned a different perspective from watching Redskins games at home, particularly the wrath fans spew on social media.
“Saw what was being said on Twitter and that’s a different perspective for me than in game,” Paul said. “Man, it was intense. I’m out here seeing stuff, reading stuff. Seeing plays I’d be in on, stuff I would do. I’m almost grading out my boys while I’m watching them playing.”
The best part now is that Paul will be out there making plays with them.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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