Redskins confident Da’Ron Payne can disrupt passing game

Redskins executive Doug Williams believes that when it comes to building a football team: “the big boys make the little boys look better.”

The defensive line, he said, can make the secondary look better than they really are, but not vice versa. The same goes for the offensive line, which can prop up a running game or allow receivers to get open.

Last week, the Redskins took a “big boy” in Alabama defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne with the 13th overall pick in the NFL draft. In doing so, the Redskins appeared to be drafting for need, which made sense because Payne figures to shore up Washington’s last-ranked run defense.

But for Payne to truly become a difference maker, he’ll need to show he can create a pass rush after registering just three sacks in three seasons at Alabama.

If he does, Payne and the defensive line will prop up the Redskins’ secondary and free up outside pass-rushers like Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith.

“If you remember back in the day when Tampa was going, Warren Sapp was a beast up front and Simeon Rice was killing people because he was flushing the quarterback,” Williams said. “That’s what we’ve got to do and I think what we’ve done to stabilize the middle of that defensive line (in the draft) is going to give those guys a little opportunity.”

By the end of his college career, Payne was wrecking opposing offensive lines. Former Georgia tackle Isaiah Wynn, drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots, told reporters Payne was the toughest player to block in the SEC.

Payne’s dominance was apparent in the Sugar Bowl and the National Championship. In the latter, against Georgia, he racked up seven defensive pressures on 35 pass rushing snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

“I know he didn’t have a lot of sacks last year, but he can disrupt the passing game,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “If you watched him against Georgia, you might say he’s the best defensive lineman in football.”

The knock against Payne, according to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, is he can be stopped if his first move is halted.

At the scouting combine, Payne said his lack of sacks in college was the more so the result of Alabama’s scheme, saying the goal was to keep linebackers “clean” and let them make plays. After he was drafted, Payne told reporters he was a “relentless” lineman who can get after the quarterback.

Gruden said Payne will have plenty of time to grow as an NFL lineman.

“He’s got great power, and a lot of times the sacks that don’t show up on the stat board, he enabled other guys to get them because of the push of the pocket that forces the quarterback outside,” Gruden said. “Ryan Kerrigan, Preston Smith and Ryan Anderson will be very happy to have Jonathan Allen and Da’Ron Payne in the middle pushing that pocket.”