Redskins add Ross Pierschbacher, Cole Holcomb in fifth round of NFL draft

ASHBURN — After Ross Pierschbacher was drafted, he received a FaceTime call from Shaun Dion Hamilton. The two played together at Alabama and now are set to be teammates again.

Pierschbacher became the latest Alabama product to join the Washington Redskins after the team took the offensive lineman with the 153rd overall pick. He was one of the two fifth-round picks the Redskins made Saturday as the team also drafted North Carolina linebacker Cole Holcomb.

The Redskins now have eight former Crimson Tide players on their roster: Hamilton, Pierschbacher, Ryan Anderson, Jonathan Allen, Cam Sims, Reuben Foster, Landon Collins and Daron Payne.

At Alabama, Pierschbacher started last season at center, but the 23-year-old said he’s capable of playing all three positions along the offensive line.

Speaking to reporters, Pierschbacher said in a private workout with the team, the Redskins worked him out at left guard.

“I’m a type of guy that’s consistent, reliable, tough smart, just-get-the-job-done type of guy,” he said. “You can throw me out there and I’m not going to mess up. I’m just going to get the job done and I’m really a blue collar, lunch pale type of guy.

The Redskins needed offensive line help after the unit was decimated by injuries last season. The team also picked Indiana guard Wes Martin in the fourth round.

Later in the fifth, the Redskins added Holcomb, a 6-foot-1 linebacker who was a former walk-on at North Carolina. Holcomb led the Tar Heels in tackles in 2018 with 105 and used a strong pro day to improve his draft stock.

Holcomb was not invited to the scouting combine, but ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at his pro day.

“When I was a walk-on starting, I didn’t necessarily have the tangibles,” Holcomb said. “But now that I’ve grown into my body, I’ve matured throughout a lot this process. Now I’ve always had to beat people through technique or be smarter than them, but now I have the tangibles to go with it.”