Rookie wide receiver Ryan Grant continued his impressive early performance for the Washington Redskins on Monday night, highlighted by a 14-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
Building off the momentum created by running back Evan Royster's touchdown late in the second quarter, the Redskins drove 46 yards in six plays coming out of halftime.
After driving all the way down to the 14-yard line, third-year quarterback Kirk Cousins found Grant in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown after the 2014 fifth-round pick disconnected from Cleveland Browns cornerback Royce Adams.
The Washington Redskins hosted the Cleveland Browns at FedExField for Week 2 of the 2014 preseason on Monday, Aug. 18, 2014.
"They were playing man-to-man, I believe it was high-low, I got a good release at the line on top of Kirk threw a great ball," Grant said of the play. "I came down with the catch and put six on the board."
Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said he continues to be impressed by Grant, who also drew praise throughout training camp for playing "like a 10-year veteran."
"Ryan Grant continues to make plays like he's been doing all camp," Gruden said. "It's good to see the consistency."
While the play looked relatively easy for the rookie, he explained that much more goes into his production that was is seen on the field.
"I study myself a lot, critique myself…very detail oriented," Grant said after the game. "At this point, I'm just ready to study myself and critique myself and everything that I do."
In total, Grant hauled in a team-high four catches for 44 yards.
On his first two catches, he displayed good footwork, an area of his game he's been concentrating on improving before the regular season starts.
"I don't want them to just sit there," Grant said of the cornerbacks he faces. "I try to move them laterally and I can release inside or release outside. My release, taking air out of my release so the cornerback won't be able to play sideways, you know, just things of that nature."
Moving forward, while Grant still has a few more opportunities to show what he can do in a game situation, he's glad he can put positive plays like his touchdown reception on film.
"It's always good to put good things on film," he said. "No matter who the opponent is, I always have to put good things on film because all the teams are watching."
.
.
.
