Rookie fourth-round pick Bashaud Breeland reportedly impressed Washington’s coaching staff in training camp, earning him some slot coverage duty on 12 snaps in the nickel package over the first two weeks.
He was playing a similar role in Week 3 against the Eagles when veteran DeAngelo Hall went down with a season-ending Achilles’ injury. Breeland took over for Hall’s at left corner after that, and through the next two games was moved almost permanently to the left outside spot (3 slot snaps compared to 83 LCB snaps).
As a starting rookie CB, Breeland has predictably been tested. In Week 4 the Giants targeted him six times and the results were six receptions, five first downs, a touchdown and a 17-yard defensive pass interference penalty.
The next week against the Seahawks he was the most targeted defender and, while his stats don’t look too bad (3-5 passing for 32 yard), they don’t tell the whole story. The two incompletions were actually first down catches that were dropped by the receivers. He also missed a tackle that allowed a 19-yard gain on 2nd and 20, and another tackle on a 26-yard WR screen for a TD that was negated by a false start penalty.
Can whoever is playing quarterback for Arizona this week take similar advantage of the rookie?
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