Kyle Shanahan says Leonard Hankerson is getting better

I know that many of you are very interested in the progress of wide receiver Leonard Hankerson, who has yet to be active for any of the Redskins’ four games this year. Here is what Kyle Shanahan had to say about him on Thursday:

“He gets a chance every day on the scout team. We coach our scout team hard. It’s as important as anything. If your scout team slacks at all, it’s going to hurt your starting defense or your starting offense. We stay on those scout team guys hard and I think it really benefits those guys, too, because they actually get a year to really practice and develop their craft. I think it really helps them. I think he’s getting better each day. He’s showing improvement each week.”

I realize that “scout team star” is far short of the expectations that many fans had for him a quarter of the way through his rookie season. The Redskins, however, traded for Jabar Gaffney and signed Donte Stallworth because they suspected that Hankerson would not be ready to play anytime soon. They have to luxury of letting their third-round pick develop without any pressure.

One issue preventing Hankerson from being active is that he does not play special teams. If you’re one of the top two or three receivers, that’s fine. But if you’re not there — and Hankerson clearly is not — you probably are not going to be active if you don’t. 

Click here to order Leonard Hankerson’s proCane Rookie Card.


(csnwashington.com)