DB Donald Washington III (Kansas City Chiefs)

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Donald Washington Week 1 starter?

And for those wondering, the mystery of Brandon Flowers' shoulder injury continues. This means that someone will have to step in and take his place. Is that rookie Donald Washington?

I'm not sure. Travis Daniels and Maurice Leggett are ahead of him on the depth chart. Leggett plays a lot of nickelback but I see no reason why he doesn't step in in place of Flowers tonight at some point. Leggett is a rising star on this team and I bet he plays pretty well.

On the other hand, Washington has been running with the first team in place of Flowers this past week in practice. Sounds like Washington may get the start.

Five Things to Watch for Tonight as the Chiefs Take on the?Rams - Arrowhead Pride

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Another rookie, fourth-round draft pick Donald Washington, replaced Maurice Leggett as the nickel back during the game in Philadelphia.

This stretch of the schedule isn’t helping Chiefs - Kansas City Star

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Donald was inactive yesterday...

Page inactive | Red Zone

Cornerback Donald Washington started last Sunday's game against Dallas in the nickel-back role. At least he was for most of the first quarter. When Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin beat him badly in one-on-one coverage, Washington had played his last down of nickel back. The play went for nothing as Austin could not hold onto the Tony Romo pass in the end zone, but the next time the KC nickel was on the field, Maurice Leggett was in that role. Washington has not been credited with a single tackle on special teams. He's generally on the kickoff team and punt return team, but a young man with his athletic skills should be on the field for all four major kicking game units.

NFL - - FOX Sports on MSN

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DW continues to be inactive...

Page, Albert, Engram out | Red Zone

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Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs must get more contributions from the rookies in the season's second half, but the problem is none appear ready. Only seventh-round K Ryan Succop has produced.

Donald Washington was tried as the nickel back, but after getting burned he was taken out and lately has been inactive on game days.

NFL Team Reports: AFC West - The Trenches - The Trenches - Sporting News

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Donald Washington, Fourth Round Pick (102 overall)
Meaningful Stats: 3 total tackles, 0 interceptions, 0 pass defense

What Was Said: "Washington is a tall corner but lacks exceptional speed. He came out a year early, plays well in coverage and had an outstanding three-cone time. He may have been better served to stay in school because he's unpolished in certain areas. He may struggle early until he learns the pro game." -NFL.com

What We Can Tell: Thus far, we've been through three rookies and again, we can't tell much. Although in the quote noted above, this was quite expected. Even the people we interviewed around Ohio State couldn't tell me much about Donald Washington. The skills and athleticism might be there, but we've yet to see those translate to anything meaningful in the pro game.

And there's really been no chance so far. Those three tackles all came in the Cowboys game in Week Five and then he's been inactive for every contest ever since. It'd be nice to see him get even some junk time, but hey, I'm not the coach.

The thing about this pick, to me, is how surprising it was. A project like this is usually reserved for the fifth round or later. After all, in perspective, this pick was sitting right outside the Top 100. And I had a hard time finding anyone thinking Donald Washington was one of the 100 best players available in the draft. With so many obvious positions of need on the Chiefs, this was the draft's curveball on my end. That's not say that Washington won't pan out at all, it's more the factors surrounding the choice.

Grading the Chiefs Rookies At The Halfway Point, Part?Two - Arrowhead Pride