From 6th Round Draft Picks to NFL Studs

The Redskins are a team that, despite a week 4 win against the Raiders, are still struggling on both sides of the ball. The defense is ranked 25th in pass defense 31st in rush defense and 31st in total yards allowed. RGIII and the offense have only put up 10 points in the first half this year and have seemed out of sync and just not very explosive. However, there have been a few players who continue to produce. Most notably, on offense, Alfred Morris and Pierre Garçon.

Morris is on pace for over 1,100 yards and that is while averaging only 14 carries a game instead of the 20 he averaged last season. While his stats may appear to be down much of that is caused by the Redskins going behind early in games and not being able to run the ball as much. He actually has a higher yards per carry than he did a year ago. Not to mention he already has 3 carries for 20 yards are more when he only had 9 all of last year.

For Garçon it seems likely he will have a career year as he is on pace for over 1300 yards and 8 touchdowns. His career best to this point is 947 yards and 6 touchdowns. In contrast to Morris's situation Garçon has benefited from the Redskins falling behind and having to throw the ball to catch up. Not to mention he is RGIII's favorite receiver as his 44 targets were 5th in the NFL heading into week 5.

Now, as the title suggests both Garçon and Morris are former 6th round draft picks. Garçon was drafted by the Colts in 2008 with the 205th pick overall and Morris was drafted in 2012 by the Redskins with the 173 pick overall. Digging deeper their stories have some similarities.

Both of grew up in florida and both attended colleges that aren't even close to being considered football power houses. Alfred Morris played at Florida Atlantic (a team that only won 1 game his senior year) while Garçon played division III football at Norwich University and then Mount Union College.

Garçon and Morris have proven scouts and talent evaluators wrong so far in their careers and only continue to improve and surprise. Morris has shown that speed isn't everything and Garçon has shown he can be more than just a track athlete playing football. It is impossible to give only one reason for their success obvious on the field that both of them play as though they have something to prove. Just look at them on the field. Garçon is often described as "playing angry" while Morris is rarely taken down by the first defender.

The Redskins sit at 1-3 going into their bye and will need to fight their way up through a tough schedule if they want to make the playoffs. But who better to lead them than two 6th round picks from small colleges who have beat the odds before?