Green Bay Packers: Damarious Randall film study
By Dan Dahlke
UCLA Bruins cornerback Ishmael Adams (24) is pushed out of bounds by Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Damarious Randall (3) after a 67 yard kick off return. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Randall and Special Teams
The final area of Randall’s game to take a look at is his ability on special teams. Not only has he had some experience as a returner in college, but he was a stalwart gunner in punt coverage.
Coach McCarthy has made it clear this offseason he wants more four-down players on his team, and Randall is just that.
At ASU, Randall made a lot of key plays on special teams, and this is perhaps the most underrated part of his game. Let’s look at three plays where Randall made an impact on special teams.
In this first clip Randall gets downfield and makes a big play by keeping the ball from going into the end zone so his teammate can down it at the five-yard line.
Despite being his team’s top defensive playmaker, Randall still hustled and gave maximum effort on special teams. This is something you have to admire about his game.
Here is another clip from the USC game. He flies down field and makes a big stop just after the returner receives the punt.
Again, he takes down dynamic receiver and returner Nelson Agholor. Randall made several of these type of stops as a gunner at ASU.
However, Randall not only made a lot of stops as a gunner, he also made some impact plays.
In this final clip, he comes up with a huge play against Stanford near the end of the second quarter. Unfortunately for Green Bay, it comes against Montgomery, who they also drafted this year.
Montgomery botches the punt, and Randall reacts quickly, shoves Montgomery out of the way, and recovers the fumble to give his team the ball in the red zone just before the half.
This was a big play that put the Sun Devils up two scores against Stanford going into halftime.
With Jarrett Bush and Davon House no longer on the team, the Packers are going to need their young defensive backs to step up and be key contributors on special teams this year, specifically as gunners.
Randall did this effectively in his two years at ASU. The Packers may expect him to make an immediate contribution on special teams as a rookie, while he’s earning playing time at defensive back.
Either way, Randall will find a way to make an impact as a rookie, whether it’s on special teams, as a nickel corner, or even as a safety in certain defensive packages.
I look forward to seeing what he brings to the Packers roster this season.