Saahdiq Charles
No. 77 – Washington Commanders | |||||||
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Position: | Guard | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Jackson, Mississippi | July 26, 1999||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 321 lb (146 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Mississippi) | ||||||
College: | LSU (2017–2019) | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2020 / round: 4 / pick: 108 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2022 | |||||||
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Saahdiq Charles (born July 26, 1999) is an American football guard for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by Washington in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Charles was a member of the LSU team that won the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Early life and high school
Charles grew up in New Orleans until his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[1] He and his family lived in Houston, Valdosta, Georgia and Montgomery, Alabama before settling in Jackson, Mississippi. Charles attended Madison-Ridgeland Academy, where played offensive and defensive line on the football team.[2][3] A 4-star recruit according to rivals.com, Charles committed to play college football at LSU over offers from Florida, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, among others.[4][5]
College career
Charles played in all 13 of the Tigers' games with nine starts as a true freshman in 2017 and was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team. He started ten games at left tackle as a sophomore.[6]
During his junior season, Charles was suspended for the entirety of the Tigers' non-conference schedule due to a violation of team rules, but started the final nine games of the season at left tackle as the Tigers won the 2020 National Championship.[7][8] Following the end of the season, Charles declared for the 2020 NFL Draft, forgoing his senior season.[9]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | ||||||
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6 ft 4+1⁄8 in (1.93 m) |
321 lb (146 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
5.05 s | 1.87 s | 3.01 s | ||||||
All values from NFL Combine[10][11] |
Charles was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round, 108th overall, of the 2020 NFL Draft.[12] He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 22, 2020.[13] After missing the first five games of the season due to injury, Charles made his NFL debut in the Week 6 game against the New York Giants. Despite taking reps in training camp at offensive tackle, the team started him at left guard replacing Wes Martin, who had struggled in first five games as the starter.[14] Charles left the game in the first quarter due to a dislocated knee cap,[15] and was placed on injured reserve on October 24, 2020.[16]
Charles had his second career start and his first at tackle in a Week 8 game against the Denver Broncos in 2021.[17] He was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on November 9, 2021,[18] but was placed back on the active roster seven days later.[19] In the Week 15 and Week 16 games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, respectively, Charles started at right guard in place of Brandon Scherff who was on the team's COVID-19 reserve list.
In Week 4 of the 2022 season, Charles took over at right guard after starter Trai Turner was benched. Following the game, Charles was announced as the new starter at right guard.[20]
References
- ^ Edholm, Eric (February 26, 2020). "LSU's Saahdiq Charles tries to put 'selfish and stupid mistake' behind him at NFL scouting combine". Yahoo Sports.
- ^ Cleveland, Tyler (January 8, 2020). "Guarding the Best: Former MRA Patriot to play for college football championship". Madison County Journal.
- ^ Boudwin, Julie (May 19, 2016). "Katrina forced 2017 recruit Saahdiq Charles to Mississippi, but LSU could bring him home". The Times-Picayune.
- ^ Sammon, Will (May 24, 2016). "Saahdiq Charles commits to LSU over Mississippi State". The Clarion-Ledger.
- ^ "Saahdiq Charles, 2017 Offensive Guard - Rivals.com". N.rivals.com. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
- ^ Kubena, Brooks (August 9, 2019). "LSU's Saahdiq Charles, latecomer to left tackle, is prepared for a breakout season". The Advocate.
- ^ West, Glen (March 27, 2020). "Road to the Pros: LSU Tackle Saahdiq Charles' Off the Field Concerns Could Supersede On Field Talent". SI.com.
- ^ Shipp, Sonny (April 14, 2020). "CBSSports.com analyst likes Saahdiq Charles more than scouts do". 247Sports.com.
- ^ Lindsley, Amanda (January 15, 2020). "LSU's Saahdiq Charles declares for NFL Draft". WFAB.com.
- ^ "Saahdiq Charles Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Saahdiq Charles, LSU, OT, 2020 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Stackpole, Kyle (April 25, 2020). "Redskins Draft Tackle Saahdiq Charles With Fourth-Round Pick". Redskins.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Fortier, Sam; Jhabvala, Nicki (July 23, 2020). "No. 2 overall pick Chase Young signs with Washington". Washington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ Hailey, Peter (October 16, 2020). "Washington is giving Charles practice reps at guard due to 'need'". NBCSports.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ Lingebach, Chris (October 19, 2020). "Reports: Saahdiq Charles could return after bye week, after suffering dislocated kneecap". Radio.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ "Washington Places Saahdiq Charles, Antonio Gandy-Golden On IR; Pulls 2 WRs From Practice Squad". Washington Commanders. October 24, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ Manning, Bryan (November 2, 2021). "Snap counts from Washington's Week 8 loss". USAToday.com.
- ^ Manning, Bryan (10 November 2021). "Washington offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles placed on COVID list". Washington Football Wire. USA Today. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Washington Football Team Public Relations (November 16, 2021). "Washington places Chase Young on IR amid multiple roster moves". Washington Commanders. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ Hailey, Peter (October 6, 2022). "Charles, Turner and Washington's changing of the (right) guard". NBCSports.com.
External links
- 1999 births
- Living people
- African-American players of American football
- American football offensive tackles
- American football offensive guards
- LSU Tigers football players
- Players of American football from Jackson, Mississippi
- Players of American football from New Orleans
- Washington Commanders players
- Washington Football Team players
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople