The Washington Redskins have a pretty loaded backfield. Adrian Peterson is the veteran that proved last season he could still go – rushing for over 1,000 yards. Derrius Guice is the young back that everyone's excited about and expects massive things from. Then there's the receiving back in Chris Thompson, who's extremely dangerous in the open field.

Those are the clear-cut top three running backs for the Washington Redskins. That doesn't mean there isn't room for a fourth though. Samaje Perine wants that to be him, and according to John Keim on Twitter – Jay Gruden is impressed.

Samaje Perine was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth-round of the 2017 NFL Draft. In his first year, he got a decent amount of usage – rushing the ball 175 times for 603 yards and one touchdown. The 3.4 yards per carry was a bit of an issue, but there were a lot of positives as well.

However, 2018 saw him appear in just five games and get eight carries for 32 yards. That seemed to signal an ending for his time in Washington.

That being said, the Redskins would be wise to carry four running backs. Derrius Guice is coming off an ACL injury that saw him miss his entire rookie season. Chris Thompson has had the injury bug bite him basically every year – and Adrian Peterson is 34.

There's a good chance Washington will need some extra bodies at the position – and why not Perine. The club clearly believed in him a lot when they drafted him. A fourth-round pick is no light investment, and he got a lot of time on the field in his rookie season.

If Perine can become what they were hoping for, he'd be a fantastic fourth back – someone they could trust to carry a workload should injuries occur. He'd also be a great replacement for Peterson once he departs, pairing nicely with Guice.

The bottomline is, Jay Gruden singling Samaje Perine out multiple times already this Spring shouldn't go unnoticed.