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It's not every day that you see a 5-foot-8, 200-pound linebacker. It's even more rare that a player that size turns into an all-conference performer at the college level. When he does, though, it's not a surprise that the player would merit a look from an NFL team. 

Washington announced Tuesday that it signed a player that fits exactly that description. That player, Nico Marley, also happens to be the grandson of reggae legend Bob Marley. 

Marley was twice named a first-team All-American Athletic Conference performer at Tulane as he racked up 168 tackles (26 for loss), four sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and four forced fumbles during his junior and senior seasons. Marley was brought into mini-camp on a tryout and apparently impressed team brass enough last week to merit a contract offer. 

Marley, whose father Rohan played linebacker for the University of Miami in the 1990s, knows that people think his size is a detriment, and he addressed that prior to the draft in an interview with The Undefeated. 

"Coming out of high school, I heard people say, 'He's just a high school player -- he's not built for [college],' so it would be weird if I wasn't the underdog," Marley said. "It would be weird if I was a top prospect, because [being an underdog] is all I know. When I got to Tulane, I was just a guy who got an extra scholarship. People figured I'd just be a special teams guy. I don't think they thought I'd end up being who I became. I'm so grateful to Tulane for giving me my only Division I opportunity, but I knew they had some doubts about me."

Former Tulane coach Curtis Johnson similarly felt Marley's size was not an issue.

"Besides his size, which is a big factor for everyone, this guy could have played anywhere in the country with his speed and athleticism," Johnson said. "He's a tackling machine, a sideline-to-sideline player who tackles with more impact than most guys much bigger than him. I mean, he was everything you wanted in a linebacker."

A sideline-to-sideline tackling machine sounds like exactly the kind of player that Washington could use at the second level. The team's run defense was brutal last season, and adding talent to the front seven would go a long way toward rectifying that issue. Marley obviously has a long way to go to make the roster, but getting a contract is the first step in that direction.