A native of Denison, Iowa, Scherff attended Denison-Schleswig High School, where he was a two-way lineman, earning first team all-state honors on offense as a senior after earning second team all-state on defense as a junior. As a sophomore, he played quarterback, passing for 1,200 yards on the season. He also played basketball, where he led the state in rebounds as a senior, and baseball, where he helped his team qualify for the state tournament as a junior. Scherff was also on the school's track & field team, where he was a standout shot putter and discus thrower, earning All-State recognition. He won two state titles in the shot put as a sophomore and a senior, placed third as a freshman and second as a junior. He won the shot put event at the 2010 Drake Relays, recording a career-best throw of 18.77 meters, setting a school record. At the 2010 Iowa State T&F Championships, he placed third in the discus throw, with a personal-best throw of 48.95 meters. Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Scherff was ranked as the No. 44 offensive tackle prospect in 2010. He chose his home-state Iowa Hawkeyes over offers from Kansas State, Missouri, and Nebraska.
College career
After redshirting his initial year at Iowa, Scherff saw action at left guard in eleven games on the season, starting three. In his sophomore year, he replaced Riley Reiff as the starting left tackle. He started first seven games of season at left tackle before suffering a broken fibula and a dislocated ankle in game seven, and missed the remainder of the season due to injury. Despite being regarded one of the best offensive lineman prospects for the NFL draft after his junior year at Iowa, Scherff decided to return for his senior year. He received his B.A. degree in Leisure studies in December 2014. After the 2014 season, Scherff was awarded the Outland Trophy as the country's best interior lineman.
Professional career
Coming out of Iowa, Scherff was projected by the majority of analysts and scouts to be selected in the first round. He was ranked as the best offensive tackle in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the top interior lineman by Mike Mayock, the best offensive lineman and guard by Lance Zierlein, and top offensive tackle by Sports Illustrated. Scherff received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed the bench press and 40, 20, and 10-yard dash. Due to a hamstring injury, he was not able to finish the entire combine. On March 23, 2015, he participated at Iowa's Pro Day and completed the drills he was unable to perform at the combine. Along with the bench, he did the vertical, broad, shuttle, and 3-cone drill. By the time the draft was approaching, he was considered a top 10 overall pick. Many scouts and analysts were conflicted over his future position in the NFL, split on whether he was better suited to play offensive tackle or guard. As one of the top prospects in the draft, Scherff had meetings or visited multiple teams, including the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs. The Washington Redskins selected Scherff in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. This made him the first player from Iowa drafted in the top ten since Robert Gallery was selected second overall in 2004. On May 12, 2015, the Scherff signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $21.21 million contract with the team. He entered training camp competing with Morgan Moses for the starting right tackle position but was moved to right guard prior to the beginning of the regular season. Since he was able to handle bull rushes well, he was thought to better suit the right guard position and be responsible for a smaller area where his power would be more useful. Offensive line coachBill Callahan named him the Redskin's starting right guard to begin the season, after winning the job over Spencer Long in the preseason. Scherff made his professional debut in the Redskins' season-opening 17-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He started all 16 regular season games, played 752 snaps, and helped the Redskins finish first in the NFC East with a 9-7 record. In January 2016, he started his first career postseason game, as the Redskins were routed by the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wildcard game 35-18. During his rookie season, he was graded negatively in pass blocking by PFF after he gave up 26 hurries, eight hits, and two sacks. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 31st best offensive guard in the league. Scherff finished his second season starting in all 16 regular season games, and due to his highly regarded performance that year, he was voted to the 2017 Pro Bowl, his first such vote. He was also voted to the 2018 Pro Bowl the following year. On April 16, 2018, the Redskins picked up the fifth-year option on Scherff's contract. On November 5, he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn in Week 9. For the 2019 season, Scherff was voted to his third Pro Bowl. The same day, the Redskins placed Scherff on injured reserve due to elbow and shoulder injuries. An impending free agent in 2020, the team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Scherff prior to the start of the new league year, with him agreeing to it on April 8, 2020.
