Last Year:
Record: 9-7
Offense: 353.8 YPG (17th), 24.3 PPG (10th)
Defense: 380.6 YPG (28th), 23.7 (17th)
Of all the 4 teams in the NFC East, the last 1 you’d expect to win the division in 2015 was the Washington Redskins. However, that’s exactly what they did. Some might say it was by default and there might be some truth to that, but there is no doubt the Redskins performed better than most thought they could and they deserve credit. 1 of the biggest reasons for their success was the development of QB Kirk Cousins who played really well. A lot of skill players stepped up for the Redskins most notably tight end Jordan Reed who emerged as 1 of the game’s best at the position and slot receiver Jamison Crowder who really stepped up as both Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon battled injury at various points throughout the year. The defense, on the other hand, was not very good. They allowed over 380 yards per game and nearly 24 points per game. They were 1 of the worst run defenses in the NFL.
Offseason:
Key Acquisitions: CB. Josh Norman, TE. Vernon Davis, S. David Bruton
Key Loses: DE. Jason Hatcher, S. Dashon Goldson
2016 Draft Picks
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(22) | Josh Doctson | WR | TCU |
| 2(22) | Su’a Cravens | S | USC |
| 3(21) | Kendall Fuller | CB | Virginia Tech |
| 5(13) | Matt Ioannidis | DT | Temple |
| 6(12) | Nate Sudfeld | QB | Indiana |
| 7(11) | Steven Daniels | ILB | Boston College |
| 7(21) | Keith Marshall | RB | Georgia |
2016 Outlook
Coaching Staff
HC: Jay Gruden
OC: Sean McVay
DC: Joe Barry
ST: Ben Kotwica
Projected Depth Chart
Offense
QB. Kirk Cousins, Colt McCoy
RB. Matt Jones, Chris Thompson
WR. Desean Jackson, Josh Doctson
WR. Pierre Garcon, Ryan Grant
WR. Jamison Crowder
TE. Jordan Reed, Vernon Davis
TE. Niles Paul, Logan Paulsen
LT. Trent Williams, Cody Booth
LG. Spencer Long, Arie Kouandijo
C. Kory Lightensteiger, Austin Reiter
RG. Brandon Scherff, Takoby Cofield
RT. Morgan Moses, Ty Nsekhe
Defense
DE. Chris Baker, Stephen Paea
NT. Kedrick Golston, Jerrell Powe
DE. Trent Murphy, Kendall Reyes
OLB. Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy
MLB. Will Compton, Carlos Fields Jr
MLB. Perry Riley, Mason Foster
OLB. Preston Smith, Houston Bates
CB. Josh Norman, Will Blackmon
SS. David Burton, Duke Ihenacho
FS. Deangelo Hall, Geno Matias-Smith
CB. Bashaud Breeland, Jeremy Harris
NB. Quinton Dunbar
Special Teams
K. Dustin Hopkins
P. Tress Way
Breakdown
Offense:
Offensively, the Redskins have a lot of playmakers on the roster and are primed to put up points this season. The strength of the team is their skill players, more specifically the receiving corps. Washington is 4 deep at receiver and 3 deep at tight end. Desean Jackson is older, but he’s still a legitimate deep threat and defensive backs have to respect him when he’s on the field. Opposite of him is Pierre Garcon, who has been a good receiver for the past few years, but has some durability issues. Jamison Crowder is the slot man and he really emerged last season for Washington. And they drafted Josh Doctson with their 1st-round pick, who might have been the best receiving prospect in this year’s class. At tight end, the primary guy is Jordan Reed, who some think is the 2nd-most talented player in the NFL at that position. Washington figures to use a lot of 2 tight end sets as well which is where Niles Paul and Vernon Davis figure to get snaps as well. They’re not as strong at the RB position, which is headed by Matt Jones, who wasn’t very impressive last year, and not much proven depth behind him. Which means that it’s going to be a real prove it season for Kirk Cousins, who is playing on a 1-year franchise tag deal and looking to perform in hopes of earning a long term contract. He played very well last season but the question is whether or not it was a blip or trend. With all the receiving weapons this team has, I think the odds are definitely in Cousins’ favor. On the offensive line, the Redskins return all 5 starters from what was a pretty effective group a year ago and they have a chance to be better. Trent Williams is the starting LT and stud among the group. At the other tackle, the most improved award has to go to Morgan Moses, the teams 3rd round pick in 2014. In the interior, their 2015 1st-round pick Brandon Scherff really came on strong down the stretch and looks to be the top player on the interior of this group. Another 3rd-round pick in 2014 Spencer Long ended up getting the job due to injury and looks to be the favorite to keep it. At center, Kory Lichtensteiger had a down year and some injuries and will look to have a bounce back season in 2016. The lack of proven talent at the RB position could be an issue, but overall the Redskins have plenty of talent to potentially be a top 10 offense.
Defense:
Defensively, the Redskins struggled last season, but are hoping a big free agent addition to their secondary in cornerback Josh Norman will make a huge impact. At the other starting corner will be Bashaud Breeland, who is on the verge of becoming a pro bowl player in his own right. Last season, Deangelo Hall made the transition from corner to free safety nicely and looks to have another good season in that spot for the Redskins. The team will look to replace Dashon Goldson at the other safety spot with David Bruton, who comes over from the Broncos defense where he was in a reserve role and will look to take over a starting job. At inside linebacker, the Redskins aren’t great. Perry Riley is the best of the bunch but he’s certainly no great player and Will Compton, a former undrafted free agent in 2013, looks to be the other starter. They are a lot stronger on the edge at OLB where Ryan Kerrigan and 2nd-year player Preston Smith, who had 8 sacks as a rookie, both can really get after the QB. Up front, Washington really struggled, but Chris Baker is legit at defensive end. In the middle, nose tackle Kedric Golston is a marginal player that was picked in the 6th round back in ’06 and we could see Stephen Paea or Jerrell Powe end up getting more snaps there. And at the other end will be their 2nd-round pick in 2014, Trent Murphy, who is moving from the outside linebacker position to defensive end after bulking up in the offseason. Overall, I still think the Redskins are gonna have issues stopping the run but they do have capable pass rushers and a quality secondary so the defense shouldn’t be as bad as it was last year.
