Ron Rivera is doing his best to build the Washington Football Team roster the way he sees fit. With the front office additions in Martin Mayhew and Marty Hurney, Rivera surrounds himself with people he is familiar with and people he can trust. The coach-centric environment is predicated on envisioning the same philosophy. This team wants to build a gameday roster with physical football players that play the game the right way.
Adding a guy like Ryan Fitzpatrick to provide stability fits that motto. The Harvard graduate has been on more teams than most football players get to play games. You would be surprised, including this writer, to find out that Fitzpatrick ranks 14th among quarterbacks in expected points added since 2017. Although no one should consider him the team’s future, giving this team another year to build would fit this organization’s timeline.
Washington desperation would spell disaster when discussing the NFL Draft.
Now that the deed is done and the quarterback position is stable for at least one season. Washington should turn their focus to adding dept and providing the organization with playmakers as they await for the franchise quarterback to arrive in 2022. A spontaneous trade for Justin Fields or Trey Lance would be enticing, and it would send shockwaves through the district. However, acting in desperation ruins organizations; you see that every single season.
With the 2021 NFL Draft right around the corner, Washington Football Team has a decision to make: play it safe for another year or make a big move for a big-time talent at quarterback. As we roll along with our pre-draft primers, we bring you the guide to a successful draft for the Washington Football Team.
Curtis Samuel looks to ignite a porous offensive roster
William Jackson III is arguably the very best player Washington signed this offense, but Samuel was easily the most anticipated. Washington fans were able to link Samuel to this team a year ago after Rivera was the coaching hire. Terry McLaurin were best friends at Ohio State, and they were roommates, which has been pretty well documented.
The interesting part of the signing is that Scott Turner and his father Norv Turner used Samuel so much differently than Joe Brady did in 2020. Turner did his best to use Samuel vertically and off of play-action to try and tap into some of that playmaking ability. Samuel ranked 27th in the NFL in targets but ranked 11th in the NFL in targets distance, per Player Profiler.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1048990483693821953?s=20
The former Buckeye was able to put up solid numbers with the Turner’s despite having to navigate through some of the worst quarterback target accuracy metrics in the NFL. With Fitzpatrick at the helm, who is notorious for slinging it downfield, it will be interesting to watch Samuel tap into the vertical playmaking ability.
Out goes Ronald Darby and incomes Jackson, the dominant press cornerback. Bringing a press corner to the secondary allows Jack Del Rio to be a little more versatile with his playcalling on the backend. Jackson is widely considered as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL and one of the corners that will also compete in the D-gap to provide support vs. the run. Overall, Jackson is the best player to be added and will pair nicely with Kendall Fuller and Washington’s deadly pass rush.
What spots do Washington Football Team have left to fill?
Brandon Scherff is scheduled to play out the season on his second franchise tag after turning down a deal that would make him the highest-paid offensive guard in the league. Wes Schweitzer played solid football at left guard last season, and Cornelius Lucas has been an excellent pass protector in recent years. However, both guys are entering into the last year of their deal and could stand to be upgraded. The offensive tackle and offensive guard positions should be at the top of the positional needs chart.
Adding Samuel was great, but this team is by no means finished adding skill position players. This team needs to add more receivers even after the addition of Adam Humphries in the slot. You need to surround Fitzpatrick and the future franchise quarterback with a plethora of weapons. Go ahead and stack wide receiver and tight end at the top of the board.
Washington fans have begged for a good starting linebacker for years. This team has ignored the position since London Fletcher retired. They could upgrade all three base linebackers, to be completely honest. Jon Bostic is scheduled to start at the MIKE after having an awful season in 2020. Kevin Pierre-Louis flashed as a coverage linebacker, but he never sparked enough in the run game to consider keeping him long-term.
Josh Harvey-Clemons might be the starting WILL linebacker if the season started tomorrow. That needs to be fixed. Then you have Cole Holcomb, your top linebacker who needs to improve in his own right. Regardless, there should be two new starting linebackers in 2021.
Top targets in 2021 NFL Draft
Target no. 1. Alijah Vera-Tucker, IOL USC
With three offensive linemen in the final year of their contract, you would like to have some insurance for your future quarterback. Not only is Vera-Tucker a strong option, but also the most versatile player in the NFL Draft. He can immediately step in and play left tackle, left guard, right guard, and right tackle. I would expect Vera-Tucker to beat out Lucas or Schweitzer in week one and give you a starting option for the entirety of his five-year contract.
Target no. 2. Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky
After watching Pierre-Louis in the run game, Del Rio would love to deploy a run and hit weakside linebacker. Lining up Davis behind Montez Sweat would give Washington the best weakside run defense in the entire league. The one-year starter flashes intelligence in coverage and seems to understand what is going on in terms of pattern-matching and undercutting the football. Davis scored a relative athletic score of 9.88 out of 10. That number is good for 26th out of 2,128 linebackers since 1987. You might have to get Davis at pick number 19.
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1377308308768428041?s=20
Target no 3. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
Justin Fields is only a target if he slips close enough to pick 19, and you feel comfortable enough to make a play for the quarterback. By no means should Washington sell the facility and act out of desperation. However, Fields has enough upside to end up being the best quarterback in the class with ease. If teams are hesitant on some of the processing issues Fields may face at the next level, by all means, let him fall to the nation’s capital.