Washington Redskins Roster Bubble is No Bubble at All

The Washington Redskins roster is so flush with talent that even some of this year’s draft picks may find themselves on the outside looking in…

This is uncharted territory for Washington Redskins fans as it’s not yet June and the Redskins’ roster is all but set in stone.

Over the past few years, decades actually, the Redskins went into minicamps, training camp, and preseason games with enormous uncertainty regarding who would make the final roster and what the starting lineups would look like. That’s not the case this year and there is a very encouraging explanation as to why.

With the exception of only one player, the Washington Redskins will have exactly the same starting defense they had last year.

Don’t panic. This is a good thing.

Last year’s defensive stats are meaningless when you consider that 10 of 11 starters were injured at some point during last season prompting 9 of them to miss at least one game and several of them to miss most of the season.

Additionally, the second team defense remains in tact as well. 10-of-11 second string defensive players are back again this year.

The only changes to the starting defense will be either Quenton Dunbar or Fabian Moreau replacing Brashaud Breeland at corner and first round draft pick DaRon Payne playing Nose Tackle when the Skins line up in that formation.

Ultimately, I believe Payne will demonstrate that he is much more than just a space eater and will assume a larger role in the regular defensive line rotation. With regards to the cornerback position, swapping out Dunbar or Moreau for Breeland is being done by choice as Breeland is still available and the Skins could bring him back if they wanted to. They don’t. Dunbar and Moreau are both excellent. One of them needs to be starting.

It is not out of the question that both of them crack the starting lineup depending on whether Moreau can learn to play the slot.

Other than swapping out Dunbar (or Moreau) for Breeland and inserting Payne at NT instead of forcing Ziggy Hood to play out position, the defense remains in tact.

The Redskins will also have a new slot corner and although Kendall Fuller was not considered a starter he played the slot position very well. Not to worry, the Skins have already addressed that need.

They brought in veteran Orlando Scandrick from Dallas as a solid option but he may end up providing only security and depth as Washington has two other players who are sure to make a run at securing that role for themselves.

Fabian Moreau has not been on the field enough to make an informed assessment as to what he could bring to this defense. Suffice to say, I doubt there is a whole lot this first round talent can not do. He would look formidable in the slot playing alongside Josh Norman and Quenton Dunbar.

But, Moreau is not Scandrick’s only competition. Josh Holsey returns to challenge for playing time as well. Holsey is an unsung talent in the Redskin secondary. He struggled to get on the field last year as the cornerback position was one of the few position groups not decimated by injuries.

With a healthy Josh Norman, Breeland, and Fuller, the opportunities were just not there, especially when the coaches were chomping at the bit to see what Moreau could do, not to mention the other tremendous backup they had in Quenton Dunbar.

I think Greg Stroman was a terrific pick in the seventh round. But, for him to make the final 53-man roster this year he’s going to have to dazzle as a punt returner, something he is certainly capable of doing. Otherwise, it’s not realistic to expect him to beat out Dunbar, Moreau or Holsey.

In fact, if Josh Norman is not on the team next year due to his $17 million salary, those three players will be Washington’s starting three corners.

As it stands now, the Redskins are already faced with a roster dilemma that is probably going to necessitate keeping 26 defensive players as opposed to only 24 on offense, and of course the two kickers and long snapper.

Sixth and seventh round picks Shaun Dion Hamilton, the inside linebacker from Alabama, and Greg Stroman the cornerback from Virginia Tech, were great picks with tremendous value. But, barring injuries to other more established players, they are destined to start their careers with the Redskins on the practice squad.

And not for lack of talent on their part. To the contrary, it’s just that Washington, when healthy, has too much talent on their defense to add five new players. The new additions added through the draft this year will be limited to DaRon Payne, Tim Settle, and Troy Apke.

The only way to make some room for any more new guys would be to limit the number of defensive and offensive linemen the ‘Skins keep. However, based on last year’s debacle I expect Washington to keep seven and 10 respectively. The downside to relegating talented players like Stroman and Hamilton, (and Quin Blanding), to the practice squad is tempered by the silver lining of having quality players being developed for the future.

The 26 defensive players that make the Washington Redskins’ roster are:

Defensive Linemen: (7) Jonathan Allen, DaRon Payne, Matt Ioaniddis, Anthony Lanier, Tim Settle, Ziggy Hood, and Stacey McGee. (Keeping both Hood and McGee is a result of the travesty incurred by the D-Line due to injuries last year.)

Linebackers: (9) Outside – Ryan Kerrigan, Preston Smith, Ryan Anderson, Purnell McPhee. Inside – Zach Brown, Mason Foster, Zach Vigil, Josh Harvey-Clemons and Martrell Spaight. (I have emphasized repeatedly that Spaight is undervalued by many fans. But, the coaches understand how good this guy is and, in my opinion, is a lock to make the team.)

Defensive Backs: (10) Corners- Josh Norman, Fabian Moreau, Josh Holsey, Quenton Dunbar and Orlando Scandrick. Safeties- D. J. Swearinger, Montae Nicholson, DeShazor Everett, Fish Smithson, and Troy Apke. Apke is an unknown entity. 4.3 speed and a 41 inch vertical don’t always translate to NFL caliber safeties- but it doesn’t hurt.

Smithson may well be the most unappreciated player on the team. His tape at Kansas was mesmerizing. He was dominant. He is extremely coachable and just keeps getting better and better. Smithson could start for Washington this year if they needed him to. And, in Everett the Redskins have a good back up Safety that just happens to be one of the best special teams players in the NFL – he’s not going anywhere.

The offensive side of the ball is not quite as clear-cut, but close.

Drafting Geron Christian in the third round presented the possibility that Washington would keep only 9 offensive linemen in that as a quality swing tackle he plays two positions. But again, this roster will be developed and finalized with the traumatic memories from last year of not having enough lineman to field a team.

Aside from making it impossible to win when some of the linemen on the field have not yet received their playbooks (a bit of a stretch but not by much), having to bring in players off the street, some of whom were cut from this team earlier the same year, is embarrassing for coaches and front office managers.

Fans around the league, and in the Washington area, in particular, care little that the level of injuries to the Redskins’ team was unprecedented in NFL history, all they saw was a team that was unprepared as they struggled to field a team late in the year. For this reason, despite the terrific third round selection of Christian, I expect the ‘Skins to keep 10 offensive linemen.

The 24 offensive players that make the Washington Redskins roster are:

Offensive Linemen: (10) Trent Williams, Ty Nyshke, Chase Roullier, Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, Shaun Lauvao, Geron Christian, Tony Bergstrom, Tyler Catalina, and Kyle Kalis.

Running Backs: (3) Chris Thompson, Samaje Perine, and Derrius Guice.

Tight Ends: (3) Jordan Reed, Vernon Davis, and Jeremy Sprinkle.

Wide Receivers: (6) Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson, Jamison Crowder, Robert Davis, Maurice Harris, and Brian Quick. I really hope Davis and Quick get more opportunities this year. They have the potential to be phenomenal. They both go 6’3″, 220 and lack only the chance to show how dominant they can be.

Excellent blockers, they represent slightly undersized but blazing fast tight ends when on the field. Davis runs a 4.4 and Quick a 4.5, extremely impressive for guys their size. Cousins only threw seven passes to Quick last year. Only one of those could honestly be considered a good pass.

Nevertheless, Quick caught all seven, on occasion ripping the ball from the hands of the defensive back and on a couple plays made catches that frankly most NFL receivers don’t make. There is a very good reason Quick was the 33rd player selected in the NFL draft some seven years ago.

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Alas, his time has come, at least as a superb backup, if only he gets a chance. The three chances that Trey Quinn, who I love, beats out any one of these six receivers are slim, none, and injury. Quinn can back up Jamison Crowder in the slot from the practice squad.

As a special teamer, Stroman is twice the punt returner Quinn is, so it is unlikely Trey makes the 53-man roster in that capacity. But, this is a blessing in disguise for Quinn as a year on the practice squad would be the best possible thing that could happen to him with regards to his future as an NFL player.

Quarterbacks: (2) Alex Smith and Colt McCoy.

It has come to the point where I just move to another bar stool if I find myself sitting next to someone that doesn’t think Alex Smith is an upgrade over Kirk Cousins. Comparing the two is paramount to comparing an ‘A-lister’ to an ‘Also-Ran’.

In short, no contest.

Likewise, with the obvious exception of what they have up in Philly, name me a better backup QB (for the Redskins) than Colt McCoy. All I can add here is that I hope Washington does not keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. It would be a waste of a roster spot and would mean that a player that could play a significant role for the Redskins this year would not make the team.

Reviewing this roster makes it difficult to envision any shocking developments. There won’t be too many players on the bubble because while nothing with the Redskins is ever set in stone, this roster is set in cement.

While not completely hardened, barring injuries or any more bizarre retirements, the cement is drying quickly, making it increasingly difficult for any more new players to make this roster.

To reiterate, for a team to have such a clear picture of what their final roster is going to look like in May can mean only one thing: Talent, talent everywhere.

Redskins fans can only hope that all that talent translates into victories on the field. Because, let’s be honest, listening to a General Manager, in this case, Bruce Allen, constantly rambling on and on about, “Winning off the field,” becomes tiresome and a bit nauseating when the team seldom wins on the field.

If that doesn’t change this year, something else is going to have to.

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