Julio Jones: Three under-the-radar trade destination possibilities
By Joel Deering
2. Washington Football Team
Even though the Washington Football Team finished with a record of 7-9 last season, they were still able to win the NFC East. The biggest reason this team was able to win their division, was because of their defense. The Washington defense finished fourth in points allowed per game, giving up an average of just 20.6.
Entering this season, Washington should have one of the best defensive units in the NFL once again, as they made moves this offseason to fill some holes on the defensive side. Although the defense was one of the best a season ago, the same could not be said for their offense, which ranked 25th in points per game (20.9).
Part of the problem for Washington was having several starting quarterbacks throughout the season. This offseason, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was brought in. Fitzpatrick should bring some sort of stability to the position this coming season, but with that being said, he’s far from a franchise quarterback. Fitzpatrick has actually never made the playoffs. He’s a reliable quarterback, but that’s simply all he is.
If Washington is going to make the playoffs with Fitzpatrick behind the wheel of the offense, they should add a big-time weapon in Julio Jones to help him make that long eluded playoff appearance.
Washington has a star receiver in Terry McLaurin, but aside from him, there’s not much firepower on offense. The addition of Curtis Samuel should help (77 receptions for 851 yards last season), but they need more if they truly want to make a run at winning the NFC East again.
With Dak Prescott and several other starters being back from injury for the Dallas Cowboys, Jalen Hurts wanting to prove he’s the franchise quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Saquon Barkley being back from injury for the New York Giants, 7-9 is not going to win the NFC East again.
With a top-ranked defense, Washington doesn’t need a top offense to win this division, but they do need an offense ranked higher than 25th. Ryan Fitzpatrick could give them that, but he’d have a much greater chance if he had Julio Jones to throw to.