Change Is Coming For The Redskins

by Evan Joseph ’23

 The past few weeks have been more promising for the Redskins than anything during the past five years. With the hiring of a new, experienced coaching staff, a promising young core, the upcoming draft, and a strong defense, the Redskins should show be much improved starting next year.

Over the off-season, the Redskins have already made coaching hires such as Ron Rivera as head coach, Jack Del Rio as defensive coordinator, and Scott Turner as offensive coordinator. Rivera removed the shuffleboard and ping pong tables that were commonly used by players. Doing this shows that Rivera means business and he wants his players only focused on football. Rivera has also shown much more faith in rookie QB Dwayne Haskins than Jay Gruden ever had during his time as head coach. Gruden described Haskins to the media as “very raw” and not ready to start. While this may have been true for a rookie QB it is not encouraging to hear your coach say you’re not ready to play. Also, the hiring of Del Rio could lead to major success on that side of the ball. He is an established winner and defenses coached by him have done historically well. He has worked with the Panthers, Jaguars, and Broncos. During these stints, his defenses were always towards the top in the league. 

Along with the improved coaching staff the Redskins already have young pieces that will help then win in the future. On the offensive side rookies Terry Mclaurin and Haskins  already had a connection since they both played together at OSU. This connection has translated to the NFL with Mclaurin averaging 19.3 yards per reception when thrown to by Haskins. Mclaurin made all-rookie first team with 919 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season.  Running Back Derrius Guice is one of the least talked about young pieces for the Redskins but he should be. Guice has been quite injury-prone during his NFL career but when he has been on the field he has been very productive. With only 42 attempts on the ground he accumulated 245 yards, 2 touchdowns, and in the air got 79 yards. 

The Redskins defense does possess lots of talent that will help them move forward. This defense has players such as Jonathan Allen, Matthew Ioannidis, Landon Collins, and pending free agent Ryan Kerrigan. The Redskins have already said that they plan to change their defense to a 4-3 and with their solid linebackers and d-line this should be very effective. Ioannidis had 8.5 sacks this year as a 26-year-old surpassing all expectations for him. Allen put up 6 sacks, and 66 tackles at only 25. Landon Collins at age 26 is a young safety for the Redskins and he is also the future of the secondary. Collins put up 117 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 sack, and 5 QB hits. Collins has also shown signs of greatness in his 2016 season as he was an all-pro with 5 ints, 1 touchdown, 4 sacks, 125 tackles, and 5 QB hits. One of the most important things the Redskins can do this season is resigning linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, who is a 4-time all-pro and a fan favorite in D.C.. In his 9 year career, he has racked up 90 sacks, 437 tackles, and 26 forced fumbles. 

Finally, with the upcoming draft, the Redskins are expected to select college superstar DE Chase Young with their 2nd pick in the draft.  Young is considered a generational talent and will be a plug-in starter for the Redskins. In 12 games this year at Ohio State he dominated with 16.5 sacks and 7 forced fumbles. Young is already drawing comparisons to Lawrence Taylor and should be a great fit in the Redskins system now that they are switching to a 4-3 style defense.

The Redskins over the past few weeks have been making changes essential to their future to win games. These decisions will lead to a team to reckon with in the future that will include a star-studded defense, proven coaching staff, and a developing offense laced with young stars.