I’m back baby! Nothing gets me more excited about the upcoming Redskins season than the speculation on who we’re going to draft at #15 (or who we’re going to trade that pick for *cough Rosen cough*). However, let’s take a moment a recap what has happened since the off-season began.

RECAP:

1. Case Keenum acquired for peanuts (swapped 6th for broncos 7th rounder – broncos paying half his salary)
2. Zack Brown cut
3. Landon Collins signed for 6yr/ $84 mil/ $45 mil guaranteed
4. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix signs with Bears
5. Adrian Peterson re-signed for 2yr/ 8 mil
6. Matt Ioannidis signs 3 year/ $21.5 mil extension
7. Rueben Foster not given a suspension
8. No one on the coaching staff got fired – HOW?!
9. Bruce Allen/ Doug Williams and all their minions did not get fired either – HOW?!

The off-season started off ugly when the Snyder essentially ignored the fan base when the hashtag #FireBruceAllen was plastered on every redskins social media post.  However, as much as I wanted everyone to get fired at the end of the season, I’m content with how things have played out. Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener. For example, the Cardinals are now on to their 2nd head coach in consecutive years after Arians was fired and are drafting #1 overall. Further, they hired a head coach that did not have a winning record at Texas Tech and is already making headlines with his unorthodox coaching habits (Kliff Kingsbury plans to give Cardinals ‘cellphone breaks’ because they need ‘that social media fix’).  The Jets hired crazy eyes Adam Gase from the Dolphins (below)

And the Bucs hired Bruce Arians – the guy the Cardinals fired! So all in all, cannot tell me that keeping Jay Gruden was a bad call given the coaches that were available. Just answer this question to yourself when you’re upset about retaining Gruden – were the Redskins in playoff contention when Alex Smith got hurt? Yes they were heading for 6-4 but at that moment they were 6-3 and on top of the division with a chance to bury the Cowboys on Thanksgiving the next week.

You can make the argument that last season was yet another year lost to injuries considering we, once again, had the most players on IR than any other team in the league. I mean heck, it felt like losing Guice in preseason was enough to de-rail the team. Luckily we were able to pick up Peterson and ride him to some early season success. Losing Scherff midseason was almost as big as losing Smith. He truly was the anchor to the run game and it became all too apparent towards the end of the season. Losing Paul Richardson early didn’t hurt as much it felt like Alex Smith couldn’t throw the ball further than 10 yards at times and losing Thompson and Reed are just expected at this point. Defensively, losing Dunbar hurt the secondary and having Montae Nicholson get in a bar fight midseason thrust Ha Ha Clinton Dix into the spotlight where he was able to single handedly give our rivals playoff berths.  I digress.

WHERE ARE WE NOW:

The redskins have holes at every position outside of defensive line; every position is a position of need.  This is one of the most important drafts in a long time for the organization. The front office believes that without the record setting injuries we’ve had over the last two years, we’re a playoff team. However, most fans think the redskins are closer to 2-14 than they are the playoffs and think we should tank for two years for a chance at Clemson star QB Trevor Lawrence.  So where are we?

Bill Parcel’s said it best, “You are what your record says you are”. The Redskins were 7-9 last year even with another record number of injuries. The defense was one of the best in the league before they brought in Clinton-Dix. There were analysts that said the Redskins had a defense that was “Super Bowl worthy” at one point. My only word of advice to Redskins front office – keep it simple, stupid(s). Build the defense.  Luckily already started by brining in Landon Collins who should stabilize the backend of the defense far better than Swearinger ever could (and especially without all the finger-pointing in the media). Sean Dion-Hamilton now steps into the Mason Foster role in his second season at ILB and hopefully turns Rueben Foster into the beast he was at Alabama. You have leadership from the front with Jonathan Allen and DaRon Payne who create havoc up the middle and Kerrigan is good for 10-14 sacks a year.

However, they lack a consistent offense. When the running game is on, the offense is on. When it’s not, the offense is not. Gruden’s offense is widely praised for ‘scheming’ receivers open but that has not led to much success after Cousins left.

What the Redskins desperately need is star power. I hoped that Guice could have been that star we so desperately needed but he was hurt in the blink of an eye. Paul Richardson was supposed to be our deep threat but he couldn’t stay healthy and Smith couldn’t make the throws. Reed was supposed to ‘take the next step’ with Smith who loves targeting TE’s but he never seemed to gel with Smith and as he’s shown throwout his career, he could not stay healthy. Our offensive line was supposed to be the best in the league but once one player goes down, our depth is exposed.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE:

Our picks are as follows:  Rd1 #15, Rd2 #46, Rd3 #76, Rd3 #96, Rd5 #153, Rd5 #173, RD6 #206, Rd7 #227, Rd7 #253.  We have four picks in the top 100 and nine picks in the whole draft. The Redskins need star power but most importantly they need depth. Both are easier said than done. Their late round picks are just as important as the first four. Their is no reason to believe that our best players will be healthy for all 16.

The Redskins made a good decision picking up Keenum. Keenum is a safety blanket in case they can’t land a QB in this draft and assurance that we will never see Mark Sanchez ever again. I can see the Redskins taking a number of players at #15 and I’d be happy with all of them.  Honestly, the only mistake the Redskins can make in the 1st round is either trading up and mortgaging their future for one of these QBs.  In the next few blogs, I’ll start my breakdown of every position and go through some draft day scenarios.

The Redskins only have one pick (as of now) for todays 2nd and 3rd rounds so we should know quickly who our next pick is. Here are some players I have my fingers crossed for:

Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia: My 4th rated RB (slightly above Guice) would be a great fit for our offense. He was Georgia’s bell-cow and helped take them to the National Championship. Chubb had a bad knee injury his junior year and had probably his worst game of his college career in the National Championship against Bama (led by Payne). Yet, when I put those concerns aside I see a more complete back that Guice and a guy who has great balance, strength, and vision.  Not to mention he’s quicker than he looks – 4.52 40. Chubb should be there at #44 and hopefully will start for us right away.

Harold Landry, EDGE, BC: Landry (my #2 rated DE/ Edge rusher) should have been picked in the round pick. He was a big reason in why I called the Saints “losers” in my prior blog. They could have stayed put at 25 and got Landry thus saving their 1st pick for next year. Landry is a slim, speed rusher who speed off the line of scrimmage is simply unmatched in this draft class. I do not expect the skins to the have a chance to draft him but if he’s there, you have to take this guy.

Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa: Here is another player that should have been drafted in the 1st round. Josh Jackson is my #2 rated CB and to me, there was some separation between Ward (#1), Jackson and the rest of the class. The concerns on him was scouts wondering if he was just a one year wonder (only started 14 games in college). All I know is the guy led college football in interceptions (8), and passes defended (26). He, like Landry, will most likely be picked early but if he’s there, you have to take him.

Justin Reid, S, Stanford: Getting Reid in the 2nd round may quiet everyone complaining about the skins passing on Derwin James in the 1st.  Reid stands 6’1″ and weighs 206 lbs. He may not be the hitter the James is but he is certainly just as good in coverage. Like Landry and Jackson, I’m surprised he’s still on the board and would be a steal if he fell to #44.

Dallas Goedert, TE, SDST: This may not seem like the sexy 2nd round pick but the Redskins offense needs play makers and Goedert is certainly that. He is my #2 rated TE but of the top three he may have the most upside. Dallas stands 6’5″ and weighs 256lbs. He dominated FCS play to the tune of 1293 yds and 11 tds his senior year which made him a finalist for the Walter Peyton Award (FCS Heisman).  Goedert catches everything and has a knack for making incredible one-handed grabs. I honestly think he could be the next Gronk if he beefs up a bit. My concern is his blocking (can’t seem to find those highlights) but he would be an outstanding 2nd round steal and a great insurance policy if (when) Reed gets hurt again.

James Daniels, C, Iowa: Can’t go wrong with an offensive lineman from Iowa, right? How about a guy who started every game since he was a true freshman? Daniels is 6’3″ 306 and was my #2 rated offensive lineman in this draft. Daniels would start right away and complete our offensive line at either center or left guard.

Tim Settle, DT, VT:  Now this may be crazy since we just drafted a defensive tackle in the 1st round but hear me out. He is my #3 rated DT and would give us even more depth up front.  Depth at the defensive line is so important since we rotate our defensive line almost every other play. Settle is also bigger than Payne but not nearly as athletic. Think of him as a cheap Vea. Settle, like Payne, is a run-stuffing nose tackle and probably will . He would be the first guy off the bench and a big goal-line contributor.

I felt like this years first round lived up to all the hype surrounding it going in. Four QBs taken in the top 10, the multiple surprise trade ups to get a QB, and late round surprises/ eyebrow raisers.  I’m sure today every team feels like they got better and time will tell if they did or didn’t. Here is my post-round 1 winners and losers:

Winners:

Giants: Despite all the hype around this years QB class the Giants stuck to their guns and drafted Saquon Barkley. Well done and congratulations on your first ballot Hall of Famer.

Ravens: Trading back from 14 to get TE Hayden Hurst at 25 (my #1 TE) was debatable but trading back in to 32 to draft QB Lamar Jackson with one of the picks you acquired will go down as one of the best moves Ozzie Newsome has ever done. The benefit of having Lamar Jackson in the 1st round means you get a 5th year option on him at the rookie rate which will come in handy when he starts lighting up the league.

Panthers: They must have a long debate in their war room over drafting WR DJ Moore instead of WR Calvin Ridley but that choice will pay off. Panthers finally have a true #1 WR.

Losers:

Browns: Well done Browns. Well done. Your first pick was so dumb it impacted the Redskins pick. Passing on Barkley (and gifting him to the Giants) is bad enough but when you do it for Baker Mayfield is what makes you the Browns. Granted, Mayfield is my 3rd rated QB and I’m sure he’ll do a heck of a lot better than Tyrod Taylor/ Kizer. But how on God’s green earth can you not have the foresight to know that Baker will still be available for you at pick #4? Worse case scenario he gets selected by the Jets after the Giants pick Darnold and you still get Rosen/ Allen/ Jackson! Great work. Oh, and picking Ward over Chubb/ Fitzpatrick was wrong too considering that Iowa CB Josh Jackson (my #2 CB) is now sitting on the board still in the 2nd round and you have the 1st and 3rd pick. Good luck passing on him twice. What a disgrace.

Saints: Trading up to get DE Marcus Davenport might prove to be a good move but giving up next years 1st round pick was too much to pay in my opinion. Davenport (my #3 DE/ Edge) was widely considered to be the 2nd best DE in the class and a top-10 talent by some. However, he is coming from a no name school who hardly played any meaningful games/ competition and will need time to adjust to the speed/ strength of NFL offensive lineman. He could easily turn out to be a bust. The Saints are obviously bullish thinking that he is the piece they are missing to become Super Bowl Champs (they were one play away from the Conference Championship last year). If they are right, they won’t miss that 1st round pick at all.

Eagles: The Super Bowl champs were clearly asleep at the wheel last night. Trading out of the 1st round and down to 23 spots #55 to let the Ravens steal a franchise QB for an extra 2nd rounder next year was not what I or most would have done. I was thinking they were going to take one of these big offensive lineman that fell but instead, crickets. I guess they get a pass since they just won their first Super Bowl but it will be interesting to see who they take at #55.

Draft rounds 2-3 begin tonight (Friday April 27th) at 7pm. The Redskins select #44 (12th in the 2nd round).

As my dad always said, a win is a win. The Redskins still looked sloppy but the new-look defense was able to hold Sean Mcvay and the Rams to 20 and a last minute drive plus a quick interception by Foster sealed the win. This win helps solidify the fact that a good defense means way more important to a team than a good offense.

Gruden stayed committed to the run, rushing the ball 39 times for a combined 229 yards and controlled the clock chewing up 36 minutes (granted 61 of those yards came from one spectacular Chris Thompson draw play).  Cousins wasn’t at his best this week. However, he didn’t turn the ball over and was able to cap off a late game-winning drive.  The Redskins showed some signs of improvement and find themselves suddenly on top of the division. Here are some players that stuck out and their grades:

Montae Nicholson:

Boy was I wrong about #35 when we drafted him. Nicholson started the game at safety alongside Swearinger and was making plays all over the field. Here he is first drive of the game coming on a perfectly timed blitz and blowing up the play.

Weirdly enough, he was subbed out on 3rd downs for Everett. Redskins coaches must know something I don’t about his coverage skills. Nonetheless, Nicholson is a breath of fresh air after the Cravens situation.  This guy can play and I’m excited to see him grow.

Grade: A

Rob Kelley:

Rob Kelley had a decent game before he got injured but he has to start playing better. Look at the first run of the game:

Look at the size of that hole and the open field in the second photo. My grandmother could have picked up 20 yards on this play. This is a inside zone left with an unbalanced line. Kelley instinctively cut it back and had nothing but day light but for some reason went back inside and I don’t know why. Check it out from the end zone camera:

My goodness.  However, Kelley still was able to get 5 yards here and make it a positive play. Kelley would get better as the game went on.  Here is another missed opportunity on the first drive of the game.

Kelley again has a hole but elects to put his head down and try to run over someone instead of hitting the hole.  Granted, the rams #90 Aaron Donald feels the hole open and drives Lavou into it but if Kelley simply follows his lead blocker (Nyles Paul #84) here he could’ve sprung through the hole and be off the races. He still is able to get an easy 6 yards but if he had better vision he could’ve had an easy 6 points.

For what it’s worth, Kelley did make plays.  Here is his third carry of the drive:

Now here is a good run by Kelley. This appears to be another inside zone to the left but this time the offensive line goes right and Kelley gets immediate pressure in his face. He stops, jump cuts to the left then jump cuts back to the right off Crowder and is able to pick up 2 yards after what looked like a busted play.

Kelley finished wth 12 carries for 78 yards and would’ve had a ton more had he not hurt his ribs. Thankfully, he did not break a rib so he should suit up next week. Samaje Perine, for all of his promise, still doesn’t look like he has the confidence to carry the team.

Grade: C-

Kirk Cousins:

I recall saying to myself during the game that Kirk has regressed to captain check down this week. However, after re-watching the game he made plenty of throws to the contrary. He didn’t have a great game by any extent of the imagination but he did enough to get the job down. I hate the term “game-manager” but this is the kind of game that lends you to describe Cousins as such. He didn’t go deep once or try to force a ball.  He simply took what the defense gave him and handed it off 39 times. Lets start with the good.

Here is Kirk’s second throw of the game – a three-step drop out route to Pryor for an easy first down. Just a great pitch a catch. Kirk is throwing it right as Pryor makes his break and the DB, who is in a deep off coverage, has no chance. Easy first down. This is the kind of west-coast play that Kirk excels at.

Here is some of the frustrating parts of Kirks game. 

The rams bring a little pressure with 5 men and play man across the field. Now either Kirk read the blitz pre-snap and focused on Thompson or the play call was a HB read over the middle. Either way, Kirk missed a wide-open TD to Vernon Davis (#85 bottom of the screen in the 3rd picture on the 15 yard line) here. Davis runs a stutter-go and is wide open. He even had Thompson still but the ball gets batted at the line mostly because Kirk double clutches it and tries to side arm it to him off-balance. Bad play here by Kirk.

Chris Thompson:

Have yourself a game #25! For a minute there, I thought Thompson was going to score every single one of the Redskins TDs this season. Thompson got a new contract week 1 and has been paying off ever since. The 61 yard draw play was a thing of beauty and reminder that strength punishes but speed kills. I’m not sure what Thompson needs to do to see more playing time/ touches but I feel like I speak for everyone when I say please give him the ball more. Here is a perfect example of why Thompson should get the ball more.

Thompson takes a pitch play that looked like a 4 yard gain max and cuts it up last minute for 9 yards and a first down.

Not the start everyone was hoping for.  Jay Gruden continues his winless streak on opening day and the Redskins drop game 1 to philly at home. The offense looked as rough as it did all preseason and the defense looked as bad as last year on third down. A frustrating day to say the least. The good news is it’s only one game and there are some things the skins can build on. And considering they played one of the worst games I’ve seen in two years, they still had an opportunity to take the lead late in the 4th quarter. So with that, let’s dive into some film and grades.

Kirk Cousins:

I’m going to do my best to stay positive here but boy did Kirk look out of sync. He was missing high almost all day, wasn’t stepping up into the pocket, and uncharacteristically inaccurate.  Give the Eagles d-line some credit for making him uncomfortable early.  It’s especially annoying that Cousins has a bad day week 1 after an offseason where his contract situation was the top story around the league.

His stat line didn’t tell the full story.  23/40 for 240, 1 TD, 1 Int, and 30 rush yards may seem okay but the interception came in the red zone (to the delight of the anti-kirkers).  To make matters worse, he had Crowder wide open and it looked like it would have been an easy score. Simply put, the worst play of game. Let’s break down that first.

Man that hurt to watch again. Eagles bring an “engage eight” blitz right into Kirks face and the middle linebacker was set free. Luckily the Redskins had the perfect call – a slant combination with Pryor overlapping Crowder. Pryor does a good job of bumping safety who is manned up on Crowder and the cornerback has essentially no idea what’s happening.  Case in point, perfect route running and Crowder is wide the hell open.  Kirk feels the pressure in his face and doesn’t set his feet before he throws (3rd pic).  When you don’t set your feet and follow through, the ball sails. This ball just happens to sail to the lucky corner who essentially gets hit in the chest while he’s still diagnosing the play. Boy is that disappointing. Credit to Crowder for still almost getting his hands on it. Even if he tips the ball here, maybe the ball falls innocently to the ground.

So many things to get mad at here but I can’t help but be upset at the offensive line. Pressure in the A gaps has to be picked up first. In this case, TWO blitzers were set free up the middle. What is going on here? Chris Thompson does a great job picking up one blitzer which leads me to believe the center/ guards only saw one blitzer but did not seen the second semi-delayed blitzer. In a perfect world, the line pinches down, absorbs the interior pressure and Thompson chops an end down, leaving a free rusher off the edge but giving Kirk a pocket to step up and fire this ball to Crowder.

Plays like this feed the anti-Kirkers fire.  Last year, Cousins threw an almost identical interception on 3rd down week 2 against Dallas when the skins were in the red zone about to take the lead. The QB will always be blamed for something like this and in this case I can’t defend him. Kirk needs to get his confidence back and start stepping into his throws. This was a common theme all day.

Let me say that this might have never happened if Reed catches this ball the play before.

Was the ball a little high? Sure, but if Reed is the supposed best tight end in the league not named Gronk, he makes this damn catch.  The Redskins are marching down the field and have all the momentum and one of their best players drops a first down catch.

Following in that theme, let’s go back to the first play of the season.

This makes me miss Desean Jackson right here. Positives – Pryor beat the coverage and Cousins gave him a catchable ball.  Negatives – Pryor couldn’t find it and looked like a total dunce while trying.  Sigh.

Another ugly play was the second 3rd and long on the skins opening drive.

This may be Kirks worst decision of the day. Just a few plays ago, Kirk forced one to Pryor who caught it for a 1st down. This time, Kirk steps outside of the pocket, stares down Pryor who appears to be either standing still on some kind of slow, out-breaking route.  The Eagles are playing a deep cover 2 blanket with the safeties shaded towards the sideline. Pryor is essentially triple covered and this pass should have been picked off.

The play looks like it was meant to go to the left since that’s where Cousins eyes went initially. When he steps outside of the pocket, the timing on the play is gone and Kirk is going off-script.  Old Kirk would dump it to Jordan Reed who is wide open in the flat to his left. New Kirk appears to make a terrible decision in trying to force it to his new favorite receiver. Really hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.

Here is another example of Cousins not seeing the field.

First off, the Eagles were offsides here but it wasn’t called. Second, Jordan Reed is so, so open right off the snap and is waving at him. This play appears to be a flood-left/ levels style play with Crowder going long, Davis doing a 10-yard out, and Kelley doing a quick arrow in the flat.  The weird part of this play was the offensive line shifting to the right leaving the end unblocked right in Cousins sightline. This leads me to believe the line must’ve been expecting a blitz pre-snap and shifted.

The message must have not made it to Cousins. Kirk awkwardly tries to side arm the football around the unblocked DE and it luckily falls incomplete around Davis. I don’t know why Kirk didn’t look to his hot route once he saw the pressure or heard the line shift pre-snap.  Reed runs a perfect quick slant and looks to have an easy first down if he sees him. Also, that was an extremely lazy pass that could’ve been picked off had the linebacker got his head around. Very bad play by Cousins here.

The very next play, Moses gets beaten around the edge and Kirk gets stripped sacked. It’s incredible how one bad play can lead to disaster so fast in the NFL.  Kirk redeems himself on the final drive of the half capped off with a great play by Thompson to take a hot route to the end zone.  Cousins best drive happened with the first drive of the 2nd half. Here is Kirk’s best play of the day.

Now that’s a play! Kirk feels the pressure, shucks off the would-be tackler, scrambles to his left, resets his feet and throws a dart for a first down. Right after the play Kirk gets in Trent Williams face about leaving him out to dry there and rightfully so. The Eagles rush three(!!) and somehow one is left unblocked.  Completely unacceptable.  This appears to be the 15 yard in route that Garcon killed teams with last year.  It’s a 5-step drop. Kirk needs time to let the play develop thus making Trent’s gaffe that much more egregious.

You can tell that by this point in the game, Kirk is frustrated. Earlier on the drive, he had tucked and run for the first down twice. You never like to see your QB get happy feet in the pocket but it works for him here.  A few plays later, his happy feet gets the best of him.

Kirk throws a jump ball to Pryor here which I can live with in most situations. However, not here. His foot work is awful and he’s falling backwards as he’s throwing.  He has a lane to step up in the pocket. Yes, the Eagles dialed up the blitz again and Scherff gets bull rushed into Kirks lap. Still, this is an awful pass. Look how open Davis is in the flat here in the second picture. This is a 2nd and 9 and philly is sending the blitz again – take what you can get here and make it 3rd and manageable!

The Eagles terrorized Cousins with the blitz all day.  Kirk was inaccurate and wasn’t trusting his offensive line. Essentially, Kirk was playing scared.  He made some plays but his mistakes far outweighed them.  He got rattled early and couldn’t seem to get his head right.

This is the first time I’ve seen Cousins really try to make plays instead of taking what the defense gives him.  He is more athletic than most people give him credit for but much more of a field general like Brady/ Manning than he is of a play-maker like Rodgers/ Favre/ Romo.  He needs to get back to what he does best, diagnose the defense from pre-snap and make quick decisions. I wondered if this was going to be an issue with Grudens offensive play-calling vs McVay. We will see how it goes next week.

Grade: D-

Rob Kelley:

I feel like a broken record but something has got to give with this run game. Kelley’s first run goes for negative yards. His second, zero. His third he gets hit in the back field and pushes ahead for 3. The one decent run Kelley had was when he took a pitch outside for a nice gain but then gets picked up and body slammed by a safety.  Overall, he did not look like a starting running back in this league. He wasn’t running over anyone and definitely couldn’t make defenders miss.

It’s also becoming increasingly annoying to hear the same remarks from Gruden in the press conference saying how he’s frustrated that he had to get away from the run game again so early. At what point is he just going to admit we have no run game or at least say we pass to open up the run? The Redskins hardly disguise their running plays and didn’t run the ball once in a 3rd down situation. Can you blame them?

If Kelley doesn’t start making some plays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Thompson take over some of the 1st and 2nd down reps, especially if Kelley gets out to another start like he had week 1. Thompson will at least surprise the team when he runs it.

Grade: F

Offensive Line:

I hope blitz pick up is a point of emphasis this week. The Hogs 2.0 have been making mistake after mistake for the whole offseason and it reared its ugly head again week 1.  Again, you have to credit philly for dialing up the pressure all day but this is a division rival who you play twice a year. You mean to tell me this was different that what you saw last year?

Moses was terrible against the Philly stunts and was beaten badly for a few sacks. Scherff looks like a shell of his pro bowl self from last year. He was getting pushed so far back in the back field that Gruden had to abandon the running game and especially anything that involved pulling a lineman. Williams was okay but not anywhere close to the dominant he was last year. Lavou and Long did nothing to stop the blitz. A disappointing game all around from offensive line. Let’s hope it was the Eagles defensive line being really good as opposed as the redskins offensive line regressing.

Grade: F

Pryor:

Can this guy catch a football or not? I broke down the first play of the game earlier so no need to beat a dead horse on that abortion but how about the wide open TD he dropped plays later? Thankfully it was going to be called back on a holding so everyone could just imagine the play never happened.

Pryor finished the day with 6 receptions on 11 targets for 66 yards. Cousins was forcing the ball to Pryor all day and Pryor didn’t make the most of it. Pryor was nice enough to blame himself for the loss and seems eager to redeem himself this week against the Rams.

Grade: D

Zack Brown:

Said it all last year that all the Redskins really needed on defense was a decent middle linebacker and boy did Brown show why. He finished with 12 (!) tackles on the day including two solo tackles on 3rd and short that caused punts. He was a little shaky in coverage but he’s absolutely as good as advertised in the rush defense department.

Grade: A-

DJ Swearinger:

Swearinger was another big name addition this offseason but he didn’t live up the hype nearly as much as Brown.  He missed a tackle on that fluky first Eagles TD that was magnified since the four other guy missed a sack on Wentz.  The biggest problem with the defense right now is the inability to get off the field on 3rd and long and I can’t help but blame Swearinger for this. Yes, Wentz made it difficult on the DBs because of his knack of extending plays (which he did masterfully this week). Yes, Everett did him no favors by constantly biting on the run and being out of position. But Swearinger is now the team captain – he needs to solve problems. Swearinger finished the day with 5 tackles and 1 pass defended.

Grade: C-

Bashaud Breeland:

What nice surprise Breeland was. Bashaud was a menace in man to man coverage against the taller Alshon Jeffrey and was a hair away from coming down with two picks. It’s exciting to think what the defense could be if he continues this play and looks like he did his rookie season.

Grade: A-