NFL
By: Ryan Cooley
Going into 2021, many believed Washington’s defense could compete with anyone in the league. Its dominant defensive line was known; however, drafting Jamin Davis in the first round and signing William Jackson and Bobby McCain only bolstered the unit. Unfortunately, the second-ranked pass defense from last year now ranks as one of the worst in the NFL.
The offense was supposed to be the weak point of this team, yet the defense has actually been worse. Why, after making improvements in the offseason, has Washington’s defense taken such a massive step down?
Cornerbacks
In 2020, no cornerback for Washington was graded at an elite level. However, there weren’t many that graded extremely low. This is not the case so far in 2021. Kendall Fuller is the only CB who has managed a coverage grade in the 60s (60.5). St-Juste’s and Jackson’s coverage grades are around the 50 mark.
Ronald Darby left, signing a 3-year/$30 million deal in Denver in the offseason. Jackson inked his name on a 3-year/$40.5 million contract with Washington shortly after. Jackson and Fuller are making a combined $24 million per year. Both of them are underperforming, to say the least.
Linebackers
Linebacker was arguably Washington’s weakest position. It was the one area that visibly struggled week in and week out on defense in 2020. Even with its struggles, Rivera opted to let his best linebacker in Kevin Pierre-Louis walk in free agency. Pierre-Louis had the 4th highest coverage grade (83.9) among linebackers who took over 200 coverage snaps. Holcomb now holds the highest coverage grade in Washington at 57.1.
Jon Bostic is the biggest issue at the position. Of LBs who have taken 125+ snaps, Bostic’s 30.6 grade ranks dead last. Pro Football Focus’ Nick Akridge broke down a series of plays in week one; one play, in particular, highlighted Bostic’s struggles in coverage:
https://twitter.com/PFF_NickAkridge/status/1437156394986311695?s=20
Chase Young
Despite the lack of sacks, the defensive line has played well this season. Well, everyone except Chase Young. Young led the team with the highest grade (87.1) in 2020 but has yet to manage a grade higher than 68.5 in three games. Payne and Allen both have a pass-rush grade of 80+ and Sweat has two sacks through three games. This defensive line needs Young to get back to his dominant form, where he was the best player on the team.
Were They That Good Last Year?
After Washington’s abysmal start to 2021, some have questioned just how good this unit was in 2020. Statistically, they were a top unit, but when you look at who they played, maybe their success was inflated from playing bad teams/quarterbacks. In their seven wins last season, the quarterbacks they beat were: Wentz, Dalton twice, Burrow/Finley, Roethlisberger, Mullens, and Hurts/Sudfeld.
Washington had a fairly easy schedule but struggled when it came to playing better teams/quarterbacks. Brady, Wilson, Murray, Goff, Jones, and Stafford are some that had no issues moving the ball against what was the #2 pass defense in 2020. Maybe we were too quick to place them in the elite category.
