NFL
By: Ryan Cooley
When: Thursday, August 12th, 7:30 PM EDT
How to Watch: NFL Network or NBC 4/NBC Sports Washington
The 2021 Washington Football Team will take the field for the first time Thursday night when they face off against the New England Patriots. While many are not concerned with the preseason, there are several reasons to watch Washington’s first game.
Here are five stories to follow during Thursday’s game:
Quarterback Play
The quarterback position will be the most controversial topic throughout August. The team signed Ryan Fitzpatrick in free agency while handing Taylor Heinicke a two-year extension. Fans seem split on which quarterback should be under center week one. While Fitzpatrick has the significant edge, Heinicke can make his push during the three preseason games.
In the first weeks of training camp, Fitzpatrick seems to be holding his own while getting used to playing with his new receivers. Taylor Heinicke has also had a solid camp to this point. If Heinicke wants the starting position, he will have to play at a high level in all three games.
Wide Receiver Depth
The 2020 receiving core for Washington struggled to say the least. They added Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries, Dyami Brown, Dax Milne, DeAndre Carter, and Tony Brown in the offseason. Their wide receiver room consists of 12 players. By the start of the season, that number will need to get cut down by around half. There will be some tough cuts in this position group.
The three preseason games will certainly make or break many of these receivers. McLaurin, Samuel, Dyami Brown, and Humpries are locks to make the team. This means AGG, Steven Sims, Cam Sims, Harmon, Wright, Milne, Carter, and Tony Brown will all be fighting for the last one or two spots. Washington will inevitably have to cut a couple of young receivers who have a considerable amount of potential. [pickup_prop id=”6325″]
How Ready the Rookies Are
Rookies are usually the stars of the preseason. Washington has four of them that could get significant playing time (Davis, Cosmi, St-Juste, and Brown) this year. All four have gotten plenty of attention at camp. Davis’ speed and ability to cover the entire field has been on display, Cosmi has battled two of the best edge rushers in the league every day, St-Juste has held his own, and Brown has turned heads.
Practice and games are two different stories, however. We will see what these four rookies can do when the cameras are on and hundreds of thousands of fans are watching.
The Offensive Line Lineup
The offensive line was shaken up this offseason. Morgan Moses was unexpectedly released after Washington signed Charles Leno. They also traded for Ereck Flowers after playing last season in Miami. As a result, Scherff and Roullier are the only two linemen locked in to start in the same spot as last season. In Washington’s initial depth chart, Leno is at LT, Schweitzer is at LG, and Cosmi is starting at RT. Flowers has a real shot at taking the LG spot and Lucas could end up at RT if Cosmi struggles.
Since Rivera announced the starters would play Thursday, it will be our first glance at the new offensive line. In 2020, Washington had the 3rd highest graded pass-blocking unit and 10th highest graded run-blocking lines. It will be crucial that this offensive line has similar success in 2021.
Starting Safeties
After Landon Collins went down in week 7, Washington found a promising young safety in Kamren Curl. Curl ended being the highest-graded rookie safety from PFF (68.4). Jeremy Reaves didn’t receive playing time until week 12, but flourished when the opportunity presented itself. Reaves 84.1 grade ranked 4th in the league among safeties who played 300+ snaps.
In training camp, the defense has used multiple safety combinations. Curl, Collins, McCain, and Reaves have all received reps with the first-team defense. As of now, Collins is starting at SS while Curl is at FS. However, the next three games will be crucial for all four of those players to make their case to be a starter.
