Taking a look forward, while seeing what went wrong or right during the season for the Washington Redskins at each position. Today: defensive line.
Under contract for 2015: Stephen Bowen, Barry Cofield, Jason Hatcher, Kedric Golston, Chris Baker, Travian Robertson, Frank Kearse, Isaako Aaitui
Free agents: Jarvis Jenkins
Best bargain: Kearse. He counted only $570,000 against the salary cap yet was a solid backup throughout the season. Kearse finished with three sacks.
2015 cap hits:
Bowen: $8,020,000
Cofield: $7,677,500
Hatcher: $5,250,000
Baker: $3,000,000
Golston: $1,220,000
Robertson: $660,000
Kearse: $660,000
Aaitui: $510,000
The review: Hatcher was supposed to provide an inside presence and, when healthy, he did thanks to his power and quickness. But he wasn’t healthy often enough. It’s not as if Hatcher was bad, he just didn’t have the season-long impact they desired or needed. Cofield’s ankle injury hurt; he was fine at end upon his return. His quickness and smarts were missed up front, but it’s not as if Baker did a poor job. Both had strengths at nose, but both had their flaws. Baker added strength inside, but he sometimes would get caught up trying to locate ballcarriers and lose ground. But both he and Cofield showed versatility in their ability to play end as well. Jenkins offered nothing as a rusher but was fine against the run. The Redskins had a bunch of players who were OK and it was reflected in the overall play: An OK front with a weak back end does not make for a strong group. Bowen played better later in the season, showing strength at the point of attack. But he was no threat as a rusher.
The outlook: They need a legitimate, strong young player up front considering the age and durability questions that would surround the others. They have too many players who are just OK. Cofield’s permanent home from here on out should be at end. Eventually playing nose takes a toll on the body, a big reason why larger players end up at that position. Cofield is not large; his quickness at end would be beneficial. Baker’s versatility is fine and his strength works inside, but if they can add a more dynamic nose (Danny Shelton in the draft perhaps?) then they should do so. Again, no one on this front should feel secure about his future given how this defense has performed – and how little pressure has been applied on quarterbacks. But if Hatcher stays healthy he could provide a solid presence – there was a big difference in his play both early in games and early in the season. But you can’t assume he’ll be more durable this year. That’s part of the problem: Too many players ages 30 and over coming off injury issues. Stopping the run is and should be the primary goal up front.
Key questions: Who will they cut? It makes no sense that the Redskins would keep Bowen around at his current cap number and you can say the same about Cofield. Both can still help, but not at that figure – and not for a team in need of improvements with not a ton of cap space. The Redskins could cut and then re-sign Bowen; it’s tough to imagine another team signing him given his age and injury history with his knees.
Stat that needs improving: When using four-man pressure, the Redskins were not effective. They had a pass-rush percentage of 45.6 – that measures the number of times the front controlled the line of scrimmage, including scrambles. That ranked 28th in the NFL (they jumped to 11th when using five-man pressures), according to ESPN Stats & Information. Some of that stems from their nickel rush in which only two defensive linemen were on the field.
Stat that needs improving, part 2: The Redskins ranked 13th in the NFL in rushing yards per carry (4.09), which is OK. But they were 19th in rushing yards allowed before contact at 2.65. This isn’t all on the line because their job is to set up others to make the tackles. But the defenses that were considered strong against the run did not have this disparity.
Free agent options: There are some talented players who will be free, but it’s hard to see the Redskins going hard after them. They need a whole defense, not one player in particular. So forget about Ndamukong Suh (and I’d stay away from Nick Fairley, too). Denver’s Terrance Knighton could play the nose, but he’s 29 and would be costly. Philadelphia’s Cedric Thornton is an intriguing end, but he’s a restricted free agent. The same is true of the Jets’ Damon Harrison. Arizona’s Dan Williams is a good nose tackle and offers versatility – he can play end as well.
Running backs
