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Washington Redskins must develop their secondary

By Andrew Long

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The Washington Redskins possess one of the weakest secondaries in the NFL. For whatever reason, management has neglected the backend of the Washington defense for several years now. Instead of trying to develop in-house talent, the Redskins have taken the patchwork approach in free agency; this ultimately came back to haunt them in 2014.

Washington’s woeful secondary failed to crack the top 20 in any major defensive passing category last season. The Redskins defense allowed 249.4 passing-yards per game, that’s the 9th worst in the league. On top of that, they allowed 35 passing touchdowns and only managed to force seven interceptions all year.

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If Redskins defensive coordinator Joe Barry wants the backend of his unit to improve, he must focus on bringing in his own talent and developing them. Barry and Washington’s general manager Scot McCloughan must focus on this extensively.

In his daily Need to Know column on RealRedskins.com, CSN Washington‘s Rich Tandler mentions that the Redskins are committed to developing their own players. Tandler goes on to state, “..the first step here is getting players who are willing to do what it takes to be developed. It’s a stretch to say that any coach can develop a player who has the desire. But the Redskins players who work hard get the most out of their abilities have been able to do so despite dealing with what some perceive as inferior coaching. Others, perhaps more talented, have not.”

I believe that the statement by Tandler is dead on. It’s nearly impossible for teams to always draft the best player. But if the team can draft a solid player that truly loves the game and has an urge to play, they can develop him into what he needs to be. A player can possess all the tools and skills in the world, but it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t utilize them.

Bashaud Breeland, who I’ve written previously written about, is a great example of a player that wants to develop and succeed. After posting subpar numbers at the 2014 NFL Combine, Breeland fell into the 4th round. His sluggish 40-yard dash (4.62 seconds) and lack of size undoubtedly played a role in the process.

Coming in at 5 foot 11 and 197 pounds, Bashaud Breeland lacks the prototypical size of a modern NFL corner. But what Breeland lacks in size, he makes up for in effort.

In an interview with the Washington Post‘s Mike Jones, Raheem Morris, Washington’s former defensive backs coach, spoke very highly of Breeland’s study habits. “He goes home and comes back a lot. He’ll go home and circle back, and he’ll send me a text saying, ‘I’m about to look at this.’ And I’ll say, ‘No, look at this,’ or whatever the case may be. But he shows up all times of the day,” Morris said.

It’s players like Breeland that the Washington Redskins must target and build their secondary around. Drafting naturally talented players is fantastic, but it means nothing if the coaching staff can’t find ways to develop and improve them. With all of the offseason moves the Redskins have made so far, it is becoming abundantly clear that upper level management in Washington agrees.

Instead of trying to fix their decrepit secondary through free agency, the Washington Redskins must develop their own players for long-term success. Bashaud Breeland is a good starting point, but the team has a long way to go until their secondary can even be considered average. Drafting players that love the game will accelerate the process for the Redskins.

Next: Landon Collins a possibility for Redskins at 5?

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