Washington Redskins: Defensive overhaul in full swing

By Andrew Long | Apr 6, 2015

For the seventh time in ten years, the Washington Redskins finished in the cellar of the NFC East. After finishing the season with a 4-12 record, the Redskins signed Scot McCloughan as their general manager. McCloughan’s main duty with the franchise is to build a strong, competitive roster. Unsurprisingly, the roster overhaul began on the defensive side of the ball.

The reason that this approach is unsurprising is because before joining the Redskins, McCloughan worked for two defensive-minded teams in the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Both franchises leaned on their defenses to succeed, and it appears as if McCloughan plans to take this route again in Washington.

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In order to mold the defense to his liking, McCloughan smartly let a number of defensive players walk in free agency. Veteran defensive linemen Barry Cofield, Jarvis Jenkins, and Stephen Bowen are no longer with the team. Which likely means the only returning 2014 starter on the defensive line will be veteran Jason Hatcher.

Aiding Hatcher in the trenches will be a pair of new faces in Terrance Knighton and Stephen Paea. Knighton is expected to provide a strong, pocket collapsing push in the run game as Washington’s nose tackle. Paea will man the defensive end position opposite of Hatcher on early downs, and likely shift inside to his natural position as a 4-3 defensive tackle on passing downs.

The Redskins also signed Ricky Jean-Francois to provide depth to the unit. Defensive lineman Chris Baker, who’s known Knighton since he was a child, figures to battle for playing time, too. All in all, I believe that Washington’s defensive front has been drastically improved. Knighton provides the Redskins with a much-needed nose tackle for their 3-4 scheme; the other signings are just as valuable, though.

That’s a lot of turnover from one season to the next, and that’s only the defensive line. Another area that needed to be drastically improved was Washington’s secondary. With re-building the defense at the front of McCloughan’s to-do list, he made sure to include the backend of the defense in his efforts.

For much of the 2014 season, the Redskins rolled with David Amerson & Bashaud Breeland as their cornerback tandem, and Ryan Clark & Brandon Meriweather as their starting safeties. While I believe that Breeland will hold onto his starting job, it’s extremely possible that the Redskins will have a completely different cast of starters in their secondary in 2015.

Washington signed cornerback Chris Culliver and safety Jeron Johnson in free agency, and later added safety Dashon Goldson in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s likely that all three players will be slotted as starters come opening day; if DeAngelo Hall re-claims his job from Breeland, the secondary will be completely different than the one the Redskins ended the season with.

The amount of change facing the Redskins defense, while necessary, is staggering. The defensive line and defensive backfield have been completely revamped. In addition to all of the changes that I’ve already mentioned, Washington will also be without pass rusher Brian Orakpo from here on out.

Orakpo, who has always been loaded with potential, battled injuries down the stretch during his time in Washington. It’s possible that the Redskins opt to go with Trent Murphy, a second round pick in 2014, as their starting outside linebacker. I don’t think that will be the case, though. I foresee McCloughan and Washington’s front office electing to select a pass rusher with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

If that’s what McCloughan and company decide to do, whichever player they select will be expected to make an impact from day one. Outside of quarterbacks, a player picked in the Top 10 is usually asked to step in and start from the get go. If that’s the case in Washington, that means their defensive unit will field yet another new starter in 2015.

The Washington Redskins have made it abundantly clear that re-tooling their defense is their top priority at the moment. With a number of new faces joining the Redskins defense, it’s possible that the unit will have seven new starters in 2015; meaning Washington’s starting defense will be 64 percent different than the one they ended the season with in 2014.

That’s a lot of change, a lot of necessary change.

Next: Redskins: Grading the Dashon Goldson acquisition

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