Washington Redskins: Trent Murphy, Preston Smith Outlook

When it was first announced that the Washington Redskins had interest a low-risk, one-year flier on P.R.-nightmare Junior Galette, I opined that signing him would be an unnecessary locker room risk. Galette has been one of the league’s most explosive pass rushers over the past two seasons and was one of the few on-field bright spots on the New Orleans Saints defense last season, but the Redskins didn’t exactly need to take a gamble on an OLB due to their strong group of young pass rushers.

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Ryan Kerrigan is the headliner, and he earned a big-money contract this offseason after a quietly borderline-elite 2014 season that included 13.5 sacks. The 27-year-old Purdue product has never put up less than eight sacks in his four-year career, so the $57.5 million over five seasons can only be described as “money well spent” for a two-way playmaker at the 3-4 outside linebacker position on a defense that allowed the injury-prone Brian Orakpo to walk.

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With Galette out for the entire season with a torn Achilles that he sustained in practice, the Redskins focus will turn to young outside linebackers Trent Murphy and Preston Smith. Since the Galette signing was more of a “Wow, he’s available” flier after his release from the Saints than a “We really need this guy” pick-up in actual free agency, the Redskins weren’t counting on getting anything from him this season. Before adding him, they must have been perfectly content with Murphy, Smith, or a platoon consisting of both players across from Kerrigan.

Per Pro Football Focus, Murphy took advantage of Orakpo’s nine games missed last season to earn 595 snaps as a rookie, and he looked pretty darn good when he saw the field. Seemingly a favorite of Jay Gruden’s coaching staff since Day 1, Murphy lacked pass rushing prowess with just 2.5 sacks. However, Murphy really showed off his value in this league as a run defender, setting the edge with 33 tackles while showing off his motor, physicality, and intelligence in that facet of the game.

I think we should see Murphy play at a Brooks Reed-level of play in 2015, and he has the quickness and upside to become a legitimate pass-rushing threat as he develops. Before the Galette signing, Murphy was penciled in as the team’s starting right outside linebacker, so now that Galette is done for the year, the former Stanford star should be expected to take on at least a two-down role after a solid first season in the league.

In a full-time role, we could expect around five sacks and 50 tackles from Murphy next year, and three forced fumbles isn’t out of the question for a player who had two such plays in 2014.

I have a feeling the Redskins were looking to inject some more pure pass rushing ability on the outside with Orakpo now a member of the Tennessee Titans, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the move to select him with the 38th overall pick in the draft after already picking up an above-average OLB in the second round of the previous draft.

Smith is a favorite of draftniks, and he’s one of the most explosive edge rushers in this year’s draft class. Although listed as a 4-3 DE coming into the draft, Smith is athletic enough to succeed as a 3-4 OLB with 4.74 wheels, 34-inch arms, and a 6’5″, 271-pound frame. Like Murphy, Smith projects as a good run defender for the position, and while there could be some concerns about his ability to succeed as a pass rusher as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme, he has the type of frame that can allow him to play anywhere.

As long as he’s properly utilized, Smith could be a huge part of the Washington Redskins defense in the future. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to beast on defenses as a rookie, and we haven’t heard many positive things about him at training camp. That said, the former Mississippi State star has looked impressive in actual preseason games so far, using his long arms and strength to put up some nice-looking tackle counts.

There’s no doubt that neither Murphy nor Smith are nearly as athletic, explosive, or proficient at rushing the passer as Galette is, so the Redskins will miss out on having one of the NFL’s best pass rushing OLB pairings. But they should still receive strong play out of all three of their outside linebackers, particularly when it comes to defending the run.

Barring a sudden charge in momentum from Smith following Galette’s injury, Murphy is locked in as the other starting outside linebacker on the Redskins. The organization should have faith in both recent second-round picks, and I’m especially high on Smith’s long-term potential as a consistent pass rushing force who can bring something to the table in run defense.

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