The 53-man roster is set for the Washington Redskins. How did the Redskins do on defense?
If you’ve followed the Washington Redskins closely over the years, you’d know the troubles the team has had on the defensive side of the ball. The Redskins have struggled to stop the run and the pass. At different times, they’ve been able to force some turnovers which have helped the overall fortunes of defense, however, that side of the ball has remained the Achilles’ heel of the team for the better part of a decade.
This offseason was about improving the talent of the defense. Overall, the Redskins did improve the talent at all three levels. The addition of Jonathan Allen to the defensive is exactly what this team has needed for years. Zach Brown gives the Redskins speed at inside linebacker, something they’ve sorely lacked recently. And D.J. Swearinger finally gives Washington a true safety in the secondary that isn’t a reclamation project, former corner or late-round pick.
While these are improvements, they, alone, aren’t enough to transform this defense from below average to good. On cutdown day, the Redskins chose to keep 27 defensive players, going heavy on that side of the ball for depth reasons, versus just 23 players for the offense.
Earlier in the week, we took a look at the offense, now here is our look at Washington’s defense.