Washington Redskins: Tim Settle needs to be more involved

The Washington Redskins need to try and get Tim Settle more involved defensively as he’s shown a lot of promise in limited reps this season.

Not a lot has gone right for the Washington Redskins in 2019. The defense that was supposed to be elite has been average at best. Meanwhile, the offense (outside of Terry McLaurin) might be even worse than advertised.

This has all come together to create a miserable first half for the Redskins. Heading into their Week 10 bye, Washington is 1-8. They are legitimate contenders for the first overall draft pick and there’s very little hope for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, it would be smart for the Redskins to try and focus on those few bright spots. Defensively, one of them is Tim Settle. The defensive tackle is in his second year and has shown really good growth. Although he’s had limited reps, Settle has had quite a few positives. On the year, he has six tackles (one for loss) and one sack.

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While that doesn’t seem like much, it’s important to remember how little he has played. In fact, Settle has yet to play in 50 percent of Washington’s defensive snaps in a single game yet. Even worse, he’s appeared in less than 20 percent of defensive snaps three weeks in a row. In Week 9, he played in a season-low eight defensive snaps (13 percent).

Now, I understand the main reason for it. Washington’s defensive line is its best unit. Jonathan Allen, Da’Ron Payne and Matthew Ioannidis are a lethal trio.

Fellow backups Noah Spence and Treyvon Hester have taken a few snaps away from Settle as well (but not all that many). Outside of Spence appearing in 29 percent of defensive snaps in Week 8 (compared to Settle’s 18 percent ), they have never out-snapped him.

However, now it might be time to take away even those limited snaps. At the same time, run more plays which give Settle a chance to step on the field with the starting trio. At just 22, Settle still has a lot of time to grow. Meanwhile, at a 6-3, 308 pounds he is an absolute unit that at worst can use his size to make an impact at times.

The Virginia Tech product is so much more than that though. He has a lot of tools at his disposal. Coming into the league, (fifth-round pick in 2018), Settle was seen as a project. A project with major upside, but still a project. Not even though two seasons (and being used mainly as a backup), he’s already given Washington a lot to look forward to.

Honestly, I’ve always drunk the Tim Settle Kool-Aid. He has the skill set, size and potential to be an absolute star. I mean, look at this bullrush against the New England Patriots (a team that has allowed just 16 sacks all year).

That’s brute strength right there.

Now that they are in a lost season, it’s time to see just how much he’s grown though. Time to let him jump into the water and sink or swim for the rest of the season. My money is on him swimming.