The Washington Football Team is trending up, but who are the team’s biggest question marks on both offense and defense entering the 2021 season?
The Washington Football Team won the NFC East last season. Granted, they did so when the division was at its weakest, requiring just a 7-9 record to do so. A division title is still a division title though. More importantly, they look to be much improved in 2021.
Washington added a quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick and a few new weapons to bolster the wide receiver corps as well. The defense has only improved (which is a scary thought) and the offensive line has been beefed up.
That being said, not everything is perfect. So who are the wild cards? Who is the biggest question mark on offense and who is it on defense? That’s what we’re here to figure out. Before we start though, some ground rules.
Rookies are being excluded because they are always question marks. They have no prior NFL experience to base a prediction on, so that’s always a wild card. We’re also sticking to starters (or presumed starters).
Biggest question mark on the Washington Football Team offense
There is a simple answer here. It’s not Fitzpatrick as many might expect. Antonio Gibson’s safe too as he showed plenty last year to make you think he’s a star. We’re steering clear of the offensive line as well.
Instead, the proper answer is Logan Thomas. To me, Thomas is a stud. It didn’t take him long to convince me of that last year. And the overall numbers were great, especially for a team with miserable quarterback play and only one major weapon in Terry McLaurin.
Thomas finished with 72 receptions for 670 yards and six touchdowns in his first season with the Washington Football Team. That’s impressive no matter what but, considering he quickly became the No. 2 option and teams started to game plan more for him, kudos.
So why is a tight end that just enjoyed a breakout year the biggest question mark? Well, that’s exactly why: It was his breakout year. Before 2020, Thomas had 35 career receptions. For a 30-year-old that’s not great. Yes, he started his career as a quarterback and when he transitioned to tight end it’s not like he had the biggest role. Still, it raises some eyebrows.
Was 2020 just a random outlier? Did Thomas flourish in a system that focused pretty heavily on dump-offs and didn’t have many options in the passing game? With a sling-happy quarterback and a ton of talent, could he get lost in the shuffle and revert back to being an afterthought?
The good news is, Thomas has progressed nicely as a blocker and he’ll be a great security blanket for Fitzpatrick. The veteran definitely loves to throw it downfield, but he can’t do it on every play. Also, Thomas might actually produce even better. Maybe 2020 was just the start of something.
Even with that hope, Thomas is definitely a serious question mark. He has one great year under his belt, but that’s no guarantee of anything. My money is on the tight end fitting in nicely but, for now, the question is there.
Biggest question mark on the Washington Football Team defense
This one is also pretty easy if we’re being honest. In fact, it’s a lot easier than offense because Fitzpatrick could be a red herring. On defense though, there really feels like an obvious answer: safety Landon Collins.
Collins came in as a major free agent signing a few years ago with the Washington Football Team with massive expectations. That hurts because, truthfully, he’s been solid but fans were really expecting an absolute superstar. So Collins’ “solid play” has not been enough. To be fair, with the contract he has, you can see why fans expect more.
In the 2021 season, though, Collins might have a new role. For one thing, Kamren Curl broke out as a rookie last season. Then Washington added Bobby McCain in free agency. DeShazor Everett is still there, a great special teams talent that has shown flashes on defense. Jeremy Reaves had moments last season and Darrick Forrest was brought in through the draft this year. So the safety position is stacked.
This could mean that Collins has plenty of people behind him that could steal time away from him if he doesn’t produce. It also means that he could be given a role that suits him more, something where he is in coverage a little less. Give him a chance to roam more, trying to make plays. This could be just as a roaming cover, or blitzing, or simply playing in the middle ready to stop the run or make a big hit on a short pass.
If that’s the case, we could get a totally different Collins. One that turns into a true playmaker and difference-maker on defense. However, we could also see Collins continue to get hurt in coverage and lose playing time to someone behind him.
No one’s spot is safe. So you could argue that everyone is a “wild card” in a sense. But are you really worried about Chase Young or Montez Sweat? What about Kendall Fuller, or Jonathan Allen? Do I need to keep going?
The Washington Football Team has a lot of talent, so you could make the case for a few players on either side of the ball and not be wrong. Logan Thomas and Landon Collins seem to have the most to gain and the most to lose though. So they get the distinction of biggest question marks heading into the 2021 season.