Mark Bullock, the Washington Post’s ‘Outsider’ joins us here on Redskins Capital Connection to give us his final 53-man roster prediction. You can follow Mark on Twitter @MarkBullockNFL.
Quarterbacks (2): Kirk Cousins, Colt McCoy
If the Redskins aren’t going to play Griffin, then they would be better cutting ties and moving on completely. Having him on the roster would just add unnecessary pressure to Cousins, who would hear “R-G-3” chants the moment he makes any sort of mistake. Running with two quarterbacks gives the Redskins an extra roster spot to make use of.
Running Backs (4): Alfred Morris, Matt Jones, Chris Thompson, Darrel Young (FB)
I think these guys are pretty much set in stone. Morris will be the first back to carry the load, but look for Jones to get significant time too. Thompson has been phenomenal in pass protection in preseason and has proven capable as a receiver out of the backfield, he’s a lock for the third down back role in my opinion. Young makes the team as the fullback and a key special teams member. Trey Williams was a very hard cut, after flashing plenty of potential in preseason, but ultimately wouldn’t have taken any carries away from the top three guys and offers little on special teams.
Wide Receivers (7): DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Andre Roberts, Jamison Crowder, Ryan Grant, Rashad Ross, Evan Spencer
Jackson, Garcon and Roberts will remain the top three guys, although Crowder and Grant will certainly compete hard to take reps from them. The Redskins haven’t been shy in shining praise on Grant and Crowder throughout the offseason and both could look to unseat Roberts as the slot receiver should he continue to struggle with drops. Draft pick Evan Spencer makes the team more for his special teams efforts than a a receiver. He offers height, a trait the Redskins lack at receiver, but has dropped too many passes in preseason to see significant time. While he’s unlikely to take many snaps away from the guys ahead of him, it was too tough for me to cut preseason stand out Rashad Ross. He lead the NFL with 266 yards and 4 touchdowns in preseason, meaning he almost certainly wouldn’t have made it to the practice squad. I opted to hold onto him as a future investment more than anything, but he could have a role as a return man on special teams.
Tight Ends (3): Jordan Reed, JeRon Hamm, Derrick Carrier
Ultimately, I think there is a tight end that makes the Redskins final 53 that isn’t currently on the roster. I think GM Scot McCloughan will look bring in a blocking tight end that gets cut from another team, which would make Hamm expendable. But until that happens, Carrier is still getting caught up with the playbook while Reed is a constant injury concern. Hamm makes the team for now.
Offensive Line (9): Trent Williams, Shawn Lauvao, Kory Lichtensteiger, Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, Tom Compton, Arie Kouandjio, Spencer Long, Josh LeRibeus
The starting five offensive lineman are set. Typically teams carry a back up tackle, guard and center to give them cover for injuries, but I took an extra guy. Ty Nsekhe was a tough cut, but remains a practice squad candidate. He arguably performed better than Compton throughout preseason, but Compton offers the Redskins versatility in being able to line up at tight end as an extra blocker. Kouandjio has quietly had a good preseason and would be my first choice back up guard. Spencer Long was originally projected to start at right guard, but a poor offseason has seen him relegated to a back up. I would have him learning the back up center position to eventually take over from LeRibeus, but LeRibeus has the bulk of the snaps in the offseason and sticks because of that.
Offense total: 25
Defensive Line (6): Stephan Paea, Terrance Knighton, Jason Hatcher, Ricky Jean-Francois, Chris Baker, Frank Kearse
The three free agent additions join the three stand outs from last years defensive line. Paea looks set to have a significant impact, as does Baker after an impressive preseason. Jason Hatcher might get his chance to rush against tackles to make up for the loss of Junior Galette, which could allow him to have more impact than he had last season. No place for Kedric Golston, who doesn’t offer anything unique and frees up another roster spot to be used elsewhere.
Outside Linebackers (4): Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy, Preston Smith, Jackson Jeffcoat
Murphy will most likely get the start opposite Kerrigan, but Smith will certainly see his fair share of snaps as he looks to displace Murphy from the starting position. I went with Jeffcoat over Houston Bates. Bates had a good preseason, but so did Jeffcoat, who has the upper hand of experience on the roster last year. With two high-profile young guys in Murphy and Smith, there shouldn’t be many snaps spare, meaning there’s no need to carry a fifth pass rusher. Bates is a tough cut, but another practice squad candidate.
Inside Linebackers (5): Keenan Robinson, Perry Riley, Terrance Plummer, Will Compton, Martrell Spaight
Robinson and Riley were set in stone as the starters. I expected more from fifth round rookie Spaight, but he was outplayed but undrafted free agent Plummer, who in my eyes was the best of the back up inside linebackers. He has a nose for the football and always seemed to be in position to make a play if he wasn’t the guy making the play himself. Will Compton returns as the back up ‘Mike’ backer, given his experience filling in for Robinson last year.
Cornerbacks (5): Chris Culliver, DeAngelo Hall, David Amerson, Justin Rogers, Deshazor Everett
Bashaud Breeland is suspended for the first week of the season, but will come back and most likely knock Everett off the roster. His return will knock Rogers out of the starting slot corner role and I expect Breeland to be challenging Hall for the starting spot on the outside before long. Amerson makes the cut this time, but more because he was a second round pick and Washington are thin at cornerback. He’s struggled again in coverage and his tackling problems from previous seasons appears to have carried over from last season. He needs to improve this season or he’ll be on the bubble next year.
Safeties (5): Dashon Goldson, Duke Ihenacho, Jeron Johnson, Kysheon Jarrett, Trenton Robinson
Johnson has been somewhat of a disappointment. He was expected to challenge and ultimately win the starting strong safety spot, but Ihenacho has been better in every faucet of the game. Goldson has the starting free safety spot locked down without much competition behind him. Jarrett is more of a strong than free safety, but showed his versatility in preseason. He took charge of the secondary at free safety at times and made some nice plays when playing strong. He’s also a candidate to play some slot corner and should be a key special teamer.
Defense total: 25
Special Teams (3): Nick Sundburg (LS), Tress Way (P), Kai Forbath (K)
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