It’s an area the Washington Redskins defense struggled with all season. And it played a part in stalling the NFC East champion’s postseason run in the first week of the playoffs. After bolting to an 11-0 lead over the Green Bay Packers, the Redskins simply couldn’t get pressure on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who found his groove in switching to hurry-up mode. Rodgers was barely rattled from there, throwing for two touchdowns in the 35-18 rout.

Rodgers was the third NFL MVP quarterback to romp against Washington’s subpar pass rush last season, along with Tom Brady, who was never sacked and hit just once in the Patriots’ 27-10 victory over the Redskins in Week 9, and Newton, who threw five touchdowns in the Panthers’ 44-16 drubbing of the Redskins in Week 11.

When the regular season stats were tallied, Denver boasted the top-ranked pass defense, allowing just 200 passing yards per game and 19 touchdowns, while registering 52 sacks. The Redskins’ pass defense ranked 25th, allowing 258 passing yards per game and 30 touchdowns, while recording 38 sacks. And this despite adding outside linebackers with their second-round pick in the two most recent NFL drafts: Stanford’s Trent Murphy in 2014 and Mississippi State’s Preston Smith in 2015.

AD

AD

As Coach Jay Gruden and defensive coordinator Joe Barry consider how to punch up the pass rush in 2016, the question of shifting the 6-5, 268-pound Murphy to defensive end has been raised.

He’d need to pack on more weight, but Murphy has demonstrated he can do that, praised by Gruden as the team’s most improved player heading into his second year because of the bulk and power he added in the offseason. And the Redskins defensive line needs an infusion of youth, with Jason Hatcher mulling retirement and the return of free agents Terrance Knighton and Kedric Golston in question.

The Redskins aren’t expected to go that route, however, but continue using Murphy selectively at defensive end in nickel packages, as they did this past season.

Murphy, who fended off a challenge from Smith for the starting job opposite Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, played a key role in the Redskins’ upset of the Bears at Chicago in Week 14, a victory that jump-started their playoff run, recording a sack, strip and fumble recovery on Jay Cutler. That performance drew kudos from Barry, who appears committed to Murphy’s long-term development at linebacker.

AD

AD

“He shows up every single day…working on every aspect of his game, whether it’s setting the edge in the run or pass rush working his hands, working his hips,” Barry said. “When a guy is that diligent and that dedicated to his craft, good things are going to eventually show for him.”

Rather than re-invent Murphy, there are other steps the Redskins can take to bolster their pass rush.

The first came last month, when the Redskins hired Greg Manusky as their outside linebackers coach. A former Redskins linebacker himself (1988-90), Manusky has been an NFL defensive coordinator the last nine years in Indianapolis, San Diego and San Francisco.

It was a position Gruden had eliminated following the 2014 season, when he replaced defensive coordinator Jim Haslett with Barry, San Diego’s longtime linebackers coach. In the remaking of the defensive staff, outside linebackers coach Brian Baker wasn’t retained (the slot used instead to add a quarterbacks coach) and his duties spread between defensive line coach Robb Akey and inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti and augmented by martial arts specialist Joe Kim.

AD

AD

In retrospect, going without an outside linebackers coach in 2015 was unwise. Baker was a detail-oriented, enthusiastic teacher lauded by Kerrigan, who achieved a career-high 13 1/2 sacks and five forced fumbles under his tutelage, and Murphy. Baker’s specialized attention likely could have escalated the development of Smith, the late-blooming rookie who registered five of his eight sacks in the season’s last three games.

With Manusky now installed at the position, there’s reason to expect all of the outside linebackers to take a leap.

Moreover, the unit should get significant reinforcement with the long-awaited addition of Junior Galette, whom the Redskins signed in the 2015 offseason after his abrupt release by New Orleans. Galette, who was coming off a 10-sack season, never played a down for Washington after tearing his Achilles’ during an August practice.

AD

AD