However, three games through his suspension, his absence has hardly been mentioned as Washington won tough games against the Vikings and Packers without him. Ty Nsekhe, the man tasked with replacing perhaps the best player on the team, has filled in and looked perfectly at home. He has rarely surrendered pressure in pass protection, which has made many forget that Williams hasn’t been playing.

Nsekhe deserves every bit of praise he receives for the way he has filled in so far. General manager Scot McCloughan boldly labeled him one of the top five offensive linemen on the team during the offseason and Nsekhe has proven him right. He’s faced some of the best pass rushers in the league in Everson Griffen and Clay Matthews and held his own.

On this play, Nsekhe faces Griffen, the Vikings defensive end.

Nsekhe attempts to use his length to his advantage, using his right arm to hit the inside of Griffen’s left shoulder. But Nsekhe aims too high and his punch has little effect on Griffen. Griffen plays low and gets his hands inside on the chest on Nsekhe before closing the distance between them.

Nsekhe withstands the rush from Griffen and readjusts the position of his hands. With the Vikings pass rusher so close, Nsekhe gets his hands on Griffen’s body and gains control of the block. He shows good strength, using his right arm to push Griffen back and off balance.

By the time the ball is thrown, Nsekhe had Griffen completely turned around and facing the opposite direction, clearly no threat to the quarterback.

The Vikings are known as an aggressive defense that likes to blitz. In his first game as a starter, it would be understandable if he struggled with cohesion when picking up blitzes, but that wasn’t the case.

The Vikings show their double A-gap blitz look and bring safety Harrison Smith down to the line of scrimmage on the outside. They attempt to overload the left side of the line in order to test the offensive line with a new starter in place.

Center Spencer Long and running back Robert Kelley both work to the right side of the line initially, leaving Nsekhe and left guard Shawn Lauvao overloaded with a three-against-two situation. Nsekhe makes great use of his length, getting a hand to the chest of Griffen while still kick-sliding outside to pick up Smith.

Smith plays lower than Nsekhe and gets under his pad level. He converts his speed off the edge to power as he attempts to drive Nsekhe back, but he only manages to move him back a few steps before Nsekhe recovers. Nsekhe and Lauvao both do a great job keeping a hand on Griffen while still being engaged with other blocks.

Long works back to the left side and takes on the inside of the three rushers. That allows Lauvao to focus on Griffen and Nsekhe to concentrate on Smith on the edge. Nsekhe gets his hands on Smith’s shoulder pads and uses his length to keep a distance between them while running him past the quarterback.

One of the things that has impressed me most is his ability to recover a block even if he makes a mistake.

Here, Nsekhe faces a speed rush from Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.

Nsekhe starts the block poorly. He lunges slightly towards Matthews, with too much of his body weight leaning forward. His hands are too low and far apart, making it difficult for him to get his hands inside on the chest of Matthews to control the block. Nsekhe manages to get his left arm inside the right arm of Matthews, but Matthews quickly clubs it down and begins to rip through as he attempts to turn the corner.

But as Matthews attempts to rip through, Nsekhe gets his right hand back inside the left shoulder of Matthews. That gives him just enough leverage to push Matthews outside and run him past quarterback Kirk Cousins in the pocket.

Most tackles in the NFL can win a snap or two against a good pass rusher, but not many can recover from a poor start. Nsekhe did an excellent job staying with the play and recovering after initially surrendering all the leverage to Matthews. Later on, Nsekhe did the same again.

Like before, Matthews lines up across from Nsekhe.

But this time, instead of trying to beat Nsekhe to the edge, Matthews tests him with a bull rush. As on the previous play, Nsekhe starts with his hands too low and far apart. He does a better job not lunging at Matthews this time, but because of his starting hand position, he allows Matthews to close the gap and get his hands inside first. With his hands on the chest of Nsekhe, Matthews has control of the block and he begins to drive Nsekhe back.

But Nsekhe doesn’t panic. He remains calm and fights to regain some leverage. He gives some ground to allow himself to re-anchor, getting himself in a strong position to cope with the bull rush from Matthews. He manages to stop Matthews’s momentum and gain control of the block.

Nsekhe then re-positions his hands inside on the chest of Matthews and uses his strong base to get under Matthews and drive him back.

Nsekhe did a fantastic job on Matthews, handling every type of rush thrown at him, from speed rushes to bull rushes. Later in the game, the Packers tested Nsekhe with other rushers, but he wasn’t fazed.

This time, the Packers line up defensive end Datone Jones against Nsekhe.

Nsekhe initially manages to get his left hand inside, but Jones fights it off to keep his chest clean. Nsekhe responds by placing his right hand on the inside of Jones’s left shoulder.

Jones attempts to bat that hand away too, but Nsekhe pulls the string on him, ripping his hand down and catching Jones off balance. Jones’s weight is too far forward and he begins to fall down.

As Jones falls to the ground, Nsekhe secures the block by falling on top of him, ensuring Jones has no chance to get to the quarterback.

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Nsekhe has played well so far and has backed up McCloughan’s claim that he’s one of the best five offensive lineman on the team. That has made some fans and media wonder how Washington can fit him on the team once Trent Williams returns from suspension. Washington used a combination of Nsekhe at left tackle and Williams at left guard during their game against the Giants earlier in the season after losing Kory Lichtensteiger and Shawn Lauvao to injury. But for me, while Nsekhe has impressed, Williams should go right back into his left tackle spot. It’s the most important position on the offensive line and Williams is one of the best, if not the best, in the league there. If Nsekhe is to crack the starting five, at least in my view, it shouldn’t be at left tackle.

Mark Bullock is The Insider’s Outsider, sharing his Redskins impressions without the benefit of access to the team. For more, click here.