2020 Washington Redskins Offseason Plan

Brandon Olsen

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Team Needs:

CB, S, WR, OG, C, LB, TE, OT

Available Draft Picks:

1(2), 3(66), 4(105), 4(141), 5(148), 7(216), 7(229)

Starting Cap Space:

$33,178,010

Trades:

Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

CB Quinton Dunbar to KC for pick 3.96

With the news just breaking yesterday that Quinton Dunbar is looking to either be traded or released, let’s work under the assumption that he gets traded from the Redskins. A player of his caliber should be able to warrant a higher return than social media seems to think. Dunbar played like a top corner this year and unfortunately ended the season on IR, but is just now hitting his prime. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team like Kansas City overpay to bring in Dunbar and not let him hit free agency.

Cuts:

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

CB Josh Norman to save $12,437,500

TE Jordan Reed to save $8,500,000

RB Adrian Peterson to save $2,359,375

WR Paul Richardson to save $2,312,500

Being active on this side of the transaction wire is important for the Redskins 2020 offseason. The Redskins are one of the worst situations in the league as far as having players that are either always injured or well past their prime being paid top-dollar at their positions. Luckily with the start of the Redskins offseason, that starts to lighten up a bit as these contracts have some ways to get out of them without leaving the team with a ton of dead money. Paul Richardson has proven that he isn’t worth the contract he signed years ago, the rest of the cuts are just old and/or injury prone.

Re-signings:

G Brandon Scherff for 5 years, $65,000,000 ($52M GTD)

G Ereck Flowers for 2 years, $7,000,000 ($4M GTD)

LB Jon Bostic for 1 year, $1,100,000 ($0 GTD)

Brandon Scherff is one of the best guards in the NFL, on one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, with a young quarterback under center. Signing Scherff has to be priority #1 when it comes to signing players. Scherf’s extension means that he’ll be a Redskin throughout his prime with the ability to help the rookies and free agents that sign in D.C. Scherff should also be able to be a leader for the whole locker room to help the players adapt to Ron Rivera.

Signing Flowers and Bostic are hopefully more depth signings than anything else but if they have to step into starting roles again, they’d be capable of being low-level starters.

Free Agent Signings:

CB James Bradberry for 4 years, $32,000,000 ($26M GTD)

TE Greg Olsen for 1 year, $5,200,000 ($5.2M GTD)

S Tre Boston for 2 years, $19,000,000 ($9.5M GTD)

James Bradberry is one of the better free agent cornerbacks available who, like Greg Olsen and Tre Boston, are familiar with new Redskins Head Coach Ron Rivera from their days with the Carolina Panthers. Bringing in veterans like Bradberry, Olsen, and Boston would be the smartest way for the Redskins to approach free agency this season; bring in leaders who can step in and contribute immediately while helping to ease the transition of a new coach.

Note: I hate that I gave them only Panthers but honestly for this offseason, that might be the approach they take for familiarity and leadership.

Draft Results:

Pick 1.2 – Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State

This is an incredibly easy pick to make. I know that the idea of trading down is enticing and that one of the strengths of Washington is their defensive line, but this is still a smart choice. Strengthening your pass-rush is never a bad idea, especially when you have a shot at the best player in the draft that should be a 12-sack a year kind of guy early on.

Pick 3.66 – Hakeem Adeniji, OL, Kansas

Adeniji primarily played left tackle for Kansas, but worked on the interior a lot while in Mobile. Ideally, Adeniji would be able to sit and develop for a little bit but with how badly this offensive line is lacking in talent, he very well could be an immediate starter. Strengthening this offensive line has to be an absolute priority for Washington and Adeniji could be a solid contributor for years to come. This should be right around Adeniji’s wheelhouse if you ask me or if you’ve read Dylan Sanders’ latest mock draft. (Which we don’t agree on the placement of all players, but Adeniji is someone we see in this range.)

Pick 3.96 – Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB, Appalachian State

Akeem Davis-Gaither is easily one of the most athletic linebackers in the 2020 NFL Draft. With elite speed and quickness, he’s an ideal WILL or nickel/dime linebacker. If he ends up in Washington, I would expect him to fit into a similar role that Shaq Thompson had with Carolina.

Pick 4.105 – KJ Hill, WR, Ohio State

An athletic receiver with the ability to make plays after the catch. Hill projects to play mostly in the slot like he did with Ohio State. Familiarity with Dwayne Haskins is an additional bonus and should close the adjustment gap from Hill to the NFL. His ability to contribute as a returner adds immediate value.

Pick 4.141 – Adam Trautman, TE, Dayton

A mountain of a man at 6’5” and 251 pounds, Trautman offers elite receiving ability along with the versatility to line up in-line, in the slot, or out wide. Having the opportunity to learn the nuances of the position behind Greg Olsen is a huge added bonus. Trautman is also already a better blocker than the majority of tight ends in the 2020 draft class.

Pick 5.148 – Geno Stone, S, Iowa

Stone is an Iowa defensive back through and through. A versatile player that’s as hard-nosed as they come when tackling while being capable of making plays in coverage. Ideally suited to play more of a strong safety/nickel role than deep middle, with Jack Del Rio and Ron Rivera putting together this defense, Geno Stone would be expected to play more of the curl-flat zone than anything else.

(Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

Pick 7.216 – Antonio Gibson, OW, Memphis

With the departure of Chris Thompson, Washington could be looking for someone who can fill that receiving back role without wanting to bank on the health of Bryce Love. Gibson is someone who could get drafted on versatility alone. He’s more of a gadget player/project than anything else at this point, but his ability to make a play with the ball in his hands gives him a very high upside and a case to be on the field immediately.

Pick 7.229 – Tino Ellis, CB, Maryland

A physical corner that projects to be best fit in a cover 3 scheme (Hello, D.C.), Ellis has all of the tools to be a success at the next level. Ellis has been unable to put everything together so far, which is why he’s lasted this long but the former wide receiver has good eyes and a mindset to attack the ball. A late-round player who could develop into a starter given time to work on his craft? There should be no complaints from anyone here.

Cap Space Spent on Re-signings:

$17,600,000

Cap Space Spent on Free Agents:

$22,700,000

Cap Space Spent on Draft Picks:

$11,871,574

Total Cap Remaining:

$1,537,686

Backfield

QB: Dwayne Haskins

RB: Derrius Guice

Pass Catchers

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

WR1: Terry McLaurin

WR2: Kelvin Harmon

Slot WR: KJ Hill

TE1: Greg Olsen

TE2: Adam Trautman

Offensive Line

LT: Trent Williams

LG: Ereck Flowers

C: Chase Roullier

RG: Brandon Scherff

RT: Morgan Moses

Defensive Line

DE: Jonathan Allen/Ryan Kerrigan

DT: Matt Ioannidis/Jonathan Allen

NT: Da’Ron Payne

DE: Chase Young/Montez Sweat

Normally I don’t explain any position groups but I felt it was necessary for the defensive line. Similar to the 49ers, I expect this defensive line to rotate a ton in order to keep everybody fresh and productive. Kerrigan, Young, and Sweat might even have very similar snap counts with how often they could rotate.

Linebacker Starters

WLB: Akeem Davis-Gaither

ILB: Reuben Foster

SLB: Cole Holcomb

Secondary Starters

CB1: James Bradberry

CB2: Fabian Moreau

Slot CB: Jimmy Moreland

FS: Tre Boston

SS: Landon Collins

Special Teamers

K: Dustin Hopkins

P: Tress Way

KOS: Randy Bullock

LS: Nick Sundberg

KR: Steven Sims Jr.

PR: Steven Sims Jr.