The Washington Football Team has seriously upgraded its talent roster in the last two years. If you had created a list of the top NFL rosters in Jan. 2020, there was a good chance Washington would be ranked No. 32.
What a difference two offseasons make.
Washington made the playoffs in 2020 with a 7-9 record despite below-average quarterback play for much of the season. The defense was outstanding at times last season, along with young playmakers on offense like Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson,
However, entering this offseason, the Football Team knew it needed to add talent at quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, offensive tackle and linebacker. The team checked off all of those boxes during free agency and the draft.
Earlier this month, ESPN ranked every team’s NFL roster, and Washington came in at No. 12.
Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports recently did the same exercise, and he has the WFT coming in at No. 8.
Here’s another team that has a quarterback question which puts their 2021 ceiling into question, but everything else on roster looks great. Ryan Fitzpatrick has a talented running back in Antonio Gibson to work with and an improved offensive line to protect him. I’m not going to claim Washington’s offensive line is elite, but they have a legitimate left tackle in Charles Leno Jr. now, and Cornelius Lucas on the right side to fill in for Morgan Moses. As for Fitzpatrick’s weapons, Washington spent time upgrading that core as well. Terry McLaurin is a star, but he now has a legitimate No. 2 to work with in another Ohio State player, Curtis Samuel. Washington also picked up a veteran slot receiver in Adam Humphries and have an athletic tight end coming off of a career year in Logan Thomas. The defense is the true strength of this club, however, as they carried this team to the postseason in 2020 and finished second in yards allowed, fourth in points allowed and third in DVOA. All they did was get better this offseason by drafting linebacker Jamin Davis and signing cornerback William Jackson III. They may have the best defense in the league this year.
People have focused so much on Washington upgrading its offense this offseason — and rightfully so. But, as Dajani pointed out, the WFT got better on defense this offseason. William Jackson III is an upgrade at corner, giving the team a true No. 1 cornerback, and rookie linebacker Jamin Davis could be the defense’s missing piece.
CBS ranked Washington as the best roster in the NFC East, with Dallas coming in second at No. 12.
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