Redskins Depth Chart: Analyzing the team’s cornerbacks

Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 17: Cornerback Josh Norman #24 of the Washington Redskins reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at FedEx Field on December 17, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Washington Redskins have a young, unproven cornerback group. Here’s how the depth chart may shake out to start the season.

Last year, it seemed that the Redskins cornerback group was starting to become a major strength of theirs. They had some great young talent mixed in with a good veteran presence, but they were set to make some key offseason decisions about their personnel. In that process, they ended up letting two of their better, younger players go on the free agent market and via a trade. And that left many fans scratching their heads as they looked at the cornerback depth chart.

On paper, this group has a lot of upside. In practice, the depth in the group lacks experience, so one injury could cause a young player to be played too early. While trial by fire does work for some NFL players, it can have an overwhelmingly negative impact on others.

The Redskins are going to have questions at every position on the cornerback depth chart. Each position will have its own unique challenge, and we’ll dive into them now. Here’s a look starting with the team’s No. 1 corner.

No. 1 Corner: CB Josh Norman

Josh Norman had a down year last season, but that wasn’t necessarily his fault. Norman dealt with a brutal rib injury early in the season, and that caused him to struggle at times. Now fully healthy, Norman should get a chance to continue his success.

Norman thrives as a big, physical corner who bodies up against all receivers and bumps them off their routes. In addition to this, Norman has very good ball skills and can make plays on any passes thrown to him. Even though he didn’t have any interceptions last season, Norman still did well for the most part and logged another nine pass defenses in 14 games. And in the previous three seasons, Norman combined for nine picks and a ridiculous 48 pass defenses.

While some point to the numerical decline of Norman as a problem, that’s not entirely the truth. As Pro Football Focus recently pointed out, Norman saw fewer throws his way per coverage snap than ever before, as demonstrated in this handy graphic.

Quarterbacks have avoiding throwing passes into Josh Norman's coverage more and more as his career has progressed. pic.twitter.com/J2PqpKqjCq
— PFF (@PFF) July 5, 2018

So, what exactly does this mean? Well, it means that Norman strikes fear into opposing quarterbacks. He locks down one side of the field as a result. And some may point to the fact that Bashaud Breeland was a bit easier to get by than Norman last season, but the fact remains. When given the choice of targeting Norman or someone else, opposing quarterbacks will tend to shy away from the top dog in the Redskins cornerback room.

It is worth noting that Norman’s contract value, and cap number, is continuing to go up over the next couple of years, so that may mean that it’s his final year with the Redskins. They may not be able to afford to keep him even if he’s still an above average player. He’s just going to be too expensive.

With that said, Norman is going to try and ball out this year in hopes of landing another big contract. He has the talent to do it and if he’s fully healthy, he could be a rock-solid No. 1 corner. It remains to be seen whether or not he will decline, but for now, there’s reason for optimism that Norman should continue to be a big part of the Redskins cornerback group.

No. 2 Corner: CB Quinton Dunbar

The No. 2 cornerback position is one that’s a bit of an unknown at the moment. The Redskins let Bashaud Breeland, the No. 2 man from last season, walk in free agency and he remains unsigned. Despite this fact, the Redskins haven’t made an effort to bring him back, as they like the potential of the other guys they have on the roster.

Notably, Quinton Dunbar has gotten a lot of positive buzz this offseason. It’s easy to see why. Dunbar is coming off the best season of his career in which he played 15 games, notched four starts, and recorded a career-high with eight pass defenses. He seems to be the favorite for the starting role right now and could lock it down with a strong camp.

Our own Ian Cummings is particularly bullish on Dunbar’s potential and ranked him as the second-best Redskins player that nobody talks about. Here’s what he said about Dunbar in that piece.

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"Just as Dunbar showed elite flashes last season, he has the potential to make “elite” the new normal in 2018. Think about it. Since 2015, ever since he made a position switch as an undrafted rookie, Dunbar has been learning the nuance of the cornerback position. And every year, he’s shown tangible improvement. Last year, in limited snaps, he played just as well as Bashaud Breeland, and one could argue he was better. If Dunbar stays on his current course, his combination of size, speed, and length gives him exciting potential as a boundary starter for the Washington Redskins. Possessing a long 6-foot-2 frame, 4.44 speed, immaculate looseness in his hips, and a high positional I.Q., Dunbar has the traits to be a high-end starter for the Washington Redskins. There’s a reason the team extended him earlier this offseason. He has the potential to be a star."

While I may not be quite as high on Dunbar as Ian is, I definitely can see him becoming a strong starter for the Redskins defense. He’s a really solid player who is still learning the corner position. He can be trusted as the No. 2 corner to start the season and if he struggles, the team can move him back to the backup role. But in terms of replacing Breeland, Dunbar should be at the worst a lateral move.

Dunbar still has a lot of upside. He’s young and has a good amount of experience. The former undrafted free agent should get a chance to work across Norman. The Redskins wouldn’t have given him a three-year contract extension if they didn’t think that was a strong possibility.

Slot Corner: CB Orlando Scandrick

Many are going to be unhappy with this projection, but as it stands, it seems likely that the slot corner position is Orlando Scandrick’s to lose. The Redskins signed him to a two-year deal this offseason and provided that he can stay healthy, he will probably be the opening day starter there.

Scandrick was once one of the league’s best nickel backs, and he was able to do a lot for the Cowboys defense. He played both outside and inside and served as a solid starter for the Redskins divisional rival. However, those days were three seasons ago, and it’s fair to wonder if Scandrick is the same player he once was.

Since a solid 2014 campaign, Scandrick has 25 of a possible 48 games for the Cowboys. He’s dealt with numerous injuries and that has sapped him of some of his athletic ability. Because of this, he’s a bit more limited than he once was and for that reason, he’s better served staying in the slot and guarding the middle of the field.

Top Backup: CB Fabian Moreau

Fabian Moreau is a player that many fans want to see crack the starting lineup in 2018. And that makes a lot of sense. Moreau was a third-round pick by the Redskins in 2017 who played sparingly on the defensive side of the ball. That said, he has enormous upside and was considered by some to be one of the best corners in the draft.

Had it not been for a torn pectoral muscle at his pro day prior to the 2017 NFL Draft, Moreau would have had a chance of sneaking into the first round of the draft. The former UCLA product had a strong draft season displaying excellent speed, good coverage skills, and the ball tracking abilities needed of a potential starting corner in the NFL. Landing him in Round 3 of the draft was a steal, and the Redskins were rightly praised for landing him.

Though Moreau didn’t play much on defense in 2017, it wasn’t because he lacks talent. The Redskins simply had four players in front of him at corner, so they opted to use him as a gunner on special teams. He thrived in that role thanks to his high-level speed, and it was clear that he could use that speed well when given a chance at corner.

It seems that chance is coming now. With the departure of Breeland and the Alex Smith trade, Moreau figures to be, at the very least, the top backup on the depth chart. He has the traits necessary to succeed on the outside and could be successful at the nickel spot as well, though it may be better for his long-term development to have him stay on the outside.

If Moreau does stay outside, he will be Dunbar’s main competition for the starting role. While Dunbar has more experience in the NFL, Moreau has more experience at the position, having played there for five college seasons and spending a year of development in the NFL. That could make him slightly more polished than Dunbar or at least make him a potential equivalent. So, that battle will be one to watch.

The Redskins could consider Moreau at nickel as well, and that could work out. Many Redskins fans are expecting a Kendall Fuller-type leap from Moreau in his second season, so many pigeonhole him into that role. Moreau and Fuller are similar in that they were third-round picks with athletic upside, so that makes sense. Still, like Fuller, Moreau could benefit from being a roaming corner who can play outside or in the slot. It just remains to be seen where he’ll be used first.

For now, I see Moreau as the top backup. He’s going to see some action spelling the starters early in the season, but I think it’s important for him to get more seasoning before being relied on as a full-time player. Perhaps by the middle of the season, Moreau will be able to move into a starting role. But to start the season, he should be a top backup and special teams ace.

Backup Slot: CB Joshua Holsey

Joshua Holsey didn’t do a lot as a rookie. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t find a role in the secondary for the 2017 season.

Holsey has gotten a lot of praise during his time with the Redskins. Jay Gruden seems to love him. He presents himself as a smart individual who knows how to read defenses, and that’s part of why the coaching staff at Auburn thought of him as a coach on the field.

Thanks to Holsey’s intelligence and the fact that he got to spend a full year learning from Torrian Gray, he could be ready to make a bigger impact. That said, it seems more likely that he will be a backup than a starter at this point. He’s clearly behind Moreau on the depth chart and barring a decline from Scandrick, he’s probably behind the former Cowboy too.

Holsey’s best spot with this team, for the moment, is as a backup slot man. Holsey has a 5-foot-11 frame, good quickness, and an ability to read and react to opposing receivers very well. That will give him a chance to find success in the slot, and there’s a good chance that he could fight Moreau and Scandrick for playing time at the position. At the end of the day, it seems likely that he will find a way to earn some minor playing time on defense and continue to play a role on special teams.

Holsey probably won’t be active every week to start the season unless there’s an injury. But, he’s a talented young player who could have an impact on the Redskins secondary. Of course, he too will have to stay healthy which, to this point, hasn’t been a given for the Auburn product. Still, he has more than enough talent to make the roster as a backup.

(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Punt Returner: CB Greg Stroman

The Redskins are likely to keep six corners on their roster, and that is great news from Greg Stroman. The seventh-round pick has the skill set needed to make an impact for the Redskins in an area of need.

Last season, the Redskins return game was pretty poor. In particular, Jamison Crowder struggled badly as the punt returner and had several gaffes that cost the team possessions. While Crowder is a talented returner, he couldn’t get out of his own way. Thus, the Redskins will look for someone to compete with him and possibly take the job.

Stroman could be the get to do it. He has a wealth of experience at Virginia Tech as a punt returner and occupied the role in each of his four collegiate seasons. In his final year, he was excellent, averaging 11.3 yards per return and scoring twice. In his career, he had 127 returns, averaged 8.7 yards per return, and scored four times.

Compared to Crowder, Stroman would be a huge upgrade. Last season, Crowder only averaged a meager 6.3 yards per punt return, which was good for just 27th in the league. Making matters worse, the mistakes Crowder made on punt returns rubbed off on him offensively, so he struggled to catch passes at times.

Stroman won’t have that issue. Since he’ll be the fifth or sixth corner on the depth chart, he won’t need to focus on being heavily utilized on defense. He can just focus on making himself the best returner he can be. That could help swing the field position battle and for this reason, it makes a lot of sense that Stroman will make the final roster as a return man.

(Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Missing the cut

Currently, the Redskins only have eight corners on the roster, and it seems that they will keep at least six of them. That’s how many they kept last season, and it’s never a bad thing to have extra cornerback depth.

That said, the likely cuts for the Redskins are two undrafted free agents: Danny Johnson and Ranthony Texada. Both are talented players, but they face an uphill battle winning a spot on the Redskins depth chart that features a lot of young talent in the secondary.

Johnson is the better of the two players, and he was a great college cornerback at Southern, recording 16 picks and 55 pass defenses during his career. Some believed he would have a chance to get drafted and though he’s a bit undersized, he could eventually develop into a contributor and maybe even a starting slot corner. If he doesn’t make the cut, he’s a player that the Redskins will almost certainly try to get on the practice squad.

Meanwhile, Texada is a bit bigger and the TCU product has some solid tape. He similarly could develop into a solid backup and the Redskins will probably try to get him on the practice squad if they have to cut him.

Next: Ranking every Redskins game from least to most difficult

The Redskins can’t really go wrong with any of the corners they choose for their roster. They have built an interesting, young position group and the competition for the six spots will be fierce. It will be interesting to see which guys are able to step up and win roles with the team.

Jacob Camenker