Why the Redskins should still have Johnathan Hankins on their radar
By Desmond Lee
You can never have too many good defensive linemen
Nick Foles’ magical 2018 postseason dominated the storylines chronicling the Eagles championship season last year. But Philly’s improbable run to the Super Bowl could not have happened without one of the league’s best defensive lines.
The line’s impact on the Eagles Super Bowl season didn’t simply result from All-Pros like defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. It was aided by a battery of other effective contributors who kept stars like Cox fresh and allowed the Eagles’ defense to send continued waves of rested linemen against opposing offenses.
The conceptual basis of this personnel philosophy is the time-tested convention that a team can never have too many good defensive linemen, with a particular emphasis on “good.” Players such as rookie Derek Barnett, role player Beau Allen, and veteran Chris Long all played a part in shaping one of the league’s best units at the defensive point of attack. The ability of these Eagles defensive linemen to effectively rotate in for starters made their defensive line a focal point offensive coordinators had to prepare for.
For their part, the Redskins have done well to add young, premiere talent such as Payne and Johnathan Allen to their defensive line. But Payne is an unproven rookie and Allen is coming back from a season-ending injury he suffered early on in his first year. Matt Ioannidis showed promise last year at defensive tackle, but the unit’s two veterans, Ziggy Hood and Stacy McGee, are nothing more than journeyman players. The defensive line rounds out with another rookie in Tim Settle and an unproven talent in Anthony Lanier.
Were the team to sign Hankins, he, at 26, would represent the line’s only veteran who has provided consistent production at his position. This only underscores the stark reality that, despite the optimism generated by the additions of Payne and Allen, the Redskins defensive line consists of either first or second year players with little, if any, track record or veterans that belong second or perhaps third on a depth chart.