Redskins: 3 top position battles to watch in training camp

1. Left Guard

As long as Shawn Lauvao is listed as the starter at left guard, this is going to be a wide-open competition. While Bill Callahan seems ready to trust Lauvao, the fact is that he didn’t perform well last season and has been injury prone during his time in Washington. Those two factors will make it easy for any player with upside to overtake him.

Unfortunately, the Redskins don’t have a lot in that category. Right now, Ty Nsekhe would be the natural upgrade on the offensive line, but the Redskins seem content to keep him at tackle (which makes sense, given the injury issues they had there last year). Third-round rookie Geron Christian also appears to be locked into that position as well.

So, the rest of the notable remaining players in the interior lineman competition are as follows: Tony Bergstrom, T.J. Clemmings (who I think should move to guard), Tyler Catalina, Kyle Kalis, and undrafted free agent Casey Dunn. Of the group, Clemmings and Dunn probably have the most upside, but both have their issues. Dunn is more of a long-term project who isn’t ready to start, while Clemmings would need to learn a new position. That said, I think that Clemmings’ athletic ability could be just enough to edge out Lauvao. But again, the Redskins would have to move him to guard, and there has been no talk of that from their camp.

Until deep into the preseason, nobody is really going to know who the starter will be at guard. It’s highly likely that the starter will be the weak link on the line, but perhaps the Redskins will find a player who surprises leading up to the 2018 season.