The Redskins have some things going for them.
Sure, it might not seem like it. In the offseason, the front office gets the brunt of the coverage, and the Washington Redskins front office is, well, a mess.
That said, the Redskins, for their lack of direction, have managed to make a few positive marks on the team’s roster. The brightest spot, unquestionably, is the defensive line, where the team boasts three high-level starters and two younger reserves with upside.
The Redskins defensive line has both starting talent and adequate depth, things that the team has struggled to attain at most other position groups. It’s taken an investment of two first-round picks, as well as a reasonable chunk of the team’s salary cap, but the Redskins defensive line is young, talented, and available at a bargain price.
If Jim Tomsula leaves, the appeal of a young defensive line could go away, as he’s worked wonders with their development. But for now, let’s not think about that. Instead, let’s delve into the latest season results from the Redskins defensive linemen. How did they fare, with another year under the defensive line guru?
Incomplete Grades
Only two Redskins players received incomplete grades for their performance in 2018, and only one such player ended the season with the team.
The latter player is Caleb Brantley, a former late-round pick out of Cleveland who was signed just two days after being cut by the Browns. The Redskins released Anthony Lanier to make room for Brantley, and although Brantley carried upside with him, he’d only log 37 total snaps on the season; not enough to determine a grade.
Ziggy Hood was the second Redskins defensive lineman to not receive a grade. The veteran managed to enter the season on the active roster, but he logged just 50 snaps in four games before he was released, and subsequently picked up by the Miami Dolphins. Hood was a sturdy veteran presence in Washington, but the team opted to move on from the former first-rounder before he could carve out a role in 2018.
Tim Settle
The expectations are normally fairly low for a fifth-rounder. For a fifth-rounder who plays at the same position as the first-rounder in that same year, the standards only shrink.
Tim Settle was regarded as a solid depth acquisition when the Redskins acquired him in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Virginia Tech product was viewed as a raw prospect with excellent size and decent athleticism, but with Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, and Daron Payne playing ahead of him, he wasn’t expected to do much more than sit and learn.
The expectations for Settle proved to be fairly accurate, but the former Hokie managed to flash with limited opportunities. In 69 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus, Settle logged four total hurries, while also amassing six run stops on 66 run defense snaps.
If Jim Tomsula stays, then the future outlook is positive for Settle. In his rookie season, he performed well when given opportunities, and if his development continues as anticipated, he could work his way into the rotation as the primary reserve.
Tim Settle’s 2018 Grade: C+
Stacy McGee
Stacy McGee won’t grade out well for his 2018 performance, but it’s not entirely his fault. Much of the blame goes on the Redskins front office, for giving him a deal that wasn’t proportional to his demand, back in the offseason of 2017.
You probably remember that signing; in a time when the Redskins still needed more talent on the defensive line, the Redskins signed Stacy McGee to a five-year, $25 million contract, and fans promptly replied with Conor McGregor’s famous line: “Who the [expletive] is that guy?”
We’re now two years into McGee’s contract, and we still don’t know the answer to that question. Each season, McGee has merely logged snaps as a reserve. In 2017, he failed to capitalize on injuries that freed up reps for him on the interior, and in 2018, he was effectively buried in a rotation that featured three borderline Pro Bowl linemen.
McGee made $4.675 million of his assigned $25 million in 2018, per Spotrac, outpacing players like Zach Brown, Chris Thompson, and all of his defensive line counterparts. Stacy McGee was the highest paid Redskins defensive lineman by over $2 million. Yet, he didn’t play a single defensive snap until Week 9 due to injury, and he finished the season with just 13 percent of the total defensive snaps on his belt.
In his limited time on the field, McGee was minimally effective. The Redskins shouldn’t have paid him as much as they did. But because they did, the standards are higher. McGee did not meet them.
Stacy McGee’s 2018 Grade: D+
Matt Ioannidis
With a last name that essentially functions as its own epic nickname, Matt Ioannidis has, in just three seasons with the Washington Redskins, become a fan favorite. At first, most of the hype was all about the name. But over the course of the last two seasons, Ioannidis has stepped up his game, by otherworldly proportions.
Not long ago, at the conclusion of the 2016 season, some were calling Ioannidis a bust. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, in a time when the Redskins needed any kind of help at all on the defensive interior, Ioannidis’ standards were unreasonably high at first. He needed time to work with Jim Tomsula and unlock his potential. Now that he has, he’s become one of the best pass rushing defensive tackles in the NFL.
No, that’s not hyperbole. Ioannidis is a true spartan.
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After logging 4.5 sacks in the first five games of 2017, Ioannidis opened the 2018 season with another tear, amassing 7.5 quarterback takedowns in his first eight games. He would end up finishing the season with that 7.5 figure, but he maintained a presence as a ruthless force on pass rushing downs.
Per Pro Football Focus, Ioannidis logged a pass rush productivity rating (Total hurries divided by total pass rushing snaps) of 13.1 percent. That figure is best on the team among linemen and edge rushers, and it compares favorably to some of the league’s top defensive linemen, such as San Francisco’s DeForest Buckner (10.1), New Orleans’ Sheldon Rankins (10.2), Kansas City’s Chris Jones (14.2), Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox (15.3), and Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald, who’s admittedly in a league of his own (17.2).
Ioannidis could stand to improve his run defense, as the team often shifted him out on surefire rushing downs (Ioannidis played less than half of the possible defensive snaps as a result), but the Temple product, under Jim Tomsula’s tutelage, has quickly trended toward the likes of an elite interior pass rusher. He’s a problem for opposing teams, and hopefully, even with the possible departure of Tomsula, that won’t change.
Matt Ioannidis’ 2018 Grade: B+
Jonathan Allen
In his second season, Jonathan Allen is still working on finding consistency. But the flashes are very bright from the 2017 first-round pick, and every year, we see more and more of them.
Allen’s promise was put on display early in 2017, but his rookie season was cut short by a foot injury. By the start of the 2018 regular season, anticipation had built to a climax, and Jonathan Allen did not disappoint.
After playing just five games in 2017, Allen played in and started all 16 games in 2018, amassing eight sacks, fifteen quarterback hits, and eleven tackles for loss. His Pro Football Focus pass rush productivity grade wasn’t the most bountiful (7.5), but when Allen got into the pocket, he capitalized on the chance to impact the passer.
On top of his pass rushing success, Allen also logged 29 stops in run defense, solidifying his reputation as a do-it-all defensive lineman, capable of solidifying an NFL unit. He showed growth in 2018, and next season, with the same cast on the line around him, Allen’s tireless work ethic should only help him continue to improve.
Jonathan Allen’s 2018 Grade: B+
Daron Payne
The pick of Daron Payne in Round 1 was met with some skepticism. The Washington Redskins had chosen to pass on Derwin James for the Alabama product, and Payne was viewed as a raw player who hadn’t quite developed as a pass rusher.
We can talk about whether or not Derwin James was the right pick at No. 13 another day. But there’s no denying this: Daron Payne and Jim Tomsula proved to be a match made in heaven.
Payne proved to us what we already knew in 2018: He’s as good a run defender there is. He logged 34 run stops and six tackles for loss, consistently anchoring a tough, resilient line.
Pass rushing was always the concern for Payne coming out of the NFL Draft, but he proved to have grown in that area as well. While his pass rush productivity wasn’t great, he logged 5.0 sacks, a stellar figure in his rookie season, competing for interior pressure with Allen and Ioannidis.
The Redskins must do everything they can to try and clean up their act so Tomsula stays, because the immediate returns from Payne under Tomsula’s watch were very promising. If Payne’s rookie season was a sign of things to come, then the Redskins defensive line could be very imposing in the near future.