Redskins: What is the realistic range of this team in 2019?

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LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 10: Ryan Kerrigan #91 of the Washington Redskins celebrates against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half at FedExField on September 10, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

How good can the 2019 Redskins be?

Let’s talk about best-case scenarios for a second. There are always two sides to the “if” coin, and fixating on one side can be dangerous. Fixating on the best-case scenario is a common pitfall every offseason, but that’s the point of this slide, so let’s go crazy.

Let’s look at the defense. As it stands right now, this is a top twelve unit with top five potential. A front five of Ryan Kerrigan, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis, and Montez Sweat is fearsome, with a tantalizing blend of athletic potential and brute strength. All five players are fairly versatile, aside from Ioannidis, who counters by being the team’s best interior pass rusher, and four of those five players are 25 or younger, and thus trending up. The fifth is Kerrigan, who’s been a double-digit sack artist for two years on end.

Behind that front, the Redskins have a potential high-impact starter in Reuben Foster, and a young player who could compliment him very well in Shaun Dion Hamilton. Hamilton’s been slept on, but he has the combination of burst and football I.Q. to start and thrive at inside linebacker, and mitigate some of the coverage concerns propagated by Mason Foster and Zach Brown in 2018.

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In the secondary, the Redskins have Josh Norman, Quinton Dunbar, and Fabian Moreau starting again at cornerback. Norman still offers some disruption, even if he’s getting older. Moreau is trending up as a physical slot presence. Getting Dunbar back is the biggest thing here. Dunbar has the size-speed combination, along with his attention to detail, to be a very, very good starter, as long as he can get back to full strength. Last season, he was on pace for four interceptions and 18 pass deflections before injuries shortened his 2018 campaign. Still just 26 years old, Dunbar has yet to truly break out. And that’s exciting.

All this, and we haven’t even talked about the team’s shining free agent acquisition: Landon Collins. The former Giants standout is a force to be reckoned with in the box, and he can cover adequately as well. He might not be the surefire blue-chip player he was in 2016, but he’s close, and he’s still young. Behind this front seven, he should be able to produce. Who starts next to Collins is yet to be determined, but there’s potential there as well. Montae Nicholson, in particular, has the athletic upside as the free safety, and he’s shown flashes there. He has the traits to be a very good compliment to Collins, if he’s afforded a second chance.

Overall, the Redskins defense has top five potential, and while Greg Manusky has a lot to prove in his role, talent-wise, the Redskins are near the top. If the offense can be more than what it was last year, then the Redskins could win more games than expected. That’s certainly possible too; Dwayne Haskins is smart enough to be the team’s pseudo-Alex Smith from Week 1, and Derrius Guice should provide more versatility as a go-to weapon. Part of it depends on Kevin O’Connell. If he’s calling the plays, there’s more cause for optimism, as his background is promising, and Gruden might be better served focusing on other things.

If O’Connell calls the plays, then there’s at least hope that the Redskins offense can take on some of the modern concepts that have allowed other teams to flourish. There’s hope that they can use their intriguing weapons, such as Josh Doctson, Jordan Reed, Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon, and Trey Quinn, with more creativity and flexibility, and there’s hope that they can glean the most out of an uncertain offensive unit. If they can do that, and compliment a stellar defensive output, then winning double-digit games is a possibility.

If literally everything goes right, the Redskins can hit 11-5. Keep in mind, however, that the number of times everything has gone right, for any NFL team in history, can be counted with one hand, shaped like a zero. 10-6 is a more realistic peak, but if the defense reaches its full potential, and if Haskins acclimates himself with an increasingly versatile offense quicker than expected, then it’s at least safe to think that better days might be on the horizon.

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