Breaking down the Redskins edge rusher depth chart for 2019
By Ian Cummings
The Redskins lost more than people want to believe with Preston Smith.
On the surface, the Washington Redskins lost just 4.0 sacks when Preston Smith signed his sizable new deal with the Green Bay Packers. On the surface, the Redskins lost an inconsistent contributor, who was asking for more than his true worth.
That would be the case, if only true worth was defined by one lone statistic.
In truth, Smith was a valuable asset for the Redskins. More valuable than stats such as sacks convey. A second-round pick back in 2015, Smith quietly had a career year in 2018. His PFF grade improved from 63.7 in 2017 to 76.9 in 2018. And because such grades require context, it’s worth noting that Smith’s pass rush productivity also eclipsed ten percent for the first time in his career. With 38 pressures on 362 pass rush snaps, Smith logged a pass rush productivity of 10.5 percent, per Pro Football Focus.
Smith was adept at impacting the play, both in pass defense and run defense, and while his sack numbers don’t indicate as such, he was a crucial loss for the Redskins in 2019. Of course, the Redskins might find it hard to miss him, either way. Why? Because there’s a new Mississippi State Bulldog in town. And he changes the outlook of the edge rusher position.