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.
Redskins 2019 starters at edge rusher
Ryan Kerrigan and Montez Sweat
Preston who?
The Redskins may miss Preston Smith’s multi-faceted skill set early on, but Montez Sweat has the physical traits to match, and exceed, Smith’s impact early on in his career. Perhaps, in his rookie season, we’ll see that upside.
Before we get into the details on Sweat, however, let’s talk about what’s already there, in the starting lineup at edge rusher. Ryan Kerrigan, who’s set to turn 31 years old in August, is coming off his fourth Pro Bowl season, a year in which he nearly matched his career high in sacks with 13.0, and added three forced fumbles to his whopping career total of 25.
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Kerrigan simply continues to produce, and now, he’s a couple more good years shy of eclipsing the century mark in sacks, a feat only 32 players in the history of the NFL have matched. Kerrigan doesn’t flash on screen, but in a sense, that only makes him more dangerous. With subtle technical dominance and brute, focused strength, Kerrigan is able to consistently out-muscle linemen. And with his understanding of leverage and points of advantage, he can continue to produce, even after his body starts to deteriorate in the coming years.
Even with that deterioration on the horizon, Kerrigan’s style of play isn’t reckless, and if anything, it preserves his prime. He should have at least two more years of quality production left. In 2019, it’ll be business as usual for the steely veteran.
Montez Sweat will be able to learn a thing or two from Kerrigan, in time. But for now, Sweat already has a lot of things going for him, and a lot of traits even Kerrigan himself didn’t have, coming out back in 2009. It’s well-documented that Sweat, at 6-foot-6, 260, ran a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Yes, you read that right. A 4.41. If he were to test as a wide receiver, that number would place him over eighty percent of receivers tested at the NFL Combine, since the event’s inauguration.
So yeah, that’s pretty good.
It’s worth noting, of course, that sheer straight-line speed isn’t the most important trait for an edge rusher to have. But it speaks to the burst off the line that Montez Sweat couples with his outstanding length and play strength. He doesn’t have much bend, but with his burst and anchor, he’ll be able to get around most offensive tackles, and as he continues to learn more about the nuance of the position at the NFL level, he should only get better. Sweat provides good utility as both a run stopper and a pass rusher, and he has the athletic upside to transcend most of the league as well. It’s a rare high-floor, high-upside pick, and pairing him with Kerrigan, and the team’s interior defensive line, could bear exciting dividends.
Redskins 2019 top backups at edge rusher
Ryan Anderson and Jordan Brailford
The Redskins have a very solid starting duo, and after that duo, they have good backup talent as well; perhaps enough depth to withstand another potentially injury-riddled year.
Ryan Anderson‘s placement is perhaps most obvious here; the Alabama product and former second-round pick hasn’t come close to living up to his draft status, but he provides the Redskins with a kind of multi-faceted insurance, being good against the run and serviceable as a pass rusher.
Anderson doesn’t have the athletic upside to make a massive leap, but he does have the skill set to be serviceable, and compensate for the loss of Pernell McPhee. He produced well in limited action last year, so heading into year three, expectations should be tempered, but rising.
After Anderson, the player order is mostly up to interpretation. One could have another name in this tier, but in this scenario, Jordan Brailford is the last inclusion. Brailford is a bit of an unknown, but perhaps less can be said about the group behind him. Most are known to be serviceable at best. Brailford, meanwhile, has impressive athletic upside for a late-round pick, and since the Redskins invested a pick in him, they might be more inclined to keep him around.
It’s also worth noting that the Redskins only kept four outside linebackers last season. They added more such players at the end of the year, but they began with four. With the starting pairing coming back perhaps stronger, the team can afford to take a risk with their depth. Brailford is a good risk, in that regard, with good burst off the line and easy movement ability.
Redskins 2019 reserves at edge rusher
Marquis Flowers, Cassanova McKinzy, Marcus Smith II, and Andrew Ankrah
All four of these players are reserve types, and thus, they’re on the outside looking in, when it comes to battling for a roster.
Marquis Flowers has the best chance to stick around; the former Arizona Wildcats standout is an impressive athlete, and he’s carved out a respectable career as a versatile backup and special teamer in the NFL. He played the most for the Patriots in 2017, providing flexibility at linebacker. And at just 27 years old, this Unheralded Player has some modest upside to go along with his NFL experience, making him the top reserve by a safe margin.
Behind Flowers, there’s Cassanova McKinzy, the relatively un-athletic edge rusher who feigned bend last season on one play by falling to the ground below a lineman’s block, and notching a sack on a play that was negated by a penalty. Like Flowers, he has experience, albeit limited, but he also has the most time with the team under his belt, which could count for something, especially if he shows out in preseason.
Marcus Smith II and Andrew Ankrah are both intriguing players, but neither has a great chance at making the Redskins roster. Smith will get more attention, because of his background; he’s a former first-round pick with the Eagles who has crumbled in the NFL. A good athlete for his size, Smith was too raw to fend for himself upon entering the league, and his development was stunted by inconsistent use. He’s totaled 6.5 sacks over the course of his disappointing career, and while he could surprise and steal a roster spot, he faces an uphill battle, with modest upside and no record of cohesive progression.
Ankrah is the most unfounded of the group; he went undrafted in 2018 after a solid career with the James Madison Dukes, and he went on to play in the AAF, where he logged three sacks in eight games, earning an offseason tryout with the Redskins. At 6-foot-3, 240, he’s a bit undersized, but he has the chance to prove he belongs. Of course, all of these players may need to convince the Redskins to keep a fifth edge rusher, if they want to remain.