Geron Christian’s development will prove to be crucial for the Redskins

Geron Christian‘s development was always going to be a big deal for the Redskins in his second season. But his development takes on new importance with Trent Williams‘ holdout.

It’s safe to say that Geron Christian’s development was always going to be important for the Redskins in 2019. The 2018 third-round pick out of Louisville was drafted to add depth and athleticism to the Redskins tackle room. It was something that they weren’t necessarily lacking, but they lacked youth at the position. Christian’s goal was to provide that.

However, after being drafted in 2018, Christian struggled throughout the offseason to prove himself. While he has the requisite length and athletic ability needed to be a producer at the NFL level, he struggled immensely to block in camps and during the preseason. He saw some sparing action at left tackle as well in the wake of Trent Williams’ injury, but he has issues against NFL-caliber defensive linemen.

All told, Christian played just 43 offensive snaps as a rookie and he went out for the season with a knee injury early into his campaign. And during the early portion of the 2019 offseason, that knee injury has kept him limited in action.

Still, the Redskins are relying on Christian to be an important contributor in Washington this year. They lost top swing tackle Ty Nsekhe this offseason as he signed on with the Buffalo Bills in hopes of being a starter. The 33-year-old Nsekhe wasn’t going to be a long-term option to be the eventual successor to Williams, but he had served as one of the league’s best swing tackles for the ‘Skins over the course of the past three seasons.

But now, Christian figures to slot into that role. And that’s a major step up from the fourth-tackle role he occupied last year where the main goal was to develop him before injuries struck. Christian is going to have to develop at a more rapid pace for the Redskins in case he needs to fill in for either Williams or Morgan Moses. And with Williams holding out, he well may have to be the team’s starting left tackle, at least during training camp and the preseason.

If Christian can take the next step and at least be a solid blocker and backup, the Redskins will be extremely happy with his progression. And the line should be able to at least be steady if Williams misses time.

However, if Christian can’t make the leap and continues to struggle to adjust to the NFL level, the team will really lack offensive line depth and it could quickly turn into a disaster for the squad. And if this ends up being the case and Christian is forced to start, the team’s starting quarterback (whoever that may be) will constantly be under pressure. So needless to say, Christian’s development could play a crucial role for the Redskins in 2019.