Washington football: Six essential players the team can least afford to lose
By Jonathan Eig
No. 3 – OG Brandon Scherff
If you go by salary, guards are the least important position on the offensive line. But on the Washington football team, guard Brandon Scherff is the most important player. He is the one genuine Pro Bowler on offense. On a line that is mostly young and untested, he is the one player you can scheme around. He is adept at both pass blocking and run blocking.
Scherff has also missed a fair amount of time over the past couple of years with injuries so we have a better sense of what the team looks without him. They will always find someone to play guard. The team has drafted three interior linemen in the middle rounds of the last two drafts. They signed three other young vets as free agents this offseason to battle it out for backup jobs.
If all goes according to plan, Wes Martin and Keith Ismael will step into the lineup and contribute to the interior line quickly and at a high level. Their development will have a big impact on what decisions are made about pursuing a long-term deal with Scherff come 2021.
There’s a reason why guards are paid less than tackles and centers. It is easier to replace them. This may constitute the flip side of the Dwayne Haskins argument made earlier. If the young guys show something, losing Scherff may not hurt as much as I fear it will down the road. But make no mistake: Losing him in 2020 would be a major blow to a line still struggling to find its legs.