Washington Football Team training camp profiles: Edge rushers

Positional Outlook

Behind the interior defensive line, the edge rushing group is the best positional unit on the Washington football team. Washington boasts an exciting starting duo in Chase Young and Montez Sweat, and behind them, Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Anderson provide very solid depth.

After that, of course, it gets dicey. None of the remaining options inspire as the fifth defensive end right now, but all of them have the potential to exceed expectations. Brailford and Smith-Williams are intriguing, as this will be their first NFL action, and we’ve never even seen Bada before, so there is a chance he surprises everyone and leverages his traits into an extended audition.

The discussion surrounding the team’s fifth defensive end does carry weight, as questions around Ryan Anderson’s role leave the possibility of another player taking rotational snaps at edge. Depending on how much Anderson is actually used on the edge, Washington might need an additional two at the position to fill in.

Anderson’s current lack of role focus does subtract a bit from Washington’s edge depth, but the unit as a whole is still very strong, and is boosted up by the two young, hyper-athletic players who lead the way. No matter how the team’s linebacker and secondary groups look, you can take solace in the fact that they’ll be playing behind this defensive line.