What might keep the Washington Football Team from competing in 2020?

No. 3 – Unproven starters who’ve been inconsistent before

Listen: I’m a big fan of players like Troy Apke getting starting reps, and I’m in agreement with Jacob that signing Earl Thomas would be a near useless, and potentially culturally detrimental, move for the Washington Football Team in 2020. But it’s important to note that Apke and other potential surprise starters such as Geron Christian and Kevin Pierre-Louis haven’t proven themselves as viable options in the past.

Christian has struggled with his play strength, balance, and foot technique. Apke has struggled with proper angles and a lack of mental refinement at the top of the defense. And Pierre-Louis, despite being an elite athlete, has largely been a career special teams player.

Now, starting players such as these does serve a purpose, especially in a year where Washington is not expected to compete. The only way Apke can improve his angles, and reach his potential as a historic athletic talent, is to get reps, so that he can learn on the job and apply what he learns in real-time.

We’ve seen this truth in action with players like Dwayne Haskins in the past: Reps can catalyze a player’s development, and in contrast, leaving a player to accumulate dust on the bench can prevent one from realizing that player’s potential. 2020 is the perfect year for the Washington Football Team to try and unearth some of these high-upside reclamation projects, but it’s unreasonable to expect all of them to pan out.

For that reason, Washington’s devotion to long-term development, and prioritization of that over forced immediate contention, may prevent them from being a playoff figure in 2020. But it’ll be a sacrifice, with the expectation that investments in unproven players such as Apke could lead to greater returns in the future.