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Why the Washington Football Team’s youth movement is encouraging

By Jonathan Eig

Washington Football Team QB Antonio Gibson. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Washington Football Team QB Antonio Gibson. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 08: Daron Payne #94 of the Washington Football Team warms up before the game against the New York Giants at FedExField on November 8, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 08: Daron Payne #94 of the Washington Football Team warms up before the game against the New York Giants at FedExField on November 8, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

Young position groups

Enter Smith and Rivera.

Out of all the moves they made in the run-up to the 2020 season, maybe the most important was what they did not do. They did not spend money on older players. They invested in a number of young veterans, mostly between the ages of 26 and 28. At the same time, they said good-bye to six older vets who were on the field for at least 20 percent of the offensive snaps last year – all of whom would have been 30 or older this season.

They also selected eight players in the seven-round NFL draft last Spring. This has to be very encouraging to long-suffering fans, for though some of those draftees have been quite good while others remain major question marks, volume will always be crucial.

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No team, no matter how good its scouting department is, hits on every draft pick. The best franchises – the ones that remain competitive year after year after – almost always value draft picks more highly than do mediocre franchises.

Overall roster age is not as important as roster construction and balance. As previously mentioned, with exception of quarterback (granted – a pretty major exception), Washington’s oldest players are not significant contributors. And when you go by position group, a real sense of a plan emerges.

Washington does not have a single offensive lineman older than 29. Two are under 23: 2020 draftees Saahdiq Charles and Keith Ismael. If both turn out to be solid players in the years to come, Washington’s offensive line should develop very nicely. But even if only one of them emerges, it still adds to the foundation of a good young core.

The defensive line, as we all know, is even more impressive. Five players aged 25 or younger. All potential stalwarts. And that doesn’t even include 26-year old Matt Ioannidis, who should return from injury and step back into a prominent role in 2021. Even if Washington cannot afford front-liners like Jonathan Allen and/or Daron Payne in the coming years, there is quite a bit of young talent waiting in the wings.

It is unlikely Inman will return in 2021, but Washington will still have seven wide receivers competing for time – all led by superstar Terry McLaurin. McLaurin is the oldest of the group at 25.

It is almost the exact same situation in the defensive backfield – only without the McLaurin-esque superstar on hand. Every cornerback is 26 or younger. Deshazor Everett (28) is the grand old man amongst the safeties. Landon Collins, who seems like he has been around for decades, is just 26.

Among the other position groups – running backs, tight ends, linebackers – there may well be an overall lack of depth, but all of the major contributors are under 30.

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