10 Washington Football Team players that could make the Pro Bowl
By Jonathan Eig
Defense/Special Teams
DT Daron Payne
Payne is a beast on the inside. He is the best run stopper on the team and he can also provide pressure from the inside. The fact that Washington’s three other defensive linemen all have significantly higher PFF scores than Payne (so does his back-up Tim Settle) may indicate that he doesn’t have a real shot at the Pro Bowl this year.
But numbers sometimes lie, and if you watch him game in and game out, you realize he is an important piece of one of the best position group in the entire NFL.
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DT Jonathan Allen
Allen is more versatile than Payne. He could play outside if need be. But that isn’t needed this year. Like Payne, he can stop the run and collapse the pocket. He is also one of the young team leaders, chosen as Washington’s representative in the Walter Payton Man of the Year competition. All the interior linemen in the NFC are playing for second place behind Aaron Donald, but Allen stacks up against any of the rest.
EDGE Montez Sweat
Montez Sweat and Chase Young should have a friendly Mann/Manley-style rivalry for years to come. If they do, there are great things on the horizon. Sweat has been an outstanding pass rusher this year and with his long frame, he is flirting with J.J. Watt territory when it comes to batting down passes.
Sweat still can be fooled on misdirection runs, but I expect he will fix that problem in short order. Great things were expected when Washington traded up to draft him, and the dividends from that deal are starting to pour in.
EDGE Chase Young
Young is as advertised. A superior athlete. A superior motor. A superior skill set. He gets better each week, which must terrify opposing offenses. Early in the season, he relied on his great speed and ability to change direction in order to compensate for the occasional over-pursuit. In recent weeks, he has begun to show that he is seeing the game a lot better.
That means all the extraordinary athleticism is not going into recovering from a bad step. It is going into blowing up plays behind the line, or chasing down backs and receivers from the opposite side of the field. He is already a special player, and his ascendency is only beginning.
P Tress Way
NFC punters were finally able to break the Johnny Hekker stranglehold on the Pro Bowl two years ago. Last year, Way finally got his due. And he has been outstanding again this year.
What’s working against him is the fact that we are seeing one of the greatest years for punters in the history of the league. Three of the four best net averages in the last 45 years are occurring right now. New England’s Jake Bailey is posting a staggering 46.1 net average as of now.
Way doesn’t have to worry about Bailey because he’s in the AFC, but he does have to contend with the young phenom on Detroit, Jack Fox, who currently boasts a 49.5 average and a 45.5 net. Both numbers are higher than Way’s, though Way does have far fewer touchbacks, despite having more kicks.
Seattle’s Michael Dickson (the punter who wrested All-Pro status away from Hekker back in 2018) is also having a typically excellent season and outkicked Way in their recent head-to-head matchup. So Way has competition. But he is the reigning title holder and he has not fallen off one bit.
Predictions
If I had to guess right now, I’d say Scherff is in. And I think the notoriety that the defensive line is developing bodes well for getting at least one of the linemen – probably Young – a selection as well. I also think Way has a very good shot, though if Fox maintains his current pace, his numbers will be hard to ignore.
Next. Studs and duds from Washington's loss vs. Seattle. dark
McLaurin probably needed a strong finish to bolster his chances. The others don’t seem likely at this point, but you never know how the voting will go. Three to four Pro Bowlers from a team hovering around .500 is not too shabby. If Washington’s record improves in the coming years, its Pro Bowl haul will rise right along with it.