Washington Football Team: Building a Super Bowl blueprint

Offensive Line

In its final 2020 offensive line rankings, Pro Football Focus had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked fifth and the Washington Football Team right behind them at sixth.

Tampa has built its line through the draft, adding offensive guards Ali Marpet (second round, 2015) and Alex Cappa (third round, 2018), offensive tackle Donovan Smith (second round, 2015), and rookie offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (first round, 2020).

The importance of a strong offensive line was probably the biggest takeaway from the Super Bowl. On one side, you had Tom Brady, who seemingly had all day in the pocket, as he carved up the Chiefs defense for 201 yards and three touchdowns, while only getting sacked once.

On the other side, you had Patrick Mahomes, who was running for his life all game, largely because the Chiefs were missing four starters on the offensive line. Mahomes ran for 497 yards during the Super Bowl before throwing the ball or being sacked. That’s insane.

If one of the best quarterbacks in the league struggles behind a patchwork offensive line, how much could you really ask out of Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, and Taylor Heinicke?

Thankfully for Washington, its offensive line showed major growth over the course of the season. PFF ranked Washington’s offensive line 29th coming into the season and it dramatically improved on that rating to end the year. After trading Trent Williams, Washington had to figure out its left tackle situation and got some solid play from Geron Christian and Cornelius Lucas.

The veteran play of Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, and Chase Roullier provides a solid offensive line core for Washington. With Roullier already signed to an extension, Washington should do everything in its power to keep Scherff around this offseason.