Washington Football Team: 3 under-the-radar players for 2021

David Mayo, Linebacker

David Mayo is the Schweitzer/Lucas free agent of 2021. Of course, we expect the big-name signees – Fitzpatrick, Samuel, Jackson – to thrive. But by the end of the season, I suspect Mayo will be one of the guys we look on with surprise.

Jon Bostic, who played more defensive snaps for the Washington Football Team than any returning starter, is not a classic 4-3 middle linebacker. Quite frankly, neither is David Mayo. But between them, they add up to a very effective MIKE.

Mayo does the one thing that Bostic struggles with. He can stand tall in the middle and stop running backs. A platoon that has Mayo in on early downs and short-yardage plays, and has Bostic in on more obvious passing plays, would improve the overall production from the middle linebacker position.

Neither man is particularly good in space, but that may not be as important if do-everything linebackers Cole Holcomb and Jamin Davis stay healthy and produce as expected. Bostic can be a very effective blitzer and Mayo can play the run.

Khaleke Hudson and both in-the-box safeties Landon Collins and Kamren Curl present intriguing possibilities as a hybrid linebacker-safety. There will be a lot of defensive sets in which the Washington Football Team will only use two, or even one, traditional linebacker. But when they do need someone in the middle, Mayo will address the one glaring deficiency they had in 2020.

Neither Bostic nor Mayo is a particularly exciting player. But with a devastating defensive line and an improving secondary, Washington does not need excitement from its middle linebacker. It needs a steady, reliable presence. David Mayo can provide that.

If he does – if they all do – they will go down in lore with the revered names I began with. Schweitzer and Lucas, Reaves and Sims. The players of whom nobody expects very much. The players who take you to the playoffs.