The Washington Football Team opens up its preseason slate this week. On Thursday, the Washington Football Team will take on the New England Patriots.
For the first time in seventh months, the Washington Football Team will play in a live, real NFL game. While these preseason games have no bearing on the final standings, they still hold a key significance for many.
For some players on the roster, their performance in these three preseason games will be the difference between getting cut and making the roster. And their play could catch the eye of the other 31 NFL teams, so they get signed to a 53 if they get released on cutdown day.
For others, it is best served as a dress rehearsal for when the games really start to count. These are games they use as a means to build synergy with the other players on the team and knock the rust off before the regular season commences.
Washington is a team with numerous new players expected to fill key roles. And most importantly, they have a new starting quarterback. There are plenty of players to watch.
So if the player you are personally watching for is not on this list, watch for them too. But without further ado, here are some of the players to watch in Washington’s first preseason game.
3 players to watch in Washington’s first preseason game
3. S Landon Collins
Landon Collins will play in his first game since tearing his Achilles against the Cowboys in 2020. So far in training camp, he looks lean and explosive. The player Collins was in 2020 versus the 2021 training camp version is unrecognizable.
Collins has not quite lived up to the lucrative contract he signed with Washington in 2019. In fact, in 2020 he was not even that good at his greatest strength, tackling. His missed tackle percentage went up by 6%. It seemed as if Collins was almost thinking, rather than playing.
Collins has spoken about that. He says his mentality entering the season is in a much better place than in 2020. He spoke about how he noticed he was doing too much thinking and that now he is more comfortable in Del Rio’s new system.
If the Washington Football Team can get a more explosive, instinctive Landon Collins, that could serve as an added boost to the defense. And with the emergence of Kam Curl, the additions of other veterans like Bobby McCain, Collins may be put into a more comfortable role.
Instead of being forced into playing quarters coverage, as a two-high safety, he can play closer to the line. He can then focus on using his elite instincts closer to the line. As Ron Rivera has noted, Collins is still a quality talent in the NFL.
Collins is a player to eye entering his first action in over nine months. Does Collins indeed look more explosive and confident in live-action? Is he taking better angles to the ball carrier, when attempting to tackle him? Safety play is hard to judge in training camp but Collins can prove he is a changed player in live-action again.
2. WR Dyami Brown
As Curtis Samuel continues to slowly work his way back from both the COVID list and a nagging groin injury, rookie wideout Dyami Brown has been presented with an opportunity to solidify early playing time. Brown has been getting most of his reps with the two’s, but he gets to rotate in with the ones now, as well.
Brown has an opportunity in these three preseason games to prove that he belongs as a staple of the Washington Football Team’s wide receiver room. So far, he has been getting open and making plays in training camp.
When asked how he thinks he has performed, Brown has said that he is still seeking to improve his overall game. In college, Dyami Brown was known mostly as a deep threat.
His route tree was confined to go routes, comebacks, and out routes. Not anything overly complex or hard, which was a huge reason he slipped.
However, a video from training camp has recently surfaced showing Brown beating Kendall Fuller on a slant route. He has no wasted movements and he is quick in and out of his breaks. It was reminiscent of how a rookie Terry McLaurin ran routes.
That is why Dyami Brown is a player to watch for the Washington Football Team. He is looking to prove that he is more than an over-the-top deep threat. He is looking to prove that he can also win consistently underneath.
If Brown can prove that, he will lessen the blow of possibly missing Samuel at the start of the regular season. Brown has a prime chance to prove that he belongs in the wide receiver rotation on Thursday.
Be on the lookout for how far he does in proving he can do just that.
1. OT Sam Cosmi
Sam Cosmi, like Dyami Brown, has benefitted from missed time at training camp by veterans at his position. Cornelius Lucas missed most of the first two weeks of training camp when he was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list to start camp. That, and Lucas’s build-up back to football shape after getting off the list, has allowed Cosmi to get almost all of the first-team reps at RT.
When training camp was in its early stages, Cosmi had a rude awakening to NFL competition. Going against two of the games best edge rushers in Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Cosmi struggled early on.
He was not quick enough in firing his hands into the correct positioning to win those critical hand-fights in the trenches. Other times. his hand placement was far too low and the Football Team’s dynamic edge rushers whipped by him.
However, Cosmi has steadily improved as training camp has waned on. He specifically saw an uptick in his play when the pads came on. That is a good sign to see from a player who must thrive at handling and creating the contact.
Cosmi has been better prepared to win hand fights along the line and better equipped to defeat countermoves. The 22-year-old’s technique has steadily improved as well, according to Logan Paulsen on the John Keim Report.
That was one of Cosmi’s biggest flaws coming out of Texas, he was a physically gifted, raw tackle prospect. If he proves that he can improve his technique at such an early stage, there is not much stopping him from being the team’s starting right tackle.
He already has immense athletic upside, so watching how Cosmi handles other competition will be key. Specifically, be on the lookout for how his technique in pass protection looks and how adept he is at learning from his mistakes.
Cosmi could be well on his way to being the week one starting right tackle. Have other players you will be watching against the Patriots on Thursday? Leave them in the comments below!