Washington Football Team: Projecting Washington’s starting defense this season

As mentioned earlier, this is the starting 11 that Washington should place out there come Sunday, Sept. 12 against the Los Angeles Chargers. This may give up my hand a bit early as I’ll be projecting the starters in accordance with my projected base defense, so here’s what I believe the Football Team should look like for the bulk of their snaps.

• Two EDGE Rushers: DE Chase Young and DE Montez Sweat
• Two Interior Defensive Lineman: DT Daron Payne and DT Jonathan Allen
• Two Linebackers (MIKE and SAM): MB Jamin Davis and SB Cole Holcomb
• Five Defensive Backs: FS Kamren Curl, SS Landon Collins, RCB William Jackson III, LCB Benjamin St-Juste and NCB Kendall Fuller

The defensive line for the Football Team is littered with top-tier talent. The starting four from Chase Young to Jon Allen will be the driving force of success for this team, should they win another division title.

In addition to starting guys like Payne and Allen, Washington should roll in a steady dose of Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis. Both interior forces should see plenty of playing time, with the core-four of guys on the interior staying “fresh” throughout the course of a contest. The depth alongside this interior defensive line is real, something that to an extent could make a piece or two expendable if need be in the long run.

The outside rushers in Montez Sweat and Chase Young are stout defensive anchors who should be donning the burgundy and gold for the next decade. Behind them, is where the real issues begin. Washington currently doesn’t have a steady blend of EDGE talent outside of their two prime-time hitters. Health considered, it isn’t an issue now, but Washington should look for at least one talent on the EDGE who can fill in for 15 percent of the snaps when need be.

With your two linebackers in Cole Holcomb and Jamin Davis, you’re adding significant athletic ability and speed to a group that lacked it in a major way just a season ago. The linebacker core is the weakest link of this defense, but with Davis slowly coming along at MIKE and Cole Holcomb playing a Sam(Space)-backer role similar to a guy like Dylan Moses at Alabama, you’re bringing in a healthy dose of versatile range that is sorely needed on this team.

Lastly, your defensive backs all have special skill sets that work well together. Outside of Landon Collins, your core-four of Fuller, Jackson, Curl and St-Juste all have range on the outside, who can move around a bit throughout your formation and display their savvy instincts on any given snap.

Guys like Kamren Curl and Kendall Fuller can play that Nickel role, while St.Juste and Jackson can play press-man on the outside. Collins, while not the best coverage defender, has shown great instincts as a cover-4 defender and as a cover-1 plugger, who plays his best football in coverage with everything in front of him.

Collins in his own right adds an aspect that none of the DB’s on the field offer, and that’s sound run-stopping ability. He’s someone who can hover around the line of scrimmage, attacking gaps in the running game or you can utilize him in a coverage setting where he’s required to play 8-12 yards off the LOS.