Washington Football Team: Week 1 Reality Checks for Washington vs Chargers
By Tim Payne
2. The Reality Is, the rookies have to step up.
Washington looks poised to give significant playing time to least 4 rookies this week in Sam Cosmi, Jamin Davis, Benjamin St. Juste, and Dyami Brown. While fans are understandably excited about this rookie class based on flashes this offseason, it is also risky business to be relying on so many young players to make key contributions to a team hoping to build on their playoff berth from a year ago.
If Washington is going to be successful this season, it will need to get quality seasons from these four key rookies in particular. On Sunday, Cosmi and St. Juste likely have particularly vital roles, facing the Chargers’ vaunted pass rush and receiving corps, respectively. And with Curtis Samuel likely out for Sunday’s game, Dyami Brown may end up needing to play significant snaps, too.
Prediction: Look for Cosmi to largely handle his business, only allowing a couple pressures and no sacks. St. Juste will struggle a bit, giving up a couple significant completions, but won’t look lost or out of place like some young corners have for Washington in recent years. Dyami may just put together a very splashy first game as a rookie.