Why Washington is closer to being a contender than you think

The Washington Football Team won the same amount of games in 2021 as they did in 2020. Off the heels of a division title and a playoff appearance that saw Washington go toe-to-toe with the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, staying even in win total can be seen as a regression.

In a way, winning the division in 2020 put unfair expectations on the 2021 version. A roster that overachieved won a bad division; therefore, accelerating the clock for the Washington Football Team. A roster that still had flaws had the weight of defending a division title on its shoulders.

In fact, I think, in this case, Washington’s seven-win season is much more impressive than in 2020 given the circumstances. And Washington honestly is not as far away as you think.

It is clear that they are not far away from being a playoff team. Washington was the No. 6 seed in the middle of December. They certainly have a fringe-playoff caliber roster. However, and this may be an unpopular opinion, Washington may not be that far from mattering in the playoffs.

And here’s why.

Contextualizing the 2021 season for Washington

One thing should be made clear: a seven-win season in 2021 for Washington is much more impressive than a seven-win season in 2020 for Washington. For starters, lets start with the obvious; Washington was playing a first-place schedule in 2021. A schedule, according to ESPN, that was the toughest in the NFL.

In 2020, they were playing a last-place schedule. While the 2021 schedule featured quarterbacks with the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, Justin Herbert, and Josh Allen, 2020 featured Andy Dalton, Nick Mullens, Ben DeNucci, and other various backup level quarterback options.

In the second quarter of the 2021 season, Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his hip, and then the starting quarterback for Washington was lost for the season in an instant.

They were forced to play the backup quarterback, Taylor Heinicke, for essentially the entire season. Heinicke has essentially been the starter for Washington this season so it is easy to forget but he was never Plan A. Ryan Fitzpatrick was. Pick your bones with that being Plan A all you like but nevertheless Plan A was gone in a flash.

Unlike in 2020, where Washington remained relatively healthy, Washington was ravaged by injuries. For starters Curtis Samuel, the team’s prized free-agent signing, barely saw the field due to injury. William Jackson III had nagging injuries throughout the year and the aforementioned Fitzpatrick hip injury had Washington’s three main free-agent acquisitions were sidelined with injuries.

That is not to mention that Washington played nearly half the year without Montez Sweat and Chase Young or that they were down to their fourth-string center and third-string guard. And of course, there is the major COVID outbreak that caused the back-nine collapse for the Washington Football Team.

If you need numerical evidence, according to PFF, the Washington Football Team lost the second-most WAR (Wins above Replacement) to injury behind only the Baltimore Ravens.

Washington had all of these troubles (I probably forgot some too) and they still managed to win seven games with a backup quarterback to stabilize the mess. Up until Jan. 2, they were not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Sure, there are examples of teams like the Titans who dealt with similar troubles and obtained the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Point taken. But in their case, their stabilizing force at quarterback was Ryan Tannehill. Washington’s was Taylor Heinicke. All due respect to No. 4, but Tannehill is just a lot better than him.

And of course, these are not meant as excuses. Every team has attrition and problems in the NFL. And there are legitimate concerns like the play of Washington’s defense early on, where they looked completely inept and underperformed. That definitely needs to be solved, Washington’s defense has far too much talent to underperform the way they did in 2021.

What are Washington’s biggest needs?

1. Quarterback 

This position, as many of you undoubtedly know, is Washington’s biggest need. There is no need to spend much time on this. You will hear about this constantly throughout the next months until the problem is solved but simply put: Washington needs a starting, capable, reliable quarterback. They need to scour every nook and cranny of the NFL and draft process to find one. This is by far Washington’s biggest hindrance to becoming a contender.

2. Blue-chip playmaker 

Washington has a solid collection of playmakers on offense. Terry McLaurin is an alpha, number one receiver (who Washington needs to extend ASAP), Curtis Samuel can be an enticing piece if healthy, Logan Thomas and John Bates make up a solid tight end room, and the running back room has talent in Antonio Gibson and JD McKissic if he is re-signed.

However, other than McLaurin, Washington does not have many players that the defensive coordinator has to “gameplan” for. They have McLaurin and some solid secondary pieces. Opposing defenses can simply bracket McLaurin and say “someone else will beat us.” Curtis Samuel could be really good if he ever gets healthy but Washington needs another option that is more reliable.

Whether that comes at wide receiver, tight end or running back, they need more juice from the passing game. Specifically a player that can create after the catch. Considering Washington has paid Logan Thomas, Curtis Samuel and wants to pay Terry McLaurin, this playmaker would be best acquired through the draft.

3. Safety 

As the NFL is moving to two-high looks dominating defensive schemes, the need for two really good safeties is key. And, well, Washington has Kam Curl who is really good. That’s it. Bobby McCain, who is fine, is a free agent is expected to be back. But again, he is just fine. Landon Collins is clearly better suited a hybrid S/LB, than a pure safety. So, it is clear Washington could definitely benefit from another solid piece at safety. It would create fewer coverage tendencies and easily decipherable pre-snap looks. It would allow Jack Del Rio to have the freedom to disguise certain coverages. Washington should look for this via free agency amongst names like Marcus Williams or (a longshot) Jesse Bates or in the mid-rounds of the draft.

4. MIKE LB  

Ron Rivera said this one himself. Washington needs a MIKE linebacker. They need a linebacker that can take on blocks to free up Jamin Davis and Cole Holcomb. Preferably, you would want this to come from either Holcomb or especially Davis who Washington spent the 19th pick on. However, sometimes that is not the case. This option can come via free agency, where Washington can get a solid veteran presence in the room. Preferably one that is more reliable than Jon Bostic.

5. Other underrated needs 

Defensive Depth- Washington would benefit from more depth on the defense in certain places, including cornerback, linebacker and safety. Having more capable options on the backend of the roster, to account for potential attrition, would be prudent .

Running back- Honestly, most teams should consider getting another running back each offseason. With the limited shelf life running backs have, and Antonio Gibson’s fumbling problems, getting more capable backs to share the load is just smart business. Washington having another capable in-between the tackles running back could make Gibson more dynamic with a less workload. And of course, it is no guarantee that JD McKissic will be back in 2022.

Guard- Washington will almost certainly be letting Brandon Scherff hit free agency after the recent comments from Martin Mayhew. Not to mention that Wes Schweitzer and Ereck Flowers are on the last years of their deals. Washington should definitely get more depth along the interior, as well as answers to next years potential departures.

Some closing thoughts

As is clear, the Washington Football Team is closer than you think. As far as glaring needs go they only have a few spots. And each one is capable of being fixed in one offseason. It may sound like Ron Rivera is trying to butter up the fanbase when he says the roster is in a “good place,” but he is right.

They have a defensive line that is capable of being elite, two very solid corners, a star wide receiver, a strong tight end room, some capable secondary playmakers, and two solid middle-of-the-field defenders in Cole Holcomb and Kam Curl.

A lot of the questions surrounding Washington come down to two things: Quarterback and the development of its younger players. If Washington were to get a capable starting quarterback this offseason and some of its young players like Chase Young take that next step in development, some of the other needs become less glaring.

The combination of a developed Chase Young and Jonathan Allen has the potential to make some holes in the backend, frankly, not matter for the Washington Football Team. Sure Young needs to take that next step and it certainly is no guarantee, but he has the ability to be as good as he wants to be.

Washington is not that far away from mattering in the NFL playoffs. A team that wins seven games against the toughest schedule in football, with Taylor Heinicke at quarterback, is not that far off. The only problem is there are about 14 other teams that are thinking just like Washington. So a strong offseason is still needed.

One last underrated bonus need: A veteran edge rusher to help with the development of Sweat and Young.