One of the biggest storylines for the Washington Football Team this past season was the improvement of the defense and the defensive line in particular. With the addition of rookie DE Chase Young and the emergence of DE Montez Sweat, the defensive front became one of the most dominant units in all of football and helped buoy Washington’s team as a whole into some new levels of success.
However, I don’t think we give the defensive secondary enough credit. While they definitely weren’t up to the level of the D-line, there was still a marked improvement in pass coverage this season, thanks to the additions of CB Kendall Fuller and CB Ronald Darby.
After being slotted as the 23rd best coverage unit in 2019, Washington took a major leap this past season, coming in at No. 7 in the Pro Football Focus secondary ranking this time around.
Ronald Darby led Washington’s secondary in his first season with the team, and he was wildly inconsistent — a trend throughout his NFL career. Darby allowed the second-most deep passing yards in coverage among all defensive backs (328), but at the same time, he led the league in forced incompletions (20).
In his return to Washington, D.C., Kendall Fuller played predominantly on the outside for the first time in his career. And it went quite well. He allowed only 0.84 yards per coverage snap on the outside, ranking 15th among 90 qualifiers.
Despite the high ranking, there are still some question marks to answer in the secondary this offseason, and a big decision to make for Darby. As someone who came to Washington on a one-year contract, Darby arguably played well enough to earn some big money on his next deal, but we don’t know if that will come from Washington or not. If Darby leaves, Ron Rivera could have a tough time finding a replacement, turning to Jimmy Moreland or Fabian Moreau, both of whom leave a bit to be desired at a CB1 position.
However, if Washington can either re-sign Darby or add another solid CB this offseason, there’s no doubt that they can be in the upper half of the league as far as secondary rankings go once again next season.
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