The Washington Redskins may be new and improved in 2020, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be good.
After the 2020 schedule was released on Thursday night, many media pundits — including ourselves — made predictions on what their final record would be when all is said and done. Most people have the Redskins pegged for 5-6 wins. ESPN’s latest draft order projection doesn’t give them as much credit.
The Redskins are projected by ESPN to have the No. 2 overall pick once again in 2020, finishing one spot behind the Carolina Panthers. It isn’t so much the defense that causes the uncertainty, but the unknown development of QB Dwayne Haskins and the offense that leaves a lot left to be desired.
We forecast that the Redskins’ defense will improve in 2020, so the issue here is offense and specifically quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Haskins was the least valuable quarterback in the league last season according to both Football Outsiders’ DVOA and ESPN’s QBR. Haskins still has potential, and it’s wrong to write off a young quarterback completely after one bad half-season. Nevertheless, the record of young quarterbacks with similar performances is not a good one.
That’s not a good list to be on. Jared Goff and Alex Smith became capable NFL starters, and Matthew Stafford was close to making this list as a rookie. But overall, quarterbacks who play as poorly as Haskins do not develop into stars. Of course, part of Haskins’ poor performance was the lack of talent around him, but Washington didn’t exactly stock its lineup with new weapons this offseason. Cody Latimer isn’t changing much.
Best-case scenario: Washington’s defensive front full of first-round picks matures and coheres all at once, similar to the San Francisco defensive front a year ago. Chase Young has Nick Bosa’s rookie season. Haskins takes dramatic strides forward in his second season, following the path of Goff and Stafford instead of the path of Blaine Gabbert and Blake Bortles.
It may be tough to sit through another disastrous season that lands Washington with one of the top overall picks, but as there was in 2019, there will be the same in 2020 — a light at the end of the tunnel. A top-two pick means the Redskins will have the chance to draft either Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, or Oregon LT Penei Sewell, two incredible prospects who have a chance to completely turn around a franchise.
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