Position Group Breakdown 2021: Tackles

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Noone

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May 27, 2021

By Noonefromtampa

This is the first of two looks at the offensive line. This week’s column will address tackles and the other will look at interior offensive lineman (guards and centers). As you probably know, head coach Ron Rivera places an emphasis on having quality offensive and defensive lines. He builds his teams from the lines outward. The other key tenant coming from offensive line coach John Matsko is that the team likes offensive lineman who are versatile, with the ability to play more than one position. One of the focal points of the offseason moves has been to improve the quality and depth of the offensive line and provide for greater competition during training camp.

In somewhat surprising move, both Morgan Moses and Geron Christian were released by the team last week. Moses, a six-year starter, saves the team around $7.5M in cap space. Christian’s level of play never lived up to his third-round draft status.

Departures

Morgan Moses
Geron Christian, Sr.

Arrivals

Charles Leno, Jr.
Samuel Cosmi

Returning Players

Projected Starters

Charles Leno (6’3”, 307lbs) was signed this past week, after being released by the Chicago Bears, to a one-year $5 million contract. Leno projects to be the starting left tackle. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2018 and was six-year starter in Chicago after being drafted by them in the 7^th round of the 2014 draft. Overall, he started 94 games for Chicago during his career there.

Cornelius Lucas (6’8”, 327lbs), started 8 games for WFT last year after being pressed into duty following injuries and did a good job. He is the probable starter at right tackle given his experience having played both tackle positions in his career. Lucas actually played right tackle for the Bears with Leno at left tackle, so this may be a combination from the past coming back in vogue.

Projected Backups

Samuel Cosmi (6’6”, 309lbs) was drafted in the 2^nd round of the 2021 draft. He is mostly likely the future left tackle for WFT and the 2021 season will he his “redshirt” year in the NFL. A number of draft evaluators pointed out that Cosmi would need to refine his techniques to perform at the next level. He should see some duty at either tackle spot if one of the starters gets injured.

Saahdiq Charles (6’4”, 322lbs) was drafted in the 4^th round of the 2020 draft but spent last year on injured reserve. The team tried him at guard last year but with the changes occurring on the offensive line, chances are he might end up back at tackle where he played in college.

Competing for a Roster Spot

David Sharpe (6’6”, 330lbs) is a player for whom WFT traded a 2021 6^th round pick to the Raiders before the 2020 season. He has six career starts with two of them coming last season. Sharpe did not set the world on fire in either of two starts and he drew little interest in the offseason. The team re-signed him in March to a one year contract for a little over a million dollars.

David Steinmetz (6’8’, 321lbs) is a 2018 undrafted player from Purdue. Like in his career prior coming to Washington, Steinmetz spent most of the 2020 season on the practice squad and was elevated twice for week 11 and week 12 games. He was promoted to the active roster in December 2020.

Rick Leonard (6’7”, 311lbs) was a 4^th round pick of the Saints in the 2018 draft. WFT is the fifth team for which Leonard has been on the practice squad. He was signed in December 2020 to the practice squad, taking Steinmetz’s spot. He signed a futures contract in the offseason to remain with the team.

Summary

Washington will most likely keep four tackles on the 53 man roster and another tackle on the practice squad. Barring any injuries in the preseason, three of those four spots should fall to Leno, Lucas, and Cosmi, leaving the remaining three players fighting for the either a possible roster spot or a practice squad spot. WFT has even more flexibility because several of the guards they have, such as Ereck Flowers and Saahdiq Charles (if he stays at guard), can also play the tackle spot if needed. This is the kind of versatility that the coaching staff is looking for – they want maximum roster flexibility, where on game day only a subset of the roster can be active.

In my next post, we’ll look at the center and guard portion of the offensive line. Washington may be in a spot where it has as many as seven or eight players who could legitimately start and they can pick the best five to start, something this team has not has in a while.