Position Group Breakdown 2021: Interior Offensive Line

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Noone

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June 1, 2021

By Noonefromtampa

This is the second of two looks at the offensive line, this time covering the interior lineman, guards and centers. The most important moves in the offseason for the interior offensive line were the franchise tag being placed on Brandon Scherff and the trade with Miami for Ereck Flowers. The Washington Football Team has spent significant time in the offseason attempting to upgrade the offensive line. From releasing tackles Morgan Moses and Geron Christian to signing Charles Leno, a number of moves have focused in improving the starting lineup as well as overall depth.

Departures

Joshua Garnett

Arrivals

Returning Players

Projected Starters

Flowers (6’6”, 330lbs) was a first round pick (9^th overall) of the New York Giants in the 2015 NFL Draft. He never really panned out as a left tackle but in 2019 he was moved to left guard and played well for Washington. He signed with Miami for the 2020 season but he was traded back to Washington this offseason in an exchange of 7^th round picks. He has 85 career starts in his time in the league.

Roullier (6’4”, 312lbs) was drafted by Washington in the 6^th round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has started 53 games at center in four years. In January, he signed a 4 year, $40.5M contract extension. His athleticism and ability to make blocks on the second level makes him a solid performer on the offensive line.

Scherff (6’5”, 315lbs) was a first round pick (5^th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft by Washington. He has started 78 games at right guard since moving to that position during his rookie training camp. In 2020, he was named First Team All-Pro, the first Washington player with that honor since Matt Turk.

Projected Backups

Ismael (6’3”, 310lbs) was a 5^th round pick in the 2020 NFL draft for Washington. He played in eight games last year with no starts. The coaching staff was very high on Ismael and hopefully he is continuing to develop. He has the ability to play both center and guard which helps tremendously with the 53 man roster flexibility.

Schweitzer (6’4”, 300lbs) was a 6^th round draft pick on the Falcons in the 2016 draft. He started 13 games last season for Washington at both guard positions but primarily at left guard. He has 49 starts in his career between Atlanta and Washington.

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

Larsen (6’4”, 335lbs) may sound familiar because he spent time with Washington in 2015 before being released. He spent the last five seasons with the Panthers starting 18 games before being released this past offseason.

Benzschawel (6’6’, 300lbs) went undrafted in 2019 and signed with Detroit. He spent time on the Lions and Texans practice squads the last two years. Washington claimed him off waivers when the Texans released him in April.

Martin (6’3”, 315lbs) was a 4^th round pick of WFT in the 2019 draft. He started five games last season before being replaced by Charles and then Schweitzer when Charles got hurt. This season will be a make-or-break year for him. He will have to improve or he will end up being released during the end of camp cut down.

Summary

Washington will most likely keep six interior offensive linemen, although if there is enough position flexibility among players, they may elect to keep only five. This strategy behind this is that someone like Charles could be a backup for both guard and tackles positions or Ismael/Larsen could backup center and guard positions. That would free up a roster spot that could be used with another position group. It will be interesting to see whether Washington keeps nine or ten offensive linemen on the 53 man roster going into the season. The practice squad will also likely have a couple of offensive linemen too.