Redskins Position Group Breakdown: Guards and Centers

Posted on by

The Redskins come into 2017 boasting one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. Their pass protection has been sound ever since the hiring of offensive line guru Bill Callahan in the 2015 offseason. While Trent Williams was always great at his position, Callahan has developed Spencer Long, Morgan Moses, and 3rd year player Brandon Scherff. Shawn Lauvao, 29, is entering his 4th and final (contractually) season with the Redskins this season. His position, along with the center position, has been the biggest question mark amongst the offensive line as it has been marred by inconsistency.

The newly retired Kory Lichtensteiger was a solid center for a year before being plagued with the injury bug, forcing his retirement due to unavailability and injuries hurting his effectiveness when he was on the field. He played 8 games in his last two seasons combined. With just 3 games played last year the Redskins decided to place him on injured reserve until late December, using the designated to return him to the active roster. In his absence, Spencer Long, seemingly took hold of the center position for the short-term.

At the guard position, Brandon Scherff earned his 1st pro bowl bid of his career, gaining a reputation as one of the most dominant interior offensive lineman in the NFL last season. Scherff, along with Moses, are the only two who played a full 16 games. This brings me to Shawn Lauvao, who missed two games in 2016 due to an ankle injury. Lauvao is in a position where he’s fighting for his starting job this off-season and training camp. Injuries hindered his performance in 2016, and in 2015 he missed the last 13 games of the season due to another ankle injury. His brief 2015 featured the best play of his tenure in Washington, and since the initial ankle injury he’s not been able to reach that 2015 form.

Competition for Lauvao

Regardless of whether Lauvao ends up winning the starting job or not, competition for him is needed this year.

  • Arie Kouandjio is the known name. He’s a 3rd year player who’s seemingly developed slowly in his early years as a pro. However his size is favorable, he needs to develop some quickness to be able to pull in the run game and get to the 2nd level in the screen game more effectively and consistently. 2017 is a big year for Kouandjio and his development.
  • Tyler Catalina has gotten some early praise by coaches and reporters alike this offseason. The former Georgia Bulldog converted from tackle to guard when signing with the Redskins as an UDFA. A solid performance in rookie minicamp put his name on the map as a guy to compete for the starting role. He’s also capable of playing center.
  • Chase Roullier is the 2017 6th round draft pick for the Redskins. Coming out of Wyoming, he’s looked at as a versatile lineman who’s not just able to play center but guard as well.
  • Lastly, Spencer Long himself. Long is a guard and center, and got tutelage at both the guard and center position just in case of an emergency. The injury to Lichtensteiger caused him to start in 12 games for the Redskins in 2016. Callahan did not hesitate to plug Scherff inside to guard once he noticed how far Morgan Moses came along in 2015, so if any one of Roullier or Catalina is extremely impressive this off-season, I believe it is possible for them to consider moving Long to guard to get the best 5 on the line.

 

You can also find me on Twitter: @_ayymall