Position Group Breakdown 2021: Defensive Ends

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July 16, 2021

by Alex Zeese

This is the 10th installment of our annual, ongoing Redskins Washington position group breakdown series. This week, we’re going to begin our look at the defensive line with an examination of the defensive ends. Here’s a list of what we’ve done so far:

Now, on with defensive ends.

Departures:
Ryan Anderson
Ryan Kerrigan

Arrivals:
William Bradley-King
Jalen Jelks
Shaka Toney

Returning:
Chase Young
Montez Sweat
James Smith-Williams
Casey Toohill

Starters

Chase Young– 6’5” 264 lbs. Young has quickly become the face of the franchise after being selected #2 overall last season. His numbers last year were not outstanding: 7.5 sacks and 44 tackles, 4 forced fumbles with 3 recovered, and a touchdown. We have since learned that he was hampered by a leg injury through most of the year; even so, he plated 74% of the defensive snaps in 2020. If he’s healthy, then we can only hope for a big leap forward by the rising star. He was not a traditional hand in the dirt defensive end last season, often rushing the QB from a standing position.

Montez Sweat– 6’ 6” 262 lbs. Sweat took a big leap forward in his game last season. His sophomore season saw a rise in his sack count from 7 to 9, while adding an interception and 2 forced fumbles. He looked like he has gotten used to NFL speed and was more comfortable out there. The addition of Young on the other side of the line clearly helped him create a few plays.

Backups

James Smith-Williams– 6’4” 265 lbs. Was drafted in the 7th round by the team last year, and participated in 14 games as a backup, playing just 98 snaps on defense and has 277 on teams, he did end up with half a sack. With the two Ryans both gone, he probably has the inside track to be the top reliever this season.

William Bradley-King- 6’ 3” 254 lbs. The 240th pick in this year’s draft. Bradley-King will be the prime competition for the backup role at the defensive end. Reports are that he’s had a good training camp so far.

Jalen Jelks- 6’5” 256 lbs. Jelks was a 7th round pick for Dallas two years back, got hurt, got cut, and has bounced around the league a bit.

Shaka Toney- 6’3” 231 lbs. For now, we are listing Toney in the DE group as that’s where he’s placed by various sites. There was also some talk that he could also be moved to linebacker due to his size and athletic talents.

Casey Toohill– 6’4” 250 lbs. Toohill was picked up by Washington last year after the 7th round pick was let go of by the Eagles. He played in 8 games for Washington last season participating just on special teams where he notched 2 tackle assists.

Projections:

I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that Chase Young and Montez Sweat have the potential to be the best duo of edge rushers in DC since the Dexter Manley – Charles Mann era, although the list of duos isn’t deep. The team had two good seasons with Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo in 2011 and 2013, and not a whole lot else. But still, if you are projecting the potential of this tandem we could easily be looking at double-digit sacks from both Sweat and Young. Young has the makings of being the next superstar defender and a face of the franchise. While Sweat may not have the PR machine behind him, he was a machine on the field last season who really took good jump forward in his sophomore campaign.

The real interesting thing to see with this group will be who steps in and becomes the primary backup to those budding superstars. The team let their all-time sack leader Ryan Kerrigan move on to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles.  Ryan Anderson, a 2nd rounder who never quite seemed to find his place on the roster, went on to the Giants. That means that rookies William Bradley-King, Shaka Toney, and former Cowboy Jalen Jelks will all get a shot at some playing time this season. Bradley-King and Toney were both late-round draft picks so this position battle is as wide open as any on the roster.