Washington’s Future Blue Chippers

August 11, 2022

by Steve Thomas

Washington is a franchise that has struggled to find true elite-level, blue chip team leaders for nearly all of Dan Snyder’s unfortunate tenure as owner.  Don’t get me wrong; they’ve tried, hard, both in the draft and via free agency, and have occasionally stumbled into some outstanding players, led most prominently by Trent Williams.  He was everything that one would want in a team player: perennial Pro Bowler, highly respected by his teammates and throughout the NFL.  But that is in the past.  Who are Washington’s blue chippers of the future?  Perhaps not at Williams’ level, but players who can ay least get anywhere in this ballpark and provide the team with leadership and some league-wide respect.  What exactly is a blue chip player, anyway?  To me, it’s the rare player who can combine a high-level of performance with leadership abilities.  If Ron Rivera’s team is going to flourish with any sort of consistency, they’ll need a group of players like this to lead the team into the future.  Who is this group?  Let’s discuss.

The sure things

Jonathan Allen – Allen is probably the most obvious blue chip player on Washington’s roster.  Allen was a first round pick who somewhat surprisingly fell to Washington at pick 17. Allen started slow, only playing in 5 games as a rookie due to injury, but got better each year.  Today, Allen is coming off of a Pro Bowl season and is highly respected throughout the league.  Just as important is Allen’s leadership ability – he appears to be the genuine leader of Washington’s defense.  He’s an out front, vocal player who is unafraid to set the example and the standards.  The one negative incident was last year’s sideline fight between Allen and Daron Payne, but that came across as a “brothers fighting” type of isolated situation.  Allen is going to be the primary team leader of the future.

Terry McLaurin – McLaurin has the play on the field part down, as, by anyone’s estimation, he’s a top 15 or so receiver in the league.  Furthermore, McLaurin’s performance has been hurt by erratic quarterback play.  He’s never made a Pro Bowl, but his skillset is undeniable. He’s another player who is respected around the league.  In terms of leadership ability, McLaurin is more of a “lead by example” type of player, which can work as long as the results are there.  Frankly, Washington could use another player on the offense who is more vocal, which isn’t McLaurin, but his abilities as a receiver make him a blue chip player.

Chase Roullier – This one may seem a bit surprising.  It’s tough to measure the performance of an interior offensive lineman, but Roullier is one of the better centers in the NFL and is the senior, highest-paid leader of Washington’s offensive line.  Roullier is never going to be a headline on ESPN, but in my view he’s undeniably the most important member of this group and an invaluable key to the offense.

Tress Way – He’s the best punter in the NFL and perhaps the best in team history.  Enough said.

The possibilities

Kamren Curl – Curl has been a revelation and a home run as a 7th round pick in 2020.  Against all odds, he has developed into a solid starter.  He doesn’t perform at, and is not yet viewed around the league, as an elite player, but Curl is a guy who may continue to get better and start to get some league recognition.  Curl appears to have some leadership ability, and those qualities will continue to get better as the years go on.  Curl isn’t there yet, but it’s conceivable that at some point he’ll get there.

Montez Sweat – Sweat, as a first round pick, comes with the expectation of being a blue chip player.  In some ways, he’s been better and more consistent than his peer, Chase Young.  To date, Sweat hasn’t produced the statistical results necessary to be at the blue chip level, and has a ways to go before observers will consider him to be one of the top players at his position, but it’s possible that he gets there one day.   Thusfar, Sweat hasn’t exhibited much in the way of outward leadership qualities, but I think he has the innate ability to get there.  It’s not beyond the realm of possible to see Sweat become a blue chip player some time soon.

Chase Young – Young is at a crossroads.  The former second overall pick was on the road to taking a big step back in terms of his on-field performance, and then tore his ACL.  Last offseason, the fact that Young chose to skip some optional OTAs to film commercials didn’t seem like the end of the world at the time, but looking back, it may have been a sign of things to come.  If Young ends up living up to his potential, he’ll automatically be considered a blue chip player regardless of whether he can lead a sheep to water.  It’s possible, although I wouldn’t blame fans for betting against it right now.

Sorry, but no

Cole Holcomb – Holcomb is a leader in the linebacker room by default.  Some fans may view him as a leader in the linebacker room, and he comes across as a colorful personality, but Holcomb simply lacks the ability on the field to ever get to this level.

Logan Thomas – Thomas is a good player, but he’s already over 30 years old and coming off of serious injury.  I think the clock may run out on him before he can develop the level of performance needed to be considered a blue chip player.  Thomas appears to be a fairly easy going personality who other players could follow, but Thomas may be too old and injured to put up the years of performance necessary to become a blue chip player, particularly given the myriad of young talent behind him in the tight end room.

Carson Wentz – Look, I realize that many fans are very high on Wentz and believe that he’s being disrespected by the national media, but the simple fact is that this kind of turnaround would be one of the great success stories in recent NFL history.  Wentz may become a solid quarterback for Washington, but the idea that he will end up becoming an elite-level, team leader is far-fetched and unrealistic.

Who have I missed here?  Who else on Washington’s roster could be a blue chip player of the future?