2023 Season Preview – Part 1
June 28, 2023
By Noonefromtampa
This is the start of another series of offseason posts I will be doing for your reading pleasure: my take on the upcoming season and what to expect from Washington.
This is week we are going to look at what I call:
Five Key Players Not Name Sam Howell
Why this topic, you may ask? Everyone and their siblings who follow this team know that the success level of the 2023 season boils down to how well Sam Howell performs at quarterback. That has been the single biggest weakness of this franchise since Kirk Cousins left town for Minnesota.
But who beyond Howell could impact the success of the team in the upcoming season? Here are my five players that I believe can greatly impact this season. Feel free to agree/disagree and post a comment about who you think the key players are.
This pick may surprise some folks, since the production from Chase Young was replaced adequately by James Smith-Williams, Efe Obada and Casey Toohill. However, if Young can return to his rookie-level capability, he has a chance to have a major impact on the defense. Most prognosticators have the Commanders’ defense as being a good and capable one. A destructive Young playing opposite Montez Sweat has the potential to make a good defense elevate to the elite level. I’m sure head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio are anticipating having a capable Young back on the field with an evil glee (for opposing offenses). Also, Young should be very motivated having had his fifth-year option declined by the team.
Realistically, I could have listed the entire offensive line here after their performance last season, but I went with Nick Gates. Rookie quarterbacks – and Howell is essentially still a rookie quarterback – need a decent offensive line to help them out in the run game as well as pass protection. The key to most offensive lines is the center, who is responsible for most of the line calls. Gates staying healthy and playing well bodes well for the entire offensive line, which the last couple of seasons has been racked by injuries. The offensive line has been completely reworked this offseason, with Charles Leno Jr. as the only player still at the same position as the 2022 season.
Emmanuel Forbes
To most it would seem obvious that a first-round pick would be a key player in the upcoming season because of most teams that player is drafted to come in a fill an open spot on the roster. Emmanuel Forbes is not guaranteed to be a starter game one, Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste are the likely starters with Forbes being either the slot corner or nickel cornerback allowing one the starters to slide inside. The reason Forbes is a key player is what he did in college, which was to create turnovers on defense. Last year, Washington’s defense only had only nine interceptions, fifth worst in the league. One area the coaches are seeking to improve is turnovers. That is a major reason why both Forbes and Jartavius Martin were drafted. Only time will tell if all those pick-six interceptions Forbes had in college will translate to the pros.
Washington entered free agency with one decent linebacker in Jamin Davis, who has steadily improved each season. They added Cody Barton as a free agent and those two will be the main players when the defense is in its 4-2-5 scheme. The team elected not to re-sign Cole Holcomb, so the linebacker position group does not have the greatest depth. The coaching staff seems to like young players Khaleke Hudson, De’Jon Harris and Milo Eifler, but none of them have shown they are full time players yet. Any production from them will be a bonus. The defensive line and secondary look solid so the linebacker play becomes key, and Barton is the player on whom to focus. If he is as good or better than was Holcomb over the last two years, it will be good for the defense.
The fifth key player is actually two players, because Eric Bieniemy’s offense in Kansas City used two running backs extensively in their offense the last couple years. Let’s compare some combined statistics:
| Year | Players | Att | Rush Yds | Rush TDs | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TDs |
| 2022 – KC | Isiah Pacheco | 242 | 1,121 | 6 | 69 | 642 | 9 |
| 2022 – WSH | Brian Robinson Jr. | 354 | 1,343 | 5 | 55 | 413 | 3 |
| 2021 – KC | Darrel Williams | 263 | 1,075 | 10 | 66 | 581 | 4 |
| 2021 – WSH | Antonio Gibson | 326 | 1,303 | 9 | 52 | 367 | 3 |
As you can see from the statistics, Washington running backs gained more yards on the ground than did Kansas City, but the Chiefs backs produced more yards in receiving. I think that will be a big change from the Scott Turner led offenses of previous years, because Washington’s running backs will be more involved in the passing game on earlier downs. West Coast offensive theory substitutes short, quick passes to the running backs for rushing attempts on some early downs to keep opposing defenses off-balance. That makes the combination of Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson key players for 2023.
Those are my five key players for 2023. Who are yours?
Sources: pro-football-reference.com
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