Washington Training Camp Spotlight: Week 4 Edition

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August 21, 2024

by David Earl

Revisiting the Offensive Line Decisions

Early on in this new season, the struggles of the offensive line have been very evident. To help offset this issue, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury ran a more hurry-up tempo this past game against Miami. His play calling, along with Jayden Daniels’ pocket awareness coupled with mobility did help an overmatched offensive line against Miami, at least to some degree. Kingsbury ability to scheme a quick passing game along with screens and delayed run plays aided in masking the offensive line deficiencies quite well, but a high-tempo offense is just not a sustainable approach over a long NFL season. The noticeable issues thus far are during longer developing pass plays, which this offensive line has struggled to maintain a clean pocket. Playing the short game should set up these deeper more developing passing routes downfield and allow some advantages for the offensive line yet that was not the case this past weekend.  Even in utilizing a quick pass game, the few attempts to push the ball downfield had negative results. In the first half, I counted 4 separate occasions where the pressure quickly got to the quarterback not allowing the play to fully develop downfield.

As an example, the 9th play of the first drive was essentially thrown away as the pass was intended for Terry McLaurin deep down the sideline. Six of the previous eight plays were quick plays under 5 yards and even that was not enough to allow this play any time to develop. The defensive push penetrated quickly, even while only rushing 5 and with the linebackers covering the short zone. This was the case during the majority of the first half, including one which resulted in Jeff Driskel scrambling for 41 yards on the first play of Washington’s third possession of the game. It is a problem. What more could have been done to help this position?

In free agency, Washington signed an experienced center in Tyler Biadasz, who seems poised to become a good anchor for several years. They also locked up a potentially solid center and right guard, Samuel Cosmi, for the foreseeable future. Left guard Nick Allegretti, who has 13 starts in 5 years 9 coming in the 2020 season, is an inexperienced piece. The jury is still out about him as of today. There are a few names of interest who are aging vets but could provide a stop-gap option but offer not true long-term solutions, such as David Bakhtiari (33), D.J. Humphries (31), Duane Brown (39), and so on. What could have been done better in the draft?

As for the draft, this is where it gets a bit tricky. We can try to understand the front office’s draft philosophy, after this first draft. It is easy as a fan to play the armchair general manager role, but this offseason has been a bit unique. It is common for a new owner, general manager, and coaching staff to select their quarterback of the future when rebuilding the roster. Seeing that and having witnessed decades of miss after miss at the quarterback position accompanied by the mishandling or mismanagement of potential franchise quarterbacks, the dynamic of fan expectations is different here in DC than other places. Seeing Jayden Daniels drafted in the same year in which depth on the offensive in the draft was as rich as it was, it seemed reasonable to expect the team to position themselves to take advantage of as many offensive line options as possible. With that in mind, let’s take that journey together revisiting some of these draft decisions.

Second Round Pick 36 Overall:

  • Selected DT Jer’Zhan Newton: He was no doubt a value pick, as he was a projected mid-first-round pick who slipped to Washington in round 2. The return on this investment cannot be understated, for sure, but was he still the right pick? While being the best player available at 36, this position was very deep already, as the team already had Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen with good depth behind these two players.
  • Could Have Done: Any number of defensive backs were available at pick 36, including Mike Sainristil, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Cooper DeJean, and Kamari Lattimer.  We don’t know who of that group Washington had rated higher, but they could have grabbed a much-needed corner here, whether Sainristil or someone else.  This pick also could have allowed a trade back a few spots in order to pick up more draft assets and still get who they wanted. Of course, these selections were obviously dependent on where these players were ranked on Washington’s draft board, but knowing now that they landed Sainristil at 50th overall selection, they would have fared just fine in a trade.

Second Round Pick 50th and 53rd Overall:

  • Selected DB Sainristil and TE Ben Sinnott (respectively): While this was a good and much-needed selection, as I mentioned above, the team could have handled this draft in such a way as to allow defensive back to be addressed earlier. Having a pick 3 spots later, 53 overall, they could have gone the offensive line route or taken tight end Ben Sinnott here instead of the 53rd overall selection. As is, Washington was still on the path of taking the tight end they coveted either here or still at pick 53.
  • Could Have Done: There were 4 offensive linemen available who were drafted after Washington’s 53rd selection and before they picked offensive lineman Brandon Coleman at pick 67. Patrick Paul, who was drafted 55th overall to the Dolphins, has garnered much praise in Miami and is fully entrenched as starting left tackle Terron Armstead‘s backup but could be impactful on the right side of the line. Blake Fisher, who went 59th overall to Houston, has progressed well in camp and has been solid against one of the game’s top pass rushers this past weekend in Brian Burns. Roger Rosengarten went 62nd overall to Baltimore, which hurts as he worked his way into the starting right tackle heading into week 1. Right tackle is a major need in Washington as well. Kingsley Suamataia, who went 63rd overall to Kansas City, will potentially sting the most as he’s not only solidified the left tackle starting role but has done so with impressive fashion. The worst part here is drafting Suamataia and having him succeed in DC as he has done for the Chiefs would have provided Washington with the ability to allow him to challenge Andrew Wylie at right tackle, then draft with Brandon Coleman at 67th overall, with the option of moving him inside.

Revisited Conclusion: Washington could have passed on Newton, instead getting their corner at pick 36, then drafted Sinnott at either 50 or 53, and drafted one of the four available offensive linemen with the other pick, then still drafted Coleman in round 3.  There was also a possibility, albeit unlikely, that Newton might have dropped, which would have allowed Washington to make a move to get him if they chose to do so.  While any one of the mentioned rookie linemen would have been great, Kingsley Suamataia’s presence in DC would have created a perfect ripple effect across the offensive line, because he potentially may have claimed the left tackle position. He could have pushed Andrew Wylie into direct competition with Brandon Coleman and positioned this unit to be much better off than they are right now. I know there are other variables at play, such as coaching and scheme but, on the surface, it appears the Washington front office could have potentially outsmarted themselves.

The Defensive Backs: Quick Observation

Is it safe to say Benjamin St-Juste is not a number one corner? The clear answer does appear to be no. That’s not to say he is not an NFL-caliber corner, but that touchdown pass against Miami did him no service. Playing a few yards off receiver River Cracraft, the Dolphins projected second-string receiver, St-Juste allowed a clean release outside and lost a step. This left a perfect window for an uncontested pass and it’s something a 4th year veteran, including 2 years of starts, should be well aware of. This play should not necessarily define who the player is, as he’s had a relatively solid camp, but entering his 4th season Washington needs him to take the next step as a number one corner in this league.

There is the projected corner to start opposite St-Juste in Michael Davis. In the second play from the Dolphins’ 3rd possession, Davis was caught hesitating resulting in a completion to running De’Von Achane which, on the surface, didn’t seem terrible. When looking closer, Achane motioned out and Davis followed in coverage initially showing man-to-man coverage. Post-snap, linebacker Mykal Walker immediately took the tight end off the line and safety Derrick Forrest sat down to cover the deep third of the field, confirmed man-to-man coverage as I saw the play unfold. Instead of Davis keeping coverage on Achane down the sideline he took a step into the flat at first on the tight end, which left an easy completion for the Dolphins.

Am I being overly judgmental on just 2 plays, one of which resulted in a touchdown? Maybe so, but the point I am making here is this has been a continued issue over the years for this group. Granted Dan Quinn has specifically said he is purposely putting these corners in situations he typically wouldn’t but has the result shown any positive consistency? I would argue that Emmanuel Forbes has shown the steadiest play with a level of good positive results. While his status as first round pick means that the team can demand better and more impactful results, he has stood out as one of Washington’s better corners thus far (see this breakdown).

This leaves me to believe Washington will seriously consider keeping 6 safeties heading into week one. This cornerback room just does not have the depth and level of impact they need heading into week 1 but we could all be surprised and see the opposite, however unlikely that may be. While Quan Martin is projected as their starting free safety, he at least offers position versatility of playing corner, especially in nickel situations. Derrick Forrest could very well be a rotational factor for free safety to allow Martin to move around. Keep an eye on undrafted free agent Tyler Owens as well. What are your thoughts on the cornerback room?