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Redskins top needs: DL, RT, G/C, WR, S, CB, ILB
The Washington Redskins’ top off-season need, in my opinion, is the defensive line. Arguably every position on the team’s defense is in need of an upgrade, but it all starts in the trenches.
Washington’s three-man front can easily be upgraded this off-season if the team goes about it the right way. Five-techniques (3-4 defensive end) Stephon Bowen and Adam Carriker (who hasn’t been able to stay healthy) could end up getting cut. Defensive End/Nose Tackle Chris Baker is a free agent, but is a priority re-sign. He was the best defensive lineman not named Barry Cofield last season. Speaking of Cofield — the team should seriously consider moving him to Five-Tech. He’s not your prototype two-gap plugger, which has delivered both positives and negatives. He has become one of the league’s best nose tackles when it comes to putting pressure on the Quarterback. However, I haven’t heard that moving Cofield to five-technique is legitimately being discussed. But Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett did spend a lot of time watching defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl in January. One player that likely caught his attention is Justin Ellis, Nose Tackle out of Louisiana Tech. I believe the team will move forward with Cofield as the Nose Tackle but if an opportunity arises to get a guy like an Ellis — they know Cofield is versatile enough to rotate over to DEnd.
Moving forward, I’d expect the Washington Redskins to bring in several players in hope to upgrade their defensive line. In my opinion, they only have one legit starter in Barry Cofield right now. 2011 second round pick Jarvis Jenkins has proven to be nothing but a rotational player. And while I think Chris Baker is the team’s second best DLinemen — he’s best as a rotational player too.
With that being said, here’s my rankings of Free Agent Defensive Linemen and Draft prospects that could be on Washington’s radar.
Free Agent Defensive Linemen:
1. NT/DE Linval Joseph, 25, New York Giants (6ft 4, 323 lbs)
2. DE Randy Starks, 30, Miami Dolphins (6ft 3, 305 lbs)
3. NT/DE Arthur Jones, 28, Baltimore Ravens (6ft 3, 315 lbs)
4. DE Vance Walker, 27, Oakland Raiders (6ft 2, 305 lbs)
5. NT Paul Soliai, 30, Miami Dolphins (6ft 4, 340 lbs)
NFL Draft Defensive Linemen:
1. DE Aaron Donald, Pitt (6ft 1, 288 lbs)
2a. DE RaShede Hagerman, Minnesota (6ft 6, 318 lbs)
2b. DE Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame (6ft 6, 312 lbs)
3a. NT DaQuan Jones, Penn State (6ft 4, 323 lbs)
3b. NT Justin Ellis, LA Tech (6ft 2, 342 lbs)
4. DE Will Clarke, West VA (6ft 6, 271 lbs)
5. DE Brent Urban, VA (6ft 6, 298 lbs)
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