Team Previews - Washington Redskins

Projected Starting Lineup

QB: Alex Smith RB: Rob Kelley WR: Jamison Crowder WR: Paul Richardson WR: Josh Doctson TE: Jordan Reed

LT: Trent Williams LG: Shawn Lauvao C: Chase Roullier RG: Brandon Scherff RT: Morgan Moses

Redskins Offensive Profile Under Jay Gruden 2014-2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 18th, 20th, 7th, 18th 2014-2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 21st, 14th, 27th, 24th 2014-2017 Play Volume Rank: 22nd, 22nd, 21st, 27th 2014-2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 10th, 10th, 2nd, 14th Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017 (Rank): 1,207 (15th) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017 (Rank): 13 (27th)

Quarterback-

After the front office completely screwed up the potential signing of Kirk Cousins in 2015, the Redskins have finally moved on and traded for Alex Smith this off-season. Smith is coming off of his best season as a pro, completing 67.5% of his passes throwing for 4,042 yards and 26 touchdowns. The injury to rookie Derrius Guice is catastrophic to this offense, the gem of the draft will have to wait until 2019 to display his talent. I had this team's offense potentially cracking the top 10 in the league with Guice healthy, now that looks like a pipe-dream. They must stay healthy along the offensive line and at tight end with Jordan Reed if Smith want's to get close to the numbers that he produced last season in Kansas City. I have Smith as a backend QB2 and should not be drafted come draft day. Wide Receivers-

The only receiver for the Redskins that I am somewhat excited about this season is Jamison Crowder. Alex Smith loves targeting the middle of the field and Crowder should feast out of the slot this coming season. Crowder lead the team in receptions (66) targets (104) and yards (789) last season despite being injured the first several weeks of the season. While he will lead the receivers this season, he will not lead the team (Jordan Reed). With his current ADP of 97, Crowder will outperform his draft spot and give you a very safe WR3.

This is a really big year for Josh Doctson, who has yet to live up to his first round billing. He struggled to get open and also dropped some critical passes in the end-zone that cost his team a victory. With an abysmal 43.5% catch rate, it will be imperative that he establishes an early connection with Smith in camp. The kid checks off all of the boxes physically but with mental busts and lack of consistency his time in Washington is running out. I will need to see it to believe it before I draft him, he is a waiver wire selection for me this season.

Paul Richardson will be trying to beat out Doctson for the most targets on the outside. Signing with Washington this off-season, Richardson looks to use his breakout year as a springboard for things to come. Richardson caught 44 of 80 targets for 703 yards and 6 touchdowns with the Seahawks last sason. With no proven assets on the outside, Richardson could become the Redskins second most targeted receiver. Much like Doctson, he will not see enough volume for me to draft him. I will need to see some on-field production before I claim him off of the waiver wire.

Tight End-

The one thing Alex Smith does extremely well is locating his tight end. Since 2007, Alex Smith has targeted his tight end 1010 times or (27.5%) of his throws. That is the third highest percentage in the league and screams for a bounce back year for Jordan Reed. One of the most injury-prone players is hoping that some off-season surgeries cure what has ailed him. He is one of the best route running tight ends in the league and can be an absolute monster for fantasy football if he can stay healthy. In just 52 games, Reed has 275 receptions (5.2 Gm) for 2,813 yards and 22 touchdowns (.42 Gm). In 2015 he had 87 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 14 games, he is a top-3 tight end in the league when healthy. The injury risk is massive, as he averages 10 games a year, but with an ADP of 90 you get the steal of the draft if he stays healthy.

Running Back-

The Redskins got the steal of the draft when Derrius Guice fell to them at No.59 because of some ridiculous "off-field concerns". Guice was the best pure runner in this draft, Barkley just happens to be a freak of nature athletically which is why they're both terrific prospects. At 5-foot-11, 225 pounds Guice is an extremely powerful but quick (4.49-forty) back that has excellent vision. There are about 2-3 colleges that you do not start as a freshman with his skill-set, LSU behind Leonard Fournette happens to be one of them. In just three years, Guice ran 3,074 yards averaging 6.5 yards a rush in the best defensive conference in college football (SEC). While he was not heavily involved in the passing game, (32) he is very proficient and displayed his ability to do so in camp and at the combine. I am looking forward to taking Guice in the early rounds of next year's draft and hope he has a speedy recovery.

With the ACL tear to Guice, the Redskins will lean on Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine to carry the load this season. Kelley showed up to camp in great shape and highly motivated. I expect Kelley to take over as the lead back in this offense. He showed some signs of ability in his rookie year rushing for 137 yards on just 24 carries vs the Packers. While he does not have outstanding speed, he runs hard and can get what is needed on the ground for this team to be successful. The one worry about Perine coming out of the draft was his ability to accelerate and get north quickly, he simply does not have the speed and acceleration to be a successful NFL starting running back. He is much more suited for short-yardage and goal-line situations. I like drafting Kelley in the late rounds as a bye-week starter but have no interest in Perine.

With Guice out, Chris Thompson will get as much of the passing down work that he can handle. Coming off of a fractured fibula in Week 11, he has said it might not be till November for him to feel fully healthy. In just 10 games last season, Thompson was the spark that the Redskins needed on offense catching 39 balls for 510 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is great in the passing game and will be leaned on heavily with Guice out for the season and so many question marks at receiver. I think he has value in both PPR and .5PPR leagues and is someone I am looking to take in the later rounds of my drafts. 2018 Vegas Win Total The Redskins’ Win Total opened at 7. With a team that was decimated by injuries on both sides of the line of scrimmage, I found that as an accomplishment. The Redskins will have to play the difficult NFC South and the most improved AFC South with the healthy return of Andrew Luck, DeShaun Watson and Marcus Mariota. The Crimson Tide defense should be much improved with former Alabama stars Da'ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Ryan Anderson, Shaun Dion Hamilton. I like where they're at linebacker with Zach Brown, Preston Smith, Mason Foster, and Ryan Kerrigan. I would also expect this offense to be better with Alex Smith at the helm as he is extremely consistent and will move the football. If this team can stay healthy, they will win more than 7 games and be in the hunt for the wild-card.