“With the second pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select Chase Young, defensive end, Ohio State.”
Those are the words that should come out Roger Goddell’s mouth come April 25th, and will most likely happen.
The Redskins finished 3-13 last year, the second-worst record in the whole NFL. With that, Dan Snyder looked at himself in the mirror and realized changes needed to be made. Changes are being made, and the reality that the Redskins will be in the playoffs next season are becoming more true by the day.
The first big move this Redskins team made was the decision to get rid of General Manager, Bruce Allen. Allen had been apart of the Redskins for 10 years, and had a winning record for 3 of those 10 seasons. The craziest part: he wasn’t even their GM in 2015 and 2016, with Scot McCloughan being named GM for those 2 years. Bruce Allen was still the President of Football Operations in 2015 & 16, but was not under the title of General Manager.
The Redskins 2 winning seasons came in 2015 and 2016. Coincidence? Not even a little. The fact that Allen had a job with the Redskins for 10 years is mind-blowing. Allen is now gone, and the #FireBruceAllen campaign has come to a close.
Right after Allen was fired, Ron Rivera was announced as the team’s head coach. The Redskins fired Jay Gruden after Week 5, who has been their coach since 2014. He went 35-49-1 in his time in Washington, a record many would say is not that impressive. After Week 5, Offensive Line Coach, Bill Callahan, became interim head coach for the Redskins and finished 3-8 as head coach. He has just recently been let go, but the head coaching spot has not been strong in Washington. Rivera, who is a two-time coach of the year, hopes to lead success in Washington.
The Redskins have made countless number of moves after this, including signing offensive coordinator Scott Turner from the Carolina Panthers. Turner impressed at the end of the season for the Panthers with his play-calling, and hopes to continue impressing in Washington.
Another big move is the addition of Jack Del Rio as the team’s defensive coordinator. Del Rio has strong connections with Rivera, and will be a huge upgrade at the defensive coordinator position.
The Redskins also have signed Ken Zampese as QB Coach, who helped with the development of Baker Mayfield his rookie season in Cleveland. The Redskins are also keeping Randy Jordan as RB’s coach, and have promoted Doug Williams to Senior Vice President of Player Development.
But, while many of these moves look fantastic for the Redskins, one move is making many Redskins fans upset, which is Kevin O’Connell becoming the offensive coordinator in Los Angeles under Sean McVay for the Rams. O’Connell, 34, is a bright, young, offensive-minded coach who helped develop Dwayne Haskins at the end of last season.
Many were hoping he would even be the next head coach for Washington, but he didn’t even remain offensive coordinator. The young coach will most likely get a head coaching job somewhere soon, but for the meantime, he will be joining Sean McVay, who also used to work for the Redskins, just like Kyle Shanahan (get the theme here?).
But, this Redskins team is a lot better than many think. QB’s typically have a strong sophomore season, and I believe Haskins is going to do everything he can to get better. Derrius Guice returns to 100%, Terry McLaurin will hopefully have a full season with Haskins as his QB, and this defense looks strong with the likes of Jonathan Allen, Cole Holcomb, Montez Sweat, and many more.
So when you turn on your TV on April 23rd, many expect Chase Young to be drafted as a Washington Redskin. With this pick, it could help turn this team around. This team could really go from 3-13, to playoff bound.
P/C: USA Today – Redskins Wire
