The Top 20 Washington Players Who Will Have the Biggest Impact in 2024

[turtle28]

On 5/8/2024 at 11:11 AM, MKnight82 said:

#17 - HB Brian Robinson

 

Brian Robinson had a solid second season rushing for 733 yards and 5 TDs, but the real jump in production from him was in the passing game where he contributed 36 receptions for 368 yards after not contributing much there his rookie season. He had to play behind an abysmal offensive line so no one can blame him too much for his lack of rushing production, although his 4.1 ypc was decent considering the circumstances (but was still only 23rd for NFL RBs last season). His size is an asset to the team and I expect him to contribute as part of the RB rotation this year. But ultimately I think he will lose the training camp battle this preseason and won't be our starter this year which is why he isn't higher on the list. 

It's a good point. It definitely could play out that Eckler starts but I still think BRob plays a lot & is the short-yardage/goal-line guy for sure.

Eckler is also more a Kingsbury type of back, a mix between a scat back & a 220-230 lb back. 

Edited May 11 by turtle28

[ripsean21]

I mean I think we all know who number 1 is on the list post draft lol

love this topic and the work and information though Knight love when you make this topic thread reading up on your projections

Edited May 11 by ripsean21

[MKnight82]

#12 - OLB Jamin Davis

 

*His placement on this list is based on the assumption he isn't in jail this season*

Davis gets a bad wrap a lot but he is not as bad as some people make him out to be. Yes he was overdrafted but he is a good starting linebacker. He struggled as a rookie in the Mike MLB role as he just isn't a cerebral player. But after moving him to OLB the past two seasons and letting him just read and react he's played much better. His size and speed are an asset for this defense and I'm curious how the new coaching staff will utilize his unique talents. 

Speaking of, I think our defensive scheme will be drastically different from before. We've targeted a lot of players that are known blitzers in this offseason, and Davis has been super underutilized in that role so far in his career. He's had 3 sacks each the past two seasons, but that could double or more if he's allowed to attack the QB in a more defined way. 

Edited May 13 by MKnight82

[MikeT14]

Interesting spot to have Jamin, as with the scheme change and signings, I expect he went from starter to rotation. 

[MKnight82]

10 minutes ago, MikeT14 said:

Interesting spot to have Jamin, as with the scheme change and signings, I expect he went from starter to rotation. 

That's true. But I'm anticipating them using him in different ways. 

edit - also getting to 20 players was rough. We don't have a lot of guaranteed starters on the roster right now. On my list J Davis is only ahead of Dotson, C Ferrell, and a lot of suspect Olineman (not on the list) of guys that are likely starters. 

Edited May 13 by MKnight82

[MKnight82]

#11 - RG Sam Cosmi

 

Cosmi is an athletically gifted olineman who is still trying to put things altogether on the field. After struggling at tackle earlier in his career he seemed to settled in at Guard last year, and he was a PFF darling most of the season. Personally I think he's a solid Guard who is getting overrated because he was competent on a line that was otherwise completely incompetent. I think he stood out for that reason, but the comparison of him to top level guys at his position and people arguing he's some stud olineman is just fantasy imo. He is a solid starter at a position that is generally considered to be one of the less valued and somewhat replaceable. However, on our roster that ends him up nearly cracking the top 10. I hope he continues his improvement and shows he can be a long term player for us. 

Edited May 13 by MKnight82

[turtle28]

On 5/10/2024 at 12:52 PM, MKnight82 said:

#13 - WR Jahan Dotson

 

Jahan Dotson got crushed more than anyone by moron OC last year. His yards per game was down to 30.5 from 43.6 as a rookie. His TDs were down from 7 to 4. The only thing up were his targets and receptions, but the routes he was running were so much shorter than the year before he wasn't getting as much production out of them. He also seemed to have a lot of key drops that killed some drives. Terry McLaurin was highly critical of how the offense was utilizing the WRs so I don't put a lot of blame on Dotson. When you're pulling all the WRs back for short routes that brings the whole defense up and crunches the space, leaving little room for passing lanes and letting WRs get nailed by the defense.

His rookie year he had some insane TD grabs and most people were projecting him to have a breakout year. I think a rebound season could be on the way. He's still a very talented player and we saw flashes as a rookie. I think a season with around 750-800 yards with 6-8 Tds is on the way. 

Jahan still had a decent season last year despite the few drops - which were killers for the team & his stat line - but Mk you explain this perfectly in why our WRs didn't like Bieniemy’s offense & how it hampered their production from what they had under Scott Turner the year before.

Beyond that, on most plays Jahan wasn't even the #2 option. You had Terry, Samuel & possibly Logan or even a RB depending on play call and situation/pressure Howell was under during the play. The bottom line is that plays weren't called for Jahan and being one of the last options for Howell behind a below average OL & with a first year starting QB, it meant less targets for Jahan. 

Hopefully this year with Samuel gone, Jahan can get more targets and he will make the most of them pulling in somewhere around 60-70 recs, 700 - 800 yards for 5 to 8 TDs.

[MKnight82]

#10 - DE Dorance Armstrong

 

Armstrong was a former 4th round draft pick by the Cowboys that followed Dan Quinn over to Washington. His career sack numbers have been solid the past 5 years (5 in 2021, 8.5 in 2022 and 7.5 in 2023) but his PFF rating was a pedestrian 69.6 last year and he had 35 pressures in 17 games played, which was 98th in the league for defensive players. He did that with Micah Parsons taking consistent double teams on the other side from him. All of that is pretty pedestrian. 

However, I think there is some hope for a breakout season here. Yes Micah Parsons is good and we don't have anyone like that on the other side of the DLine,  but we have the best two DTs he will have ever played next to in his career. Our linebacking core, which should provide blitzing pressure, are better than anyone Dallas has as well (if you're considering Parsons a DE). He will only be 27 years old next season and should still have untapped upside. I think he will be the best DE we have on the roster this year. 

[MKnight82]

#9 - HB Austin Ekeler 

Ekeler had a combined 3,195 scrimmage yards and 38 TDs in 2021 and 2022 combined, and his 44 total TDs the past 3 years is more than any other player in the NFL. Since 2021, Ekeler has 39 more receptions and 157 more receiving yards than Christian McCaffrey. I believe that is why he's here, Peters is trying to emulate what they had in SF at the position. 

Unfortunately he suffered a high ankle sprain Week 1 last season and his production suffered the entire year for it. But he's a much more complete back than anyone we else we have on the roster. I think he will be our starter at RB this year, and with a rookie QB he will see a lot of targets and carries out of the backfield. 

[turtle28]

2 hours ago, MKnight82 said:

#10 - DE Dorance Armstrong

 

Armstrong was a former 4th round draft pick by the Cowboys that followed Dan Quinn over to Washington. His career sack numbers have been solid the past 5 years (5 in 2021, 8.5 in 2022 and 7.5 in 2023) but his PFF rating was a pedestrian 69.6 last year and he had 35 pressures in 17 games played, which was 98th in the league for defensive players. He did that with Micah Parsons taking consistent double teams on the other side from him. All of that is pretty pedestrian. 

However, I think there is some hope for a breakout season here. Yes Micah Parsons is good and we don't have anyone like that on the other side of the DLine,  but we have the best two DTs he will have ever played next to in his career. Our linebacking core, which should provide blitzing pressure, are better than anyone Dallas has as well (if you're considering Parsons a DE). He will only be 27 years old next season and should still have untapped upside. I think he will be the best DE we have on the roster this year. 

I could be wrong but I don't think Armstrong played starter snaps. I think he and Parsons rotated some on passing downs. That could explain why his production isn't what we'd like to see. Again, not sure and I didn't look it up but I think that's the case.

Yeah, I just looked it up so he only played 42% of snaps last year and he only started 1 game.

Edited May 15 by turtle28

[RSkinGM]

50 minutes ago, MKnight82 said:

#9 - HB Austin Ekeler 

Ekeler had a combined 3,195 scrimmage yards and 38 TDs in 2021 and 2022 combined, and his 44 total TDs the past 3 years is more than any other player in the NFL. Since 2021, Ekeler has 39 more receptions and 157 more receiving yards than Christian McCaffrey. I believe that is why he's here, Peters is trying to emulate what they had in SF at the position. 

Unfortunately he suffered a high ankle sprain Week 1 last season and his production suffered the entire year for it. But he's a much more complete back than anyone we else we have on the roster. I think he will be our starter at RB this year, and with a rookie QB he will see a lot of targets and carries out of the backfield. 

Turns 29 in two days. I think they wanted him  primarily as 3rd down back . We'll see.  as for me-pulling for that big pounder back. B Rob ! I think he breaks out with better scheme and blocking .

[MKnight82]

#8 - P Tress Way

 

Will the Punt God lose his powers after changing numbers? I don't have a lot to say here. Tress Way is a good punter. He's one of the few players on the roster where I feel totally comfortable with the guy we have at that position. I felt that was worthy of a top 10 spot. 

[MikeT14]

I do hope Tress has a bounce back year. Whether due to injury, poor players around him or what, his play definitely dipped in effectiveness last year.

[turtle28]

18 hours ago, RSkinGM said:

Turns 29 in two days. I think they wanted him  primarily as 3rd down back . We'll see.  as for me-pulling for that big pounder back. B Rob ! I think he breaks out with better scheme and blocking .

Definitely better interior OL blocking this year than BRob & probably Eckler has ever had in their careers which should mean better ypa for them & more production.

[MKnight82]

2 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

I do hope Tress has a bounce back year. Whether due to injury, poor players around him or what, his play definitely dipped in effectiveness last year.

Everyone sucked last year. Hard to make any judgement on last year.