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The Washington Redskins roster is far from being a finished product. And, unfortunately for the fans, it is far from producing a championship contender.
Here are the five categories we used to sort the Skins roster:
Lock - 95% or higher chance of making the roster. Barring a bizarro world camp, a player with this designation is making the team.
Almost Certain - These are players I feel really good about, but it’s not completely far-fetched that they don’t make the team given a plausible set of circumstances
Toss Up - I initially didn’t have this category, but quickly realized that was a mistake. There are some players that truly are up in the air and they don’t properly fit in the categories above or below.
Probably Not - Players in this category probably won’t make the team, but could be next in line if there’s an injury. They’re also great practice squad candidates.
No Shot - Barring the same bizarro world circumstances that would cause a lock to not make it, these guys are out.
Dwayne Haskins - Lock
Colt McCoy – Almost Certain
Case Keenum – Almost Certain
Josh Woodrum – No Shot
This is fairly certain. Dwayne Haskins is making the team and the rest depends on whether or not he’s the starter and how confident they feel carrying two versus three quarterbacks. I see almost no scenario in which Case Keenum is cut, but he certainly could become trade bait if Haskins beats him out for the job.
Colt McCoy seems like the logical backup almost no matter what. He knows the system and has proven extremely valuable in the meeting room, which matters at the quarterback position. Woodrum gets a “no shot” mention because he could be a practice squad candidate. If the Redskins only keep two quarterbacks (however that takes shape) then he could be the third body the building, but he would be off the 53-man roster.
Trent Williams – Lock
Brandon Scherff – Lock
Chase Rouillier – Lock
Morgan Moses – Lock
Wes Martin – Lock
Ross Pierschbacher – Almost Certain
Geron Christian – Almost Certain
Erik Flowers – Almost Certain
Tyler Catalina – Probably Not
Tony Bergstrom – Probably Not
Chidi Okeke – Probably Not
Casey Dunn - Probably Not
The starters are set outside of left guard, where it’ll be a competition between Wes Martin, Erik Flowers and Ross Pierschbacher. The latter of the three gets “almost certain” just in case a numbers game causes them to try and sneak him to the practice squad, but that would only happen if he has a disastrous training camp and pre-season.
Christian, last year’s 3rd round pick, should be a lock but he was so bad last year that it’s not implausible he’s an odd man out if Flowers is clearly a better backup tackle and the flexibility of other players wins out. However, expect Christian to make the roster. The most likely bubble guys are the ones competing for the second backup interior spot in Bergstrom, Dunn and Catalina. If everyone else is healthy it would seem they’ll try and get the younger guys to the practice squad and keep them ready in case of emergency. The same is true for Okeke, a complete prospect at tackle who should be able to be kept around Ashburn without putting him on the 53.
Jordan Reed – Lock
Vernon Davis – Almost Certain
Matt Flanagan – Almost Certain
Jeremy Sprinkle - Probably Not
Manasseh Garner – Probably Not
This will probably cause the biggest stir, but these rankings reflect what I think of these players at this point in their careers. Vernon Davis wasn’t good last year. Matt Flanagan showed promise. Jeremy Sprinkle has yet to grow entering his 3rd year. Could this change dramatically by the fall? Absolutely.
However, this is a prediction of how things will play out based on what we have seen and in an effort to find a compliment to Jordan Reed and Flanagan’s combination of abilities seems like the best fit. He’s their best blocker (granted, over a small sample size) and is adequate as a receiver. Davis and Sprinkle leave a lot to be desired in their weak AND strong areas. Davis wasn’t a reliable receiving threat but is still potent enough to probably stick around as Reed insurance. While Sprinkle needs to prove quite a bit as a blocker, nevertheless a receiver, to beat out Flanagan and I haven’t seen enough to think that’s going to happen.
Paul Richardson – Lock
Trey Quinn – Lock
Terry McLaurin – Lock
Josh Doctson – Lock
Kelvin Harmon – Almost Certain
Jehu Chesson – Probably Not
Brian Quick - Probably Not
Cam Sims – Toss Up
Robert Davis – Toss Up
Darvin Kidsy – No Shot
Steven Sims - No Shot
When I did this segment over the weekend I came up with a crazy scenario in which Doctson doesn’t make the roster and it revolved too much around Special Teams when I finally put it on paper. The real fun is how many snaps Harmon can demand in the regular season. He’s too highly thought of to even think about practice squad, meaning he should probably be a lock, but he was a 6th round pick so I’m leaving open the slightest of possibilities.
Assuming Harmon makes it along with the other four locks, that leaves one spot (maybe) for some very different players. Jehu Chesson was a special teams standout last year, but with Terry McLaurin coming in to be that and more, he probably becomes expendable. Realistically Robert Davis and Cam Sims are competing for one spot. Sims is a good special teams player, that helps. Davis looked spectacular in camp last year until he got hurt, that also helps. They’re both big bodies who will get plenty of chances in the preseason assuming both are healthy.
Kidsey and UDFA Sims are longer-term slot projects who have the kind of speed to be intriguing.
Adrian Peterson – Lock
Derrius Guice – Lock
Chris Thompson – Lock
Bryce Love – Lock
Samaje Perine – Probably Not
Byron Marshall – No Shot
The wildcard here is Love. How long should he stay on PUP? Of course with the injury histories of Guice and Thompson, this could always change and Marshall or Perine could feel a lot more needed, however with Love in the bag as potential mid-season relief it feels as if the top three backs are going to be enough as long as they stay healthy.