As the Washington Football Team sets to embark on Year 2 under Ron Rivera, national pundits are hopping on the bandwagon unlike any time in recent memory.
On Monday, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick glommed on, calling Washington the unquestioned "clear-cut favorites" to win the NFC East.
"Washington's for real," Riddick said on ESPN's Get Up. "As much as people don't want to maybe admit that, as much as people maybe hate that Football Team, this team is for real. To me they're the clear-cut favorites in the East. Clear-cut. It's not even a question."
Riddick joins his ESPN colleague Dan Orlovsky as a believer in Washington. Also this week, Orlovsky said he expects Washington — along with Tampa Bay, Arizona and the Los Angeles Rams — to be among the final four teams left standing in the NFC, saying Washington could wind up being "the fastest offense in the NFL."
"This is the Football Team, literally and figuratively, in the NFC East that we should be talking about," Riddick said. "Why? As long as Ryan Fitzpatrick is able to give them competent quarterback play — not superstar, just top 15 to 16."
Riddick couched his opinion on Washington's offensive line, the position group which has undergone the most turnover this offseason. After franchise-tagging guard Brandon Scherff for the second straight year, Washington signed veteran tackle Charles Leno, Jr. before re-acquiring guard Ereck Flowers in a trade with Miami and drafting Texas tackle Samuel Cosmi in the second round. But most surprising, Washington then parted with longtime right tackle Morgan Moses, releasing him and Geron Christian in May.
Factor in the Football team has yet to see what it has in Saahdiq Charles, a fourth-round pick in 2020 who made one start his rookie season before suffering a dislocated kneecap, determining what Washington's offensive line could materialize into is a big ole mystery.
"The truth is this," Riddick continued, "they have got players all over the place. They've got players at wide receiver, they've got two good running backs. As long as [their] offensive tackles hold up on the offensive line, they're good to go. And defensively, you know they've got some bad boys up front on the front seven. And now they've added some playmakers in the backend, too. They've got William Jackson from Cincinnati as a UFA."
If Washington wins the NFC East again in 2021, as Riddick expects, it would mark a noted improvement in the continuity department. No team has won the NFC East in consecutive seasons since the Eagles last did 17 years ago (2001-04).
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