Washington Redskins

Head Coach: Jay Gruden (3rd season)
Offensive Coordinator: Sean McVay (3rd season)
Defensive Coordinator: Joe Barry (2nd season)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Kirk Cousins, Colt McCoy
Running Back: Matt Jones, Chris Thompson, Keith Marshall (r)
Wide Receiver: Desean Jackson, Pierre Garçon, Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson (r)
Tight End: Jordan Reed, Niles Paul
Kicker: Dustin Hopkins
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015-Finished 28th in yards against and 17th in points against. Finished 14th in sacks and 21st in interceptions.

Coaching Philosophy

Sean McVay took over as play caller for the Redskins last season and they had their best offensive season since 2012. McVay is very innovative and a brilliant X’s and O’s guy, and many consider him to be one of the hottest future head coach candidate. Despite his relative inexperience, McVay was able to turn Kirk Cousins into a 4,000+ yard passer and a top 12 fantasy quarterback. The book is still being written on McVay however, and with only one season of calling plays as well as being the youngest offensive coordinator in the league, we are still learning his tendencies. With his previous work with quarterbacks and tight ends, I have a feeling that once again, we will see the Cousins-Reed combination be very effective in our nation’s capital.

Fantasy Outlook

Redskins Quarterbacks

A lot will be put on the shoulders of Kirk Cousins this year, including the weight of playing for a big contract.

One thing that I like looking for in fantasy sports is when players have something to prove, and after Kirk Cousins breakout season last year, he wants to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Why do I know that? Well, he’s playing on the franchise tag for the Redskins this season and another big season could mean a big payday for fifth year quarterback. Cousins was fantastic last season as he threw for over 4,000 yards with 29 touchdowns, and finished as a top ten fantasy quarterback. He also threw for almost a 70% completion rate which was tops among starting quarterbacks. Can he repeat this performance? I think the answer is yes. He has all the same weapons back and the Skins added high upside rookie receiver, Josh Doctson to the mix as well. Alfred Morris has departed for Dallas and unproven, Matt Jones will likely handle duties out of the backfield, so I feel like a lot will be asked of Cousins. If he could see a slight increase in his yards per target which was a little low last year, he could border on 4,500 yards and once again, be a borderline QB1 fantasy quarterback.

Redskins Running Backs

I hope Matt Jones uses those strong arms to hang on to the ball this year…

Not only are the Redskins asking a lot of Kirk Cousins, but they are also going to be heaping a big bowl of responsibility on second year running back, Matt Jones. Jones was a complimentary piece along with Alfred Morris last season, but with Morris now in the “Big D”, it’s Jones’ time to shine. Can he become a force in the fantasy football universe? I have a few doubts. First of all, I am a huge fan of Pro Football Focus who accumulates stats on every player in the NFL and here is an interesting one from them on Jones. Last season, Jones finished outside of the top 48 running backs in yards per carry, average yards after the catch and forced missed tackles per attempt. The dude seems to get hit and go down. Another scary stat is he that had five fumbles on the season (four of them lost) on only 144 carries. Ball security gives coaches aneurysms and if he continues to lose the ball, his job security may become an issue. That being said, he has the upside of a RB2 in fantasy this year due to the volume he may see. Personally though, there are just too many red flags for me to feel comfortable drafting him as one.

Jones should carry a bulk of the load in rushing attempts, but Chris Thompson looks to play a large role in the passing game. He was very effective last season as he had 35 receptions and was much better than Matt Jones in pass protection as well. I like Thompson as a late round flier in PPR leagues because while some may peg seventh round draft pick, Keith Marshall as Jones’ handcuff, I think Thompson has just as good of a shot if Jones goes down. Marshall is an athletic freak at 5’9′ 219 pounds and runs a 4.31 40 yard dash, but was never really the guy at the University of Georgia. He was either playing behind the likes of Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb or Sony Michel, or injured (missed a majority of two years) and never really broke out. Word out of camp is that he is not setting the world on fire, so I have a feeling that Marshall is not the kind of guy the Redskins want to rely on to carry them to the playoffs this season. There’s a reason he fell to the seventh round of the draft. I would much rather spend a late round pick on Thompson than Marshall.

Redskins Wide Receivers

Why so angry, Desean?

I have a feeling that I’m not going to own many shares of the Redskins receivers this season. Their number one receiver will likely be Desean Jackson who missed almost half of last season due to a hamstring injury. Jackson is a big play threat but not necessarily my cup of tea. If he gets the big play, he can have some very big weeks, but those can be offset by some duds mixed in. He’s better in standard leagues than PPR leagues and if you like to draft the boom or bust guy, Jackson can be a decent WR3.

If I own any Redskin receiver, it may possibly be Pierre Garçon. Garçon seems to be overlooked in drafts so far this season as he’s currently being drafted as the 66th wide receiver off the board in the 13th round of drafts. Garçon finished as the WR31 last year and the last two seasons he’s averaged 70 receptions for about 760 yards. He’s not a flashy pick by any means, but if you find yourself shallow at wide receiver towards the end of drafts, he could be a guy you could target to plug into your flex spot in case of injury or bye week problems.

Maybe one of the reasons he’s falling in drafts is because the Skins selected wide receiver, Josh Doctson in the first round of the NFL draft this year. Doctson had the highest grade from Pro Football Focus of any wide receiver in college football in 2015. He’s 6’2′, 202 pounds and has an incredible vertical leap which should help him become one of their best red zone targets. He has great hands and can get separation from defensive backs as well. This kid is the total package. He is currently sitting out of training camp with an Achilles injury and that could keep him sidelined for a few weeks, and potentially set him back a little bit. There is a competition for catches in Washington and that may limit his production a bit in his rookie season as well. I like him as a later round flier, but just don’t expect to see him become a fantasy WR2 or WR3 until year two or three. Finally, Jamison Crowder is a decent fantasy option and will likely have a role in their offense, but I don’t expect him to have much fantasy value.

Redskins Tight Ends

Despite missing two games last season, Jordan Reed stepped into the fantasy elite as he finished as the third highest scoring, fantasy tight end in 2015. What caused him to miss those two games, is the only thing holding me back from putting him as my number two, fantasy tight end. He suffered a concussion in Week 4 last year against the Eagles and missed the next two games thereafter. It was his sixth recorded concussion and I’m worried that one big hit will send him out for the season or even potentially be a career ender. When he plays, he should no doubt be one of the top fantasy tight ends, however. I still have him ranked third in my rankings based on the fact that if anyone has a shot at unseating Gronk as the top, fantasy tight end, Reed just might be the one to do it.

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