Offense
I will immediately tell you that this season relies entirely on Robert Griffin III. This should be no surprise, as most teams seasons will be made or broken by QB play, but Washington doesn't have the roster to support mediocre QB play like the Cincinnati Bengals do. I'm a fan of RGIII's. I know that's not a credential to his play whatsoever, but I think he can be a solid quarterback next season. Jay Gruden and Washington's front office did the smartest thing they could do during the draft, which was invest in Griffin. At this point if he falters, then they can't say they didn't try and make things work. My opinion hasn't changed from last season though, I still think Griffin can be good because he is very talented and has one hell of an arm. Washington has upgraded the supporting cast around him though, and this offense has a chance to be very good, health provided. At wide receiver, they have the talent to compete with most NFL teams. DeSean Jackson had a great season despite inconsistent QB play throughout the year, and his running mate Pierre Garçon was also very good. In the slot Andre Roberts was the guy last year, but he might be replaced by the recently drafted Jamison Crowder. Crowder is very small (5'8/185 lbs) but he is extremely quick, and is a very good route runner too, which could really give him the edge in a battle against Roberts to be the starter. At tight end, they have Jordan Reed as the starter and Niles Paul behind him. I want to believe in Jordan Reed, I really do. I still remember his 2013 season, when you actually watch him play you saw why people thought he could be special, but at this point in his career, I need to see him healthy first. Barring health though, he could be in for a big year, especially because Griffin likes his TE's. At running back, Washington has a good one in Alfred Morris. He had an inconsistent year last year, but the entire Washington team was inconsistent so I think it was good enough that it doesn't hurt his stock. Behind Morris, Washington drafted Matt Jones in the third round. Jones is in a perfect situation, because he doesn't have the talent to be a three down RB, but he is a bruising back and can be very good behind Morris if he averages 5-10 touches a game. The biggest addition to this offense by far comes on the offensive line. Brandon Scherff was the 6th overall pick in the draft, and he is an instant impact starter. Alfred Morris may be happier than RGIII that Washington drafted him because he is an absolute mauler in the run game. He is still an upgrade in pass protection, but there is some work for him to do in that department. This upgrades the entire offensive line though, as he slots in as Washington's right tackle to upgrade the weakest part of their O-line. At guards, Washington has two league average players in Chris Chester and Shaun Lauvao. Nothing flashy or special, but they aren't horrible options for Washington. At center, Kory Lichtensteiger is coming off of a good season at center, and unbelievably that was his first year as a center in the NFL. He has a chance to build off of 2014 and become even better next season. The star of this O-line is their left tackle Trent Williams. He isn't quite in the elite tier yet, but he is easily a top 10 left tackle in the NFL, and he is scary athletic for his size. I almost forgot to mention Darrel Young at fullback. Washington uses their fullback quite a bit, and Young is a damn good one. This is a talented Washington offense. Staying healthy and consistent is their biggest issue, which is why they ended last season as a bottom 7 offense. I really hope Jay Gruden doesn't do what he did last year. Gruden got in his own way, and stunted the growth of RGIII by 1. Not publicly supporting him 2. Not putting him in a position to succeed. It seems like RGIII has the support of Gruden at this point, and that is the smartest thing for the franchise. I think Griffin will have a good season IF he stays healthy (and that's a big if), and this Washington offense will be a mid-tier scoring O, which is a big improvement over last year.
Defense
This Washington defense is bad. I think they've improved on paper, but there still isn't much to like about it going into the season. On the defensive line they have two good players. Jason Hatcher put forth a great season last year when he was healthy, continuing his amazing career resurgence. The other player is Terrence Knighton who will take over at nose tackle. He had a solid year last season, and a very good one the year before, but I'm hesitant to bank on him because a lot of teams were very reluctant to sign him this past offseason. Opposite Hatcher will probably be Stephen Paea who signed a four year deal with Washington this offseason after spending his entire career in Chicago. He's a solid player, but there isn't anything overly special or jaw dropping about the way he plays, just fairly reliable overall. At linebacker, Washington has one star, followed by question marks. Ryan Kerrigan has turned into a terrific outside linebacker, and is the star of this Washington defense, and possibly team. Without him, Washington's defense might be the worst in the NFL, but he is a high impact player. Opposite Kerrigan, Preston Smith (2nd round pick in 2015) and Trent Murphy (2nd round pick in 2014) will fight for playing time. Both are talented players, and should be fairly reliable in replacing Brian Orakpo. At inside linebacker, Washington has two unspectacular players in Keenan Robinson and Perry Riley. Both players are coming off of shaky seasons, and both aren't overly reliable either. In the secondary, Washington has... Well let's just say they aren't in the best position. At cornerback, Washington has two solid starters in DeAngelo Hall and the recently signed Chris Culliver. As depth, Washington has very little reliable talent. Bashaud Breeland might end up being an okay slot cornerback, and David Amerson is still very young so he could develop into something, but as of now there is very little to be excited about as a Washington fan. At safety, there is even less to be excited about. Washington traded for Dashon Goldson in hopes of getting the 2012 version of him, but at this point in his career he isn't reliable whatsoever. Alongside Goldson, Washington has either Duke Ihenacho or Phillip Thomas. Both players weren't good last year, and shouldn't be expected to raise their respective games all that much in 2015. On paper, this defense doesn't inspire much hope for Washington fans. I think that even with all of the moves Washington made, they didn't make up much ground as a whole. I'm going to be more negative than usual and predict a bottom five finish for this team. I think that the improvements that defenses ranked below Washington last year made are more impactful than Washington's moves, and that will show in the standings come seasons end. Now it's not all bad for this D, Kerrigan is a player to build a defense around, and they do have some young talent on the edge. They might be in need of a full makeover by seasons end, which is never ideal, but it may be for the best. Sorry Washington fans, but I think your teams going to be a bit of a pushover on defense in 2015.
RGIII. RGIII. RGIII. Just keep repeating his name because that's what this season comes down to. Griffin took Washington to the playoffs in his rookie season, and the team was worse than the current team is. What I predict will happen next season is Robert puts up a solid effort, but not enough to inspire confidence from the Washington front office. That will lead to a blowup of the entire roster (except for young talent like Scherff, Williams, Kerrigan, and Morris) and them going into full rebuild mode. As bad as that sounds, it really is for the best because the overall talent level just isn't up to standard with the current competitive NFL teams. I also don't feel as though Jay Gruden was the best fit as the coach, and moving on from him would be wise too. It's going to be a long season Washington fans, but good news is that 2016 seemingly has a good quarterback draft class if Washington does indeed move on from Griffin, and at least the Washington Nationals have Bryce Harper!
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