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With the Washington Redskins opening their training camp in Richmond next week, I thought it'd be a good time to look at the Redskins depth charts. Now obviously, we don't know exactly what those depth charts will look like right now, but I've put together a rough idea of where I think they stand going into training camp. Today, I'm focusing on offense. I put together a Google docs spreadsheet with all of charts below. You can check that out here. Lets start with the skill positions.
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I think we all know the quarterback position looks to be set with Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins sitting as starter and back up respectively. Rex Grossman should easily win the reserve role and will likely make the team given Griffin's knee injury.
Alfred Morris sits comfortably at the top of the running back depth chart, and rightly so. With Roy Helu Jr apparently healthy, I expect him to be the next in line going into training camp. I think Evan Royster takes the third spot above Chris Thompson because of his experience and due to Thompson's injuries. I fully expect him to jump Royster by the end of camp. Darrel Young has fullback all but locked up. Eric Kettani is next in line should Young faulter or get injured.
Tight end looks to be pretty much set as well. Fred Davis will return as the starter with Logan Paulsen taking his place as the second tight end. I've got Jordan Reed as my third tight end currently because I like his upside as a receiver a lot more than Niles Paul, but I expect Paul to be preferred in blocking situations.
Pierre Garcon is the X receiver, we all know that. But it's the Z receiver that's up in the air. It's really up for grabs. The main contenders are Joshua Morgan and Leonard Hankerson, but I'm not ruling out the deep threat of experienced veteran Devery Henderson. I've got Morgan as the starter for now, and I think he'll step up after playing hurt all of last season. But its really wide open.
Lets move onto the offensive line.
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We know Trent Williams, Will Montgomery and Chris Chester are locked in as starters. They all played at a high level last year and should continue that going into next season. The questions on the offensive line come at left guard and right tackle.
At one point, Kory Lichtensteiger looked unlikely to be brought back, leaving the door open for Josh LeRibeus to start. But the Redskins re-signed Lichtensteiger. LeRibeus reportedly struggled with injuries and fitness in mini-camps and OTAs, so Lichtensteiger takes the starting spot going into camp, but LeRibeus could take the job before the season starts.
Tyler Polumbus is the incumbent at right tackle and looks likely to retain the position through camp given the quality of the guys behind him. All the other guys on the list as right tackles, like Jeremy Trueblood and Tony Pashos, might not even make the final 53. Tom Compton could be Polumbus' biggest threat, but the Redskins seem content with him as the back up left tackle for the time being.
I also wanted to look at the projected starters for each of the main personnel groups. Obviously the offensive line and quarterback will remain the same regardless of the personnel group, so I'm focusing on the skill positions.
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The Redskins like to run the ball with all of these personnel groups. In Tiger and U personnel, I can see Reed taking Paulsen's place as the second tight end if the Redskins want to pass the ball. Reed offers more athleticism and is much better after the catch than Paulsen, making passing out of two tight end sets much more difficult for the defense to stop.
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Zebra and Eagle personnel groups are much more pass-orientated groups. I think a back with speed and catching ability like Helu or Thompson is much more suited to those groups. Helu has the added benefit of experience with pass blocking at an NFL level, giving him the edge over Thompson for the time being. If the Redskins wanted to get creative with a group like Trey, they could use the versatility of Davis, Paul and Reed and leave Paulsen on the sideline, but three tight end sets are more typically run based.