Three Players I Expect to Make a Jump in 2023

In the thick of the offseason doldrums, there’s not much to do other than speculate, or try to elaborate on the small bits of information that dribble out about the team. In this piece, I’ll be looking at four three* young players I think will take their game up a notch in 2023.

In some cases, that will mean simply becoming reliable depth, or potential quality starters, but in at least one case, I think we may see an ascension into the Pro Bowl-caliber player range. Let’s start there.

* This write up originally included Armani Rogers, who will now have to wait for the 2024 edition.

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Darrick Forrest (S)

When “DaFo” was drafted in the 5th round, out of Cincinnati in the 2021 draft, I was expecting that it was primarily for his value as a special teams player. And, in 2021, that’s what it was. As a rookie, Forrest played 82% of special teams snaps, and only 5% of defensive snaps.

Turns out, I should have been paying closer attention.

In 2022, Forrest blew up onto the scene and was an absolute menace in the deep secondary. Starting at safety from the beginning of the season, Forrest was in on 81% of the defensive snaps (and his special teams snaps dropped to 24%).

Forrest ended the season with 4 interceptions, two forced fumbles, and 88 tackles, and did it with a sufficiently bruising style that he earned the nickname “Forrest Thump” from some admirers in the fanbase.

To an extent, Forrest played in strong safety Kam Curl’s shadow last year, as a result of Curl having played well for three straight years now. However, by the end of last season, I was left with the distinct feeling that Forrest’s ceiling is actually the higher of the two, and that he’s going to end up being the more valuable player in the coming years.

I stand by that, and it’s not intended as a slight against Curl, who has been an impressive talent by any metric. This year, I think the duo of Forrest and Curl gets recognized as one of the best in the league, and Forrest (and, perhaps, Curl) will get strong consideration for post-season honors.

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

Khaleke Hudson (LB)

Last season, I thought that, with Landon Collins departure, Hudson might be a leading candidate to take on the Buffalo Nickel position in his absence. That role ended up falling primarily to Kam Curl, and Hudson’s role was largely confined to special teams for nearly all the season, until the final game, against the Cowboys, where he played 100% of defensive snaps at linebacker.

Phil Hughes did a nice evaluation of Hudson’s film in that game (above), and concluded his review with the following remarks: “This kid’s got some skills, man. He should not be rotting away on the bench. I mean, what the hell, why are we not seeing more of this kid?”

Is this yet another case of Rivera and Del Rio having a badly delayed reaction to getting a young, promising player into the lineup in a timely fashion?

Hughes speaks to the fact that Hudson is a smaller-sized LB in his review: “What more can you ask for from a guy that stands 6’ and weigh 220 lbs? Now once [offensive linemen] get their hands on him, you know, they might be able to manhandle him, but getting their hands on him is not an easy battle, and he makes a lot of tackles, and sheds a block, makes a tackle, and it seems like that’s what he does 90% of the time when he’s up against the run.”

Much of the fanbase has been baffled that Washington has done very little at linebacker other than replace Cole Holcomb this offseason. But if Washington’s braintrust sees Hudson as ready to make leap into a more active role on defense, that would go a long way towards explaining their relative inaction at the position over the past few months.

I expect Hudson to firm up his role as a third linebacker this season.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Sam Cosmi (G)

By late October of last season, I had seen enough of Sam Cosmi at tackle and was arguing that he should have been moved to right guard for a prolonged stint.

Instead, the coaching staff jerked him around for the rest of the season, playing him some at guard, and some at tackle, culminating in a highly forgettable performance at right tackle in the team’s final game, against the Cowboys, where - between Cosmi and Trai Turner - it looked like the right side of the offensive line had decided to call out sick for game 17.

This season, with the addition of Andrew Wylie at right tackle, I’m relatively confident Washington is preparing to deploy Cosmi at right guard as long as injuries don’t prompt an emergency re-shuffling, and I expect Cosmi to have his best season in Washington as a result.