Washington Redskins Season Recap

NFC East	Finished 3rd in Division
Overall Record: 8-7-1 (3-3 in the division)	Draft Position: 17th
Head Coach: Jay Gruden	GM: Scot McCloughan

Pro Bowlers

• LB Ryan Kerrigan
• TE Jordan Reed
• G Brandon Scherff
• T Trent Williams
• QB Kirk Cousins

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	3rd	12th	2nd	21st	TDs – 14th
Defense	28th	19th	25th	24th	Sacks – T-9th	INTs – T-15th

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Kirk Cousins	16	67.0	4,917	25	12	97.2	72.1

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
Robert Kelley	704	4.2	6
Matt Jones	460	4.6	3

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
Pierre Garcon	79	1,041	13.2	3
DeSean Jackson	56	1,005	17.9	4

Top Defensive Players

• LB Mason Foster - 124 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 2 forced fumbles
• LB Will Compton - 106 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble
• LB Ryan Kerrigan - 33 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
• CB Bashaud Breeland - 73 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1.0 sack, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles
• CB Josh Norman - 67 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles

Impending Free Agents

• QB Kirk Cousins
• WR Pierre Garcon
• WR DeSean Jackson
• DE Chris Baker
• TE Vernon Davis
• DT Kedric Golston
• DE Cullen Jenkins
• DE Evander Hood
• C John Sullivan
• CB Greg Toler
• ILB Terence Garvin
• SS Duke Ihenacho
• SS Josh Evans

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• I projected Washington to go 9-7 this season, not far off of their actual 8-7-1 record.  I was excited about the potential the team had on defense, specifically in the secondary after they signed cornerback Josh Norman.  I was also intrigued by their passing offense, considering they were returning nearly all of their weapons, plus the addition of rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson through the draft.  If there was one question I had, it was the effectiveness of the team's offensive line and how the group would impact quarterback Kirk Cousins and the team's new starting duo at running back in Robert Kelley and Matt Jones.

Success/Failure

• Failure - I consider Washington's season to be a failure largely because they were expecting to make the playoffs this season after winning the division last season.  However, I think that individual players had really successful seasons and units of the team found success as well. They still had an elite offense, ranking third in total offense, led especially by their passing attack, where Cousins threw for nearly 5,000 yards and the team had a pair of 1,000 yard pass catchers.  There aren't many teams who can claim those statistics.  Their offensive line also came together to protect Cousins, giving up the fourth fewest sacks in the league, but they were less effective in the run game.  Lastly, the biggest reason that the Redskins failed to return to the playoffs was due to their defense, the fifth-worst group in football.  They were relatively bad all over the board, except that they had a pretty tenacious pass rush.

Offseason Needs

• Although the Redskins could probably use an upgrade at running back, look for the team to devote a lot of attention and picks to the defensive side of the ball.  They should attempt to better their defensive line to defense against the run more effectively and create a stronger pass rush, all working to take the strain off the secondary.  In the secondary, they need help at safety now that their cornerback group is pretty well set and they also need help in the middle of the defense by drafting a talented middle linebacker.  Fox Sports has Washington taking defensive lineman Solomon Thomas out of the University of Washington and CBS Sports has them drafting linebacker Zach Cunningham from Vanderbilt.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, and cbssports.com