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2010 Offensive Line Analysis - Washington Redskins

2010 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Trent Williams
Left Guard: Derrick Dockery
Center: Casey Rabach
Right Guard: Mike Williams
Right Tackle: Jammal Brown

2009 Injuries:
T Chris Samuels: Weeks 6-17
G Randy Thomas: Weeks 3-17

2009 Statistics:

Overview:
The Washington Redskins missed the playoffs for the eighth time in the last ten years and ranked 26^th in points scored on offense. They also finished in the bottom five in both sacks allowed and yards per carry which is no surprise considering that they used six different players at tackle and six different players at guard because of injuries to LT Chris Samuels and RG Randy Thomas.

For the first time since drafting Chris Samuels in 2000, the Washington Redskins selected an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft and ironically he’ll replace Samuels as the starting left tackle. Trent Williams, fourth overall pick, not only has good height and pretty long arms at 6’5” and 315 lbs but he is also very athletic. He is a very smart young man who can adjust to any position on the line but will be a better fit at left tackle because of his quick feet. He probably won’t ever be a dominant run blocker in the NFL but he has the abilities to be above average in pass protection, even as a rookie. The newly-acquired, former first round pick, Jammal Brown will start opposite of Williams. Brown didn’t play at all in 2009 because of a hip injury suffered before the start of the regular season. In 2008, Brown struggled with his pass protection and, as a result, took ten penalties, many of which were for holding. The 6’6” and 315 lbs tackle is an above average run blocker and will probably be a better fit as a right tackle, especially after being out of football for a year. The 31-year old Artis Hicks, who lost his starting job to Brown, will be the top backup at tackle and guard. He’s played four different positions on the line with the Vikings in the past two years and will be an excellent fit as a versatile backup. Stephon Heyer who started all 16 games at both tackle positions last year will add depth.

Derrick Dockery will return as the starting left guard for a second straight season. Dockery spent the first four seasons of his career with the Redskins followed by two in Buffalo and then came back to Washington last year; all that without missing a single game. There were a lot of doubts about Dockery last year but he played quite well allowing only two sacks and holding his own in run blocking. The 6’6” and 325 lbs guard is now 29 years old and will never be a star in the NFL but he is an average starter who plays every game and because of that, he is an asset for the Redskins. 30-year old Mike Williams should inherit the starting job at right guard after the release of Randy Thomas in the off-season. Williams started 48 games in his first four NFL seasons from 2002 to 2005 but didn’t play at all with the Jaguars in 2006 and was out of football for the next two years. He came back last year starting eight games at both right guard and right tackle; he struggled in his three games at right tackle but played pretty well at guard. He’s not spectacular and is probably slightly below average in both pass protection and run blocking but is still capable of starting in the NFL. Chad Rinehart, a third round pick in 2008 who started four games last year, will add depth at guard.

Starting at center for the sixth consecutive season will be the 32-year old Casey Rabach. Rabach was signed as an unrestricted free agent from the Ravens in 2005 and has only missed one start in the last six years. He is pretty small, even for a center, at only 295 lbs but he has excellent awareness. Rabach played much better in 2009 than in 2008 in part because of the improved play of Derrick Dockery and he could be even better in 2010 with more consistency at the right guard position. At this point in his career, he’s a below average center but his experience will be important with so many changes on this line in 2010. Sixth-year veteran Will Montgomery will be his backup this year but the Redskins also selected Erik Cook in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft and they’re hoping he can replace Rabach in a couple of years.

2010 Outlook:
The Redskins offensive line is quite difficult to analyze this year with so many changes. There are however a couple of things that are certain: Trent Williams is an upgrade over the four-man rotation at LT in 2009, Mike Williams is the best of the five players who played at RG in 2009 and Jammal Brown is a big upgrade over Stephon Heyer at RT. This line was amongst the worst last year but with three significant upgrades, it could surprise in 2010. Brown and Williams will probably be slightly above average starters, Williams and Rabach are slightly below average and Dockery is an average starter. In other words, this line is near the league average in terms of talent but the two tackles have the potential to surprise us. In terms of depth, the Redskins have one solid backup in Artis Hicks and three other backups with good experience in Heyer, Rinehart and Montgomery. The Redskins are amongst the most improved offensive lines in the NFL and have good enough depth to deal with some injuries, something they haven’t been able to do in the past few years. Overall, we expect this line to allow about 30 to 35 sacks and allow the running game to average over 4.2 yards per carry.

See all of our 2010 Offensive Line Analysis Articles