Hey at Least the Redskins Didn't Finish Last

After winning the battle on the defensive line in the NFC East, where did the Washington Redskins rank among the linebacker groups?

We continue to take a position group by position group personnel executive ranking for the NFC East by focusing on the linebackers.

Our friends at EagleMaven have done a wonderful job so far with this series and we're going for the ride with them. 

It's time for a look at the linebackers after the Redskins cleaned up the defensive line rankings. 

As expected, the linebackers ranking was not as kind to the Redskins who finished third in the NFC East, per John McMullen and Ed Kracz of EagleMaven. 

The Redskins came in third in this particular unit ranking among division teams. 

Here's some of the explanation from personnel sources: "The big move in Washington was reuniting Ron Rivera with 37-year-old Thomas Davis, the three-time Pro Bowl selection who once teamed with Luke Kuechly to give the Carolina Panthers the best LB play in the NFL.

Davis obviously isn’t that same guy any longer but he understands what Rivera wants to accomplish and could serve as an effective QB of the defense.

From there it’s slim pickings, but edge rushers Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and Ryan Kerrigan are so athletic they could play in space and handle the SAM role, although it’s hard to imagine the Redskins wasting Young’s upside with significant coverage responsibilities."

The piece had more on Cole Holcomb, which you should check out right here. 

Also, you can get the complete analysis on the other three teams in the division and who finished first and last! 

A couple of thoughts: It's believed that if anyone of the Redskins edge defenders from last year's 3-4 are going to play the SAM or strong side linebacker position, it would probably be Ryan Anderson.

Kerrigan's not good enough and ideally you want your best pass rushers (Sweat and Young) going forward, not away from the line of scrimmage. 

Anderson had four sacks and four forced fumbles last year per ProFootballFocus.com (PFF). He also had a 64.7/100.0 composite grade in coverage per PFF. 

He was charged with allowing five touchdowns however on the season in coverage, also according to PFF Premium. 

Clearly, the Redskins are going to be significantly better at linebacker if Reuben Foster can return at some point from his brutal knee injury. I wouldn't look for that until probably midway through the season but perhaps the Redskins might get a pleasant surprise. 

So far, in the EagleMaven rankings, the Redskins have come up third at linebacker and again, No. 1 (as you would expect) on the defensive line. 

Stay tuned for more and once again, make sure you check out the whole piece here. 

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Chris Russell is the Publisher of RedskinsReport.com & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.