In support of: No Kid Hungry
At No Kid Hungry, that’s our promise. If it sounds simple, that’s because it is.
That doesn’t mean ending childhood hunger is easy. We know what works, and we’ve made extraordinary progress for kids and families.
But the job isn’t done, and won’t be done until we’ve met that promise and every single child in America has the food they need to grow up healthy and strong.
Nominated by Spencer Werner (@JTRB1)
“I think most people know I’m a huge Jonathan Taylor fan and last year his My Cause My Cleats was NoKidHungry and I just latched on from there. From my pinned tweet, to personal bets staked to go to charity, to my poll to divvy up my donation for #SFB11 I just love promoting charities and how to help those in need. I can’t think of a cause that’s more universal and heart warming than trying to feed every kid in the world. I know there were days I didn’t have enough meals or any for that matter. I think people assume sometimes that this cause is for places like Africa or third-world countries but it’s happening right in America and the kids need our help.“
#Project32 Menu
2020 Recap
Division: NFC East
2020 Finish: 7-9 (1st in NFC East)
2020 Tendencies:
- Passing Ratio: 60% (7th)
- Neutral Game Script: 60% (8th)
- Offensive Scheme: Vertical
Personnel Groupings:
- 11 Personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) = 67%
- 12 Personnel (1RB, 2TE, 2wR) = 16%
- 21 Personnel (2RB, 1TE, 2WR) = 11%
- 13 Personnel (1RB, 3TE, 1WR) = 5%
- 22 Personnel (2RB, 2TE, 1WR) = 1%
Coaching Room
Head Coach: Ron Rivera
Ron Rivera enters his second season in Washington after finishing 1st in the NFC East with a 7-9 record and losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Game. It marks the second time that Rivera led a losing team to the playoffs as he did so with the Carolina Panthers in 2014 with a 7-8-1 record. He was the head coach of the Panthers for nine seasons and compiled a 76-63-1 (.546) record that included three NFC South titles and one Super Bowl appearance in 2015 before being fired in 2019 after 12 games and a 5-7 start. Rivera was also the acting General Manager for the WFT last season and has assisted in putting together a very good roster. The team will look to defend their division title, but there hasn’t been a repeat winner since the Eagles won four straight from 2001-2004.
Offensive Coordinator: Scott Turner
Scott Turner is the son of former NFL head coach and offensive guru, Norv Turner who led the Dallas Cowboys offense to two Super Bowl wins. Ron Rivera helped Scott Turner get his start in the NFL coaching ranks when he hired him to be the offensive quality control coach for two seasons from 2011-12. After coaching stops with the Cleveland Browns (2013), Minnesota Vikings (2014-16), and Michigan Wolverines (2017), Rivera hired him for a second time as the Panthers quarterbacks coach (2018-2019). During the 2019 season Ron Rivera and Norv Turner were fired putting Scott in an uncomfortable situation as the interim offensive coordinator for the remaining four games of the season. When Rivera was hired in 2020 as the WFT’s new head coach he brought Scott with him to be the offensive coordinator. Scott dealt with many obstacles as a first year offensive coordinator in Washington including three starting quarterbacks (Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins, and Kyle Allen), converting a college wide receiver to running back (Antonio Gibson), and helping a former quarterback learn the tight end position (Logan Thomas) all while dealing with COVID-19 restriction while implementing a new offense. Easy, right? Washington have now added gun-slinger Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receivers Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries, and Dyami Brown, to an offense that already includes Terry McLaurin and rising star Antonio Gibson. If Scott Turner’s offense can produce points and limit turnovers this team has a good chance to repeat as NFC Champions with arguably the best defense in the NFL.
Overall Rank: 16th/32
OL Room
LT Charles Leno Jr. – PFF 74.6, Pass Blocking 69.4, Run Blocking 74.5
Charles Leno Jr. signed with the Washington Football Team as a free agent after spending the last seven seasons with the Chicago Bears who drafted him in the seventh round out of Boise State University in 2014. Leno Jr. hasn’t missed a start in six years and was selected to his first and only Pro Bowl in 2018. He brings stability and veteran leadership to this group and should slot right in immediately at left tackle.
LG Wes Schweitzer – PFF 69.0, Pass Blocking 72.6, Run Blocking 64.3
Wes Schweitzer signed as a free agent prior to the 2020 season after spending his first three years in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. He started 13 games for the WFT in 2020 and is a very strong man witnessed by a tweet he posted of himself deadlifting 765 pounds. That’s some serious man-strength and he did it without using straps or a weight belt. Yes, I’m very impressed.
C Chase Roullier – PFF 76.4, Pass Blocking 83.9, Run Blocking 71.7
Chase Roullier has been a solid cog in the middle of this unit as a former sixth round draft pick out of the University of Wyoming. There wasn’t a lot of hype or expectations for Roullier coming out of college, but he’s carved out a nice career grading out as the sixth best center last season in overall PFF Grade, third in pass-block grade, and 10th in run-block grade.
RG Brandon Scherff – PFF 86.3, Pass Blocking 82.5, Run Blocking 82.6
Brandon Scherff is one of the best interior linemen in the NFL and finished fourth in Overall PFF Grade, third in pass-block grade, and 6th in run-block grade. He has been holding the fort down at right guard since entering the league in 2015 as the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He has been selected to four Pro Bowls and was a First-Team All-Pro in 2020 so it’s safe to say the WFT has been getting a nice return on their investment.
RT Samuel Cosmi (Rookie)
Samuel Cosmi was the 51st overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Texas where he played both left and right tackle. Cosmi is 6’7” and 310 pounds so he will need to add some weight to hold up at the NFL level. Cosmi will be locked in a position battle with Cornelius Lucas who begins camp on the reserve/COVID-19 list opening the door for Cosmi to get first team reps and impress his coaches and teammates.
New Toys: Ereck Flowers, Tyler Larsen
Old News: N/A
Overall Rank: 14th/32
QB Room
Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB25)
Ryan Fitzpatrick has put together one heck of a career considering he was a seventh-round draft pick out of Harvard University back in 2005. During his 16-year career he has played for eight different teams and those teams compiled a 59-86-1 record in games he started. He brings a gun-slinger mentality to the Washington Football Team, who last season, had three different starting quarterbacks and finished 25th in the league in passing yards, 30th in total yards, and 25th in points scored. The WFT believes he could be the missing piece that moves the needle for this offense in 2021. He will have plenty of weapons on offense with Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Logan Thomas to throw to which will allow Scott Turner to open the playbook more in 2021. Let’s hope Fitz can be more “Magic” than “Tragic.”
Fantasy Outlook
Passing: 604 attempts, 67.2%, 4450 yards, 32 touchdowns
Rushing: 44 attempts, 201 yards, 1 touchdown
Total Fantasy Points: 302.1
New Toys: N/A
Old News: Alex Smith (8/6)
Position Fantasy Rank: 24th/32
RB Room
Antonio Gibson (RB10)
Antonio Gibson did it all for the Memphis Tigers finishing his career with 368 rushing yards, 834 receiving yards, and 647 return yards. This versatility is the reason the WFT drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He only had 33 career carries in college, but the WFT felt the best role for him to help this football team was a permanent move to running back. He did not disappoint in his rookie season finishing with 170 carries for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns. How did he do as a pass-catching back? He used his experience as a former wide receiver to the tune of 36 receptions for 247 yards. He broke 1,000 scrimmage yards playing in only 14 games including 10 starts. The expectations are high for Gibson heading into 2021 and he should take over more of the receiving load out of the backfield and finish as a Top-12 running back.
Fantasy Outlook
Rushing: 262 attempts, 1259 yards, 9 touchdowns
Receiving: 85 targets, 61 receptions 463 yards, 4 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 311.0
J.D. McKissic (RB55)
J.D. McKissic had the best season of his NFL career in 2020 finishing with 954 yards from scrimmage with an average of 5.8 yards per touch. He led all running backs in targets (110) and slot snaps (75) and finished second behind only Kamara in receptions (80), receiving yards (589), and target share (19.2%). You would think he would be primed for another monster year out of the backfield in the passing game, but with Antonio Gibson expected to play a larger role through the air and the addition of Curtis Samuel, it’s looking more like McKissic is the third wheel in the RB room. Temper expectations heading into 2021, but if Samuel or Gibson miss any significant time there is no doubt this team has the confidence in McKissic to step up.
Fantasy Outlook
Rushing: 26 attempts, 118 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving: 54 targets, 39 receptions, 274 yards, 1 touchdown
Total Fantasy Points: 90.3
New Toys: N/A
Old News: Bryce Love
Position Fantasy Rank: 11th/32
WR Room
Terry McLaurin (WR9)
Terry “McFly” McLaurin has elite wide receiver upside. This is NOT rocket science. All he’s done is turn 227 targets into 145 receptions and 2,037 yards with 11 touchdowns with Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Case Keenum, and Colt McCoy at quarterback. He is not quarterback dependent and now gets a gunslinger in Ryan Fitzpatrick who is not afraid to take risks and trusts his wide receivers to make plays. In 2020, McFly finished 10th in routes run (583), 9th in targets (134), and sixth in yards after catch (468) with a 98.1% snap share. He simply does not leave the field and is a threat at all three levels with the ability to turn every catch into a big play.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 151 targets, 103 receptions, 1529 yards, 10 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 315.6
Curtis Samuel (WR57)
Curtis Samuel posted his first 1,000-yard season in 2020 with 851 yards receiving and an additional 200 yards rushing with a total average of 8.9 yards per touch with the Carolina Panthers. He is now reunited with his former head coach and general manager in Washington and should play a key role in this offense both as a receiver and as an occasional running back much like he did in Carolina when Christian McCaffrey was lost for the season. Look for Samuel to approach 100 touches in this offense and fill a much-needed role opposite Terry McLaurin.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 72 targets, 48 receptions, 540 yards, 5 touchdowns
Rushing: 44 attempts, 210 yards, 2 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 164.8
Dyami Brown (WR87)
Dyami Brown was selected in the 3rd round (82nd overall) out of North Carolina and will compete for the WR3 spot in Washington with Adam Humphries, Kelvin Harmon, and Antonio Gandy-Golden. The WFT used three receiver sets 67% of the time so there should be some opportunities for Dyami if he can crack the lineup, but if he gets buried on the depth chart it could be a long season for Dyami truthers.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 60 targets, 38 receptions, 430 yards, 5 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 111.0
New Toys: Adam Humphries
Old News: Robert Foster (4/2)
Position Fantasy Rank: 18th/32
TE Room
Logan Thomas (TE8)
Logan Thomas was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech where he was the school’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. Yep, that’s right, he was drafted to play quarterback in the NFL. After being released by the Cardinals, he would spend the next two years trying to catch on with the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants only to be released by both teams. This is when things get interesting as Thomas made the permanent switch to tight end. He would spend the next three years in Buffalo (2017-18) and Detroit (2019) where he made a total of 35 receptions for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns. Then the magic happened. The WFT signed him to a two-year contract and he would finish the 2020 season with 72 catches for 670 yards and six touchdowns making a permanent mark in the NFL. Entering the 2021 season, a contract year for Thomas, the WFT wanted to make sure they kept their tight end locked up and inked him to a three-year extension. He finished in the top five in several key metrics including slot snaps (474), routes run (576), targets (110), target share (19.2%), deep targets (11), and receptions (72). Not bad for an ex-Hokie turned tight end. Even with the additions of Samuel, Dyami Brown, and Adam Humphries, we can still expect Thomas to finish as a Top-12 tight end in 2021.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 109 targets, 71 receptions, 742 yards, 6 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 180.8
New Toys: N/A
Old News: Jeremy Sprinkle (16/16)
Position Fantasy Rank: 18th/32
2021 Full Player Projections
Make Your Own Projections With Our Template!
Strength of Schedule (SOS): #22 (.484 123-131-2)
2021 Predicted Finish: 10-7 (2nd NFC East)
Note: all projections are PPR scoring
