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Training camp is history, and the preseason is a memory. It’s time to play for real. The Washington Football Team opens the 2021 season at FedEx Field Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers. That means it’s time to crank up the stock ticker again for another year of ‘Buy and Sell.’ Call Gordon Gekko. Here’s a look at our portfolio heading into the season opener.
BUY: Jarrett Patterson, Dyami Brown, and Benjamin St-Juste
If you weren’t paying attention during the preseason, these are three of the biggest standouts of the summer.
Patterson, a DMV native, grew up with Chase Young and was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Buffalo. He’s barely 5’8” but plays a lot bigger and well enough in the summer to make veteran Peyton Barber expendable on final cut-down day.
Will Patterson be active on Sunday? He’s number three on the depth chart, but offensive coordinator Scott Turner likes backs that can do many things. At the very Patterson’s an excellent insurance policy when injuries start to creep up.
Dyami Brown will most certainly be active on Sunday. The rookie from North Carolina may be in line to start as well. Curtis Samuel missed all preseason and has yet to practice after signing with Washington in the offseason.
Brown has impressed with his speed, which can stretch defenses and help take pressure off position mate Terry McLaurin. The coaching staff thinks he will be a solid player for years to come.
Last but not least, another rookie, third-round cornerback Benjamin St-Juste has played so well it won’t be long until Ron Rivera puts St-Juste on the outside opposite William Jackson III and move Kendall Fuller inside.
When the offseason started, the consensus among the chattering class was that the defensive weakness was the back four. St-Juste is part of a preseason group of defensive backs that has changed that perception.
HOLD: Defensive backups
It’s week one, and everyone on the current roster is coming off a strong training camp. If they weren’t, they would be looking for a new job.
However, there are concerns about depth, particularly behind the starting linebackers and edge rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat.
The rotation on the edge was deep last year with Ryan Kerrigan. This year, James Smith Williams will have to step up and be a contributor. After that, it’s Casey Tohill and Shaka Toney. Not exactly household names.
The linebackers are an even more significant question mark. All three starters will only be on the field about 45 percent of the time as the defense will play in its Buffalo Package a lot.
Still, after the starting three of Jon Bostic, Cole Holcomb, and rookie Jamin Davis, you have David Mayo and Khaleke Hudson. That’s it. As of right now, the roster only has five linebackers. That may change before kickoff and certainly will morph over the season, but right now, fans will need to cross their collective fingers for good health among that group.
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