Washington Redskins first-round pick Daron Payne was great as a rookie.
Joining fellow Alabama product Jonathan Allen, Payne put up 56 total tackles and five sacks in his debut season.
But he wants more, especially if it means beating Allen and Matt Ioannidis in a competition, as noted by Redskins.com:
“I want to get a couple more [sacks] this year,” Payne said. “Me, Jon [Allen] and Matt [Ioannidis] have a little competition going on in sacks and tackles.”
Easier said than done for Payne though. Allen had eight sacks a year ago without much of an issue and Ioannidis was probably one of the league’s most underrated players en route to 7.5 of his own.
The competition can’t hurt matters for the Redskins defense, though. That combination up front helped them field one of the best units in football before the season started to fall apart.
If nothing else, the competition within the season itself should make for a fun thing for fans to follow along with, especially if it is once again leading to wins.
