We’re past the midway point of the 2019 NFL season for the Washington Redskins, but as they get set to take a step back, return to full health and prepare for the second half of the year, it gave us a chance to take stock of the season and give shine to some of the biggest playmakers for the Redskins thus far.
Most Valuable Player
The Washington Redskins have struggled greatly on offense this season, as they average just 12.0 points and 259 yards per game, good for 31st in the NFL. If they didn’t have veteran running back Adrian Peterson churning his legs in the backfield, though, it would be an even more dire situation.
At age 34, Peterson has put the Washington offense on his own back and done what he can to carry it down the field. Through eight games — after being a named a healthy scratch in Week 1 — AP has rushed for 491 yards and one touchdown on 115 carries. That’s hardly impressive when compared to the best RBs in the league — Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey has 1,244 all-purpose yards thus far — but when you take this award for what it literally means, the Most VALUABLE Player, then AP takes the cake.
The Washington offense would be lost without Peterson. With Derrius Guice set to return after the bye week, it is likely to see AP get less run and fade back a bit, which is probably a good thing for the team’s future, but we wanted to give him his shine while it was still pertinent. Thank you for shouldering the load #26.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Come on, this was obvious right? Is there any answer other than McLaurin here? Not only has the rookie wide receiver been one of the only bright spots for the Redskins this season, but he’s quickly turned into one of the best receivers in the entire league, and was ranked as the No. 13 WR in Pro Football Focus’ Top-25 Receiver Rankings.
So far in his rookie year, McLaurin has hauled in 497 yards and five touchdowns, on 15.5 yards-per-play average. In a year where it is increasingly hard to find any positive storylines for the Redskins, McLaurin has proved to be one of the main bright spots for a team that is hovering near rock bottom.
If a couple of other young players can continue to improve, like quarterback Dwayne Haskins and running back Derrius Guice, then the trio will have a bright future in the NFL. It all starts with McLaurin, though, and he’s well on his way to stardom.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
This award could have gone a couple of different ways, but I think that the most deserving recipient is linebacker Cole Holcomb, a late-round pick out of North Carolina. So far this season, Holcomb has stepped into a staring role in the defense and helped to shore up a thin group at the LB spot. Alongside Jon Bostic and Shaun Dion Hamilton, Holcomb has racked up 55 total tackles, good for third-most on the team. He also has three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles on the year.
In a year where the Redskins were desperate to have someone step up in the middle of the defense with Reuben Foster being lost with a knee injury in the spring, Holcomb took it upon himself and made his presence felt all over the field.
Biggest Surprise Player
We were all major skeptics coming into the season, but left guard Ereck Flowers proved each and every one of us wrong. While he was being labeled as a bust coming to the Redskins this offseason after failing to live up to his first-round draft status at his previous two destinations, Flowers has quickly grown into quite possibly the best offensive lineman in Washington, and his presence on the left side of the line has been imperative to a life without LT Trent Williams.
When it was announced that Flowers was going to be a Redskin, expectations were low, and doubts were high. So far, just about every Washington fan there is can be happy to have gotten this prediction wrong, as Flowers has looked like one of the better guards in the NFL this season.
Future Most Valuable Player
This one came down to either quarterback Dwayne Haskins or running back Derrius Guice. We’ve rarely seen either one on the field, and both have the potential to be standout players in their NFL careers. However, recency bias has caused us to lean towards Haskins, as Guice’s injury history has us a bit timid to dub him the future savior just yet.
Haskins hasn’t looked like a team MVP just yet, but he has started to show some improvement in the pocket, and it seems like the game is starting to slow down for him. He was a first-round pick this past year due to his arm talent and the ability to make throws into tight windows, and we’ve seen that a bit so far. However, his lack of experience in college raised questions about his ability to read a defense and be comfortable running the offense, and we’ve also seen our fair share of that so far.
Still, I believe that Haskins will eventually pan out. It just might take a little bit longer than any Redskins fan hoped for. If he can continue to get comfortable on the field and grow into a player, #7 can absolutely be a team MVP in the near future.
