The Future of the Inside Linebacker Group
July 12, 2019
by Steve Thomas
Most of the attention on the Redskins this offseason has been focused on the quarterbacks, justifiably so, but one critical area that has flown under the radar somewhat is the insider linebacker group. It’s a serious mess and is in need of some attention.
Currently, the 2019 Redskins are going to feature Mason Foster and the most reliable of Shaun Dion Hamilton and Jonathan Bostic as the starters. That shouldn’t inspire confidence. The sad truth is that the Redskins coaching staff was really counting on Reuben Foster to play a big role on the defense for 2019 and beyond. This is why the entire organization was so distraught at his injury back in the first 30 seconds of day one of OTAs. Foster has elite talent and was a worthy first round pick two years ago. When he was actually on the field for the 49ers, he was a difference maker. His problem is that between injuries and his off-the-field drama, he’s only played in 16 of 32 games since he was drafted in 2017. Raise your hand if you think Foster is all of a sudden going to become reliable. I’ll wait. It’s a concern going forward, and that’s assuming his explosiveness and agility comes all the way back from his ACL and LCL tear, which is never guaranteed. As much as Redskins fans want this to succeed (at least the fans who are unbothered by Reuben’s personal issues; opinions remain divided), it may be unrealistic to expect long-term, sustained success from this player.
For his part, Mason Foster has been a mainstay in DC for a while now – 2019 will be year number 5. In that time, he’s been a three-year starter and produced significant statistics, when healthy: 123 tackles in 2016 and 131 in 2017. When it comes to insider linebackers, though, stats can be deceiving. Foster is slow and not agile or explosive to the point that it hurt the team. He also makes mistakes and has a tendency to misread a situation on occasion. However, he’s the best and most experienced “Mike” backer on the roster; the problem is, he’s a league average player at best.
Shaun Dion Hamilton certainly has both talent and versatility, Dion Hamilton replaced the departed Zach Brown at the weak side “Jack” backer position last year, so the team clearly believes in him, and so do I. He was probably underdrafted due to his shoulder injury, but at the end of the day he’s a sixth round draft pick with a significant injury history. Dion Hamilton is a quality player but hasn’t shown signs of being the “blue chip” sort of prospect that Redskins need. His future may be as a starter, but it seems unlikely that his destiny is as a difference-making player.
Jonathan Bostic is a long-time NFL vet and an experienced player, but the Redskins are his sixth team since he was drafted in 2013. He started for the Colts in 2017 and the Steelers in 2018, and both teams elected to let him go after the season. Bostic may end up being an important player for the Redskins in 2019, but unless his performance takes a drastic uptick, it’s unlikely that he’ll be a critical starter going forward.
Cole Holcomb was a fifth round draft pick this year out of North Carolina. At 6’1”, 231 pounds, he has the size and skills to be a quality player, but he’s a mid-round rookie. If he becomes a plus player, that’s a bonus.
Josh Harvey-Clemons and B.J. Blunt appear to be in competition with each other for the “moneybacker” role. Harvey-Clemons, a 2017 seventh round pick, was a defensive back in college before the Redskins’ coaching staff converted him to linebacker in 2017. He didn’t get many defensive snaps last year, so it’s not as much of a slam dunk that he beats out Blunt as one many think at first glance. Blunt is fast and undersized, so while he may prove to be able to play the “moneybacker” role, neither one is necessarily guaranteed the job. Regardless, neither of these players is a starting inside linebacker.
The only players left in this group are longtime vet Marquis Flowers, who isn’t expected to be a starter, and 2019 undrafted free agent rookie Andrew Ankrah, who may actually be more of an outside linebacker.
So what’s the long-term plan here? A guy who currently has a severely damaged knee, a history of controversy and who’s missed 50% of his games, and a sixth round pick? I hope not. The fact of the matter is that this position group seems to have no real plan. Do you know how long it’s been since the Redskins have drafted an inside linebacker in the top three rounds? Rocky McIntosh in round 2 in 2006, if you consider him to be an inside backer (he played both inside and outside around the time Washington switched from the 4 – 3 to the 3 – 4). Before that? Lavar Arrington as the #2 overall pick in 2000 (we all know what happened there), Greg Jones in round 2 in 1997 (he lasted four years but only started one season, 1999), and Rick Hamilton in round three of 1993 (who may or may not have been an outside linebacker; I have zero recollection of Rick, and he only lasted one full season in DC, so it doesn’t really matter). I went through the entire history of the Redskins’ draft, all the way back to 1937, and incredibly enough I couldn’t find a single example of Washington drafting an inside/middle linebacker in rounds one through three who became a career starter other than Arrington, and Arrington’s time in Washington ended with controversy after only a few years. I realize that the Redskins have obviously played the 4 – 3 for much of the team’s history, so it isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison but the point is that the Redskins are allergic to highly drafted inside / middle linebackers. In contrast, Washington drafted 10 defensive backs in the top three rounds between 2000 and 2019 alone.
What I’m trying to say here is that it’s high time for the Redskins to start paying serious attention to this position, and the 2020 draft is as good a place as any to start. We have no idea how the 2019 season is going to go – let’s be hopeful and think good thoughts – but this is most definitely a position of need going forward.
What do you think? Let me know in the comment section.