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Finally, one of these group rankings matches exactly where I wanted it. The Washington Redskins are, to quote Winston Churchill, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I want to buy into their talent, but when was the last time the Redskins were consistently any good? In fact, when was the last time Mike Shanahan was a consistently good football coach?
27. Washington Redskins (2013 Record: 3-13)
The Redskins went undefeated in the preseason in 2013, but then promptly went 3-13 with no hope of salvation. Though, Mike Shanahan did notch another win over the Oakland Raiders, so it wasn't a total loss. Predictably, Dan Snyder fired another coach this offseason, so now its Jay Gruden's turn to try and bail the water from a sinking ship. Welcome to Raiders East, everyone!
Key Losses: Will Montgomery, Darryl Tapp, Josh Wilson, J.D. Walton, Josh Hull, Josh Morgan
Key Acquisitions: Jason Hatcher, DeSean Jackson, Tracy Porter, Clifton Geathers, Adam Hayward, Akeem Jordan, Andre Roberts, Darryl Sharpton, Ryan Clark, Shawn Lauvao, Colt McCoy, Mike McGlynn
Their free agency signings were pretty average up until they snagged DeSean Jackson. Robert Griffin III needs some more offensive weapons to throw the ball too, however, he definitely looks regressed out there last season. The coaching staff has some serious work to do to help RGIII progress through his reads properly.
As for the Redskins 2014 regular season schedule, its really not that bad. The most daunting aspect of it is having to face the entire NFC West, but even then, half the games on their schedule are winnable games if this team is even remotely competitive. Even so, this team cannot be trusted with any huge improvement in post-draft/pre-season power rankings. They should be happy with 27th, considering where they ended the season in 2013.
Projected Record: 5-11
MHR Staff Rankings
| AVG | StDev | Kyle | Tim | Ian | Topher | Pete | Scotty | Jacob | Jon | Mike | Laurie |
| 26.4 | 2.07 | 24 | 27 | 25 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 24 |
MHR Staff Commentary
Kyle: This team ranks as Robert Griffin III does. If healthy and improved, so will this team be.
Jon: Washington has a lot of youthful talent on their roster. They have the potential to be explosive on offense, but they will likely be one of the bottom two teams in the NFC East.
Mike: RGIII is a diva. It’s all about him baby. Unfortunately when it falls to someone who has trouble making it past read #2, you might want to give the ball to Alfred Morris 40 times a game.
Topher: That trade their owner wanted is sure biting them in the butt while St. Louis laughs in their face. Griffin will continue to win them some games and then promptly lose them a few others. They do have a better coach who managed to improve Andy Dalton’s numbers every year of his career so he can inject some life into their offense, though don’t expect their backs, especially Morris, to have the same kind of success without Shanny, history shows what happens when you leave that system.
Jacob: The Redskins were top five in pass blocking in 2013, yet Robert Griffin looked lost more times than not. A strong bounce-back from the young QB is much-needed for this team to compete. Despite some solid defensive signings to address one of the worst defenses in the league, Washington will have a hard time competing with the other three NFC East teams. Despite Skip Bayless’ belief that RGIII is a miracle-worker and his consistent 1st-place projection for the ‘Skins, I don’t see them finishing higher than 3rd in that division. 6-8 wins.
Pete: The RG III draft trades have killed this team. If he can bounce back from last year, they might contend, but I just don’t see it happening. RG III might keep them in a few games, but those few games won’t be enough.