The Washington Football Team had a lot of pressure leading into free agency, and the NFL draft. Fans didn’t know what direction the team was going to try and expand. In free agency, Washington signed some key players that could help them improve from last season.
Adding to their already impressive defense, CornerBack William Jackson signed a three-year deal worth 42 million dollars. This addition was seen as a smart move, but the fans wanted to see some offensive improvements as that was the largest weak point.
Washington gave the fans what they wanted, signing wide receiver Curtis Samuel from the Carolina Panthers and wide receiver Adam Humphries from the Tennessee Titans. One of the largest signings in Washington would be bringing in former Miami quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Washington started four different quarterbacks in the 2020 season. The hope is that Fitzpatrick can bring consistency and can breathe some life into the struggling Washington offense. These two additions will give the defense the break they needed. Washington ranked 30th in offensive yards per game in the 2020 season; hopefully with the help of two new receivers and a new quarterback to lead, that stat should no longer be a problem.
After all of the adjustments from free agency, Washington and coach Ron Rivera had to prepare for the NFL draft. After a lot of waiting, Washington had a total of ten picks across the seven rounds. They drafted five defensive players, four offensive players and one special teams long snapper.
There is a lot of speculation on whether Washington reached for some early round picks, and were able to steal some of the later selections. The statistics show that Washington selected players who seem very athletic and coachable, which should only mean good things. Hopefully, these signings and selections will help Washington move to a winning record in 2021.