Laremy Tunsil is one of the top Left Tackles in the League. His injury has thrown a major wrench into the plans and hopes for the upcoming season.

Last week at Training Camp was one of those intense roller coaster rides one starts to avoid after turning 30-years old. On Thursday the team answered the biggest worry bead of the off-season; a productive Wide Receiver to pair with Terry McLaurin. On Friday the new acquisition, Stefon Diggs came to practice. At the time a thought emerged: “When is the next worry bead going to surface?” The answer was not long in coming. Saturday morning the League’s most expensive Offensive Lineman tore his left Triceps muscle. He is out for, at the most optimistic estimate of 12-weeks after surgery…which has not occurred yet.

We don’t even know what type of tear it is. The Sawbones being quoted in various coverage pieces say that if the tear is the tendon off of the bone that he should make a full recovery. But, if the muscle is torn from the tendon the odds of recovering full strength are significantly reduced. So, while gnashing teeth keep in mind this may have repercussions beyond this year.

We were going to talk about the Defense this week. But, that’s been “Overtaken by Events” as they used to say in Management classes.

Picking up the Pieces

This Tunsil injury really shuffles things. First of all, he has been fantastic. His pass blocking and run blocking are both superlative. No matter who goes into that slot it will be a downgrade. The team took a lot of speculation out of play by announcing that Brandon Coleman will take the reigns. Coleman has Tackle size: 6’6″ at 320-lbs. He’s “Athletic.” Hint, if Adam Peters drafts a guy, he’s “Athletic.” The “Relative Athletic Score” of his draft selections are almost always top decile. As such he is a very capable run blocker. Don’t sleep on that part of his game.

By many accounts the new David Blough offense will feature Outside Zone Read runs. You’ve seen it before in Washington. It’s the Mike Shanahan offense. Running backs came and went during his coaching career. But, they made a lot of yards in the process. What’s needed are O-Lineman that can run and get to the second level. Coleman has that on film. He’s good at it. That’s the good.

The less than stellar aspect is the pass blocking. It’s not awful. It may be average. But, it won’t come close to Tunsil’s performance level. That’s the worry. Coleman has worked hard to improve. He and Josh Conerly spent 3 or 4-weeks (depending on the source) in Alabama at Tunsil’s “Boot Camp.” Coleman said it was in the “…middle of nothing.” There they were exposed to his support network of Physical Trainers, Coaches, and Nutritionist/ Chef. If you’ve heard all the talk about Derrick Henry‘s approach to fitness then this wasn’t far from it. He’s coming into his third year. So, development is still likely.

Brandon has started 15-games at the position after a college career there. This isn’t a square peg into a round hole. Last year he started 3-games for Tunsil late in the season and held his own. It’s hard to keep perspective in a situation like this. Yes, there will be a fall off from Tunsil. No, the hull isn’t breached. The ship is not sinking by the stern.

But, the other shoe of this is that Coleman goes from being a strong backup Left Guard to a starter at Tackle. That leaves a hole at the depth position. Who will fill it? The team was signing O-Lineman off of the street BEFORE the Tunsil injury. Depth is a concern.

Taylor Decker

There are numerous pieces out and about that Washington should sign Tayler Decker. Last week the parallel were all the pieces saying that Adam Peters should sign Stefon Diggs. One thing about this franchise: Whoever is the biggest name out there in Free Agency for a position this team will be linked to him by the media. You can put that in the book. Last week the team obliged and signed Diggs. This week?

Decker is a top-flite Tackle. He has 140-starts in his 10-year career. The reason he is on the street is the subject of some drama at his former franchise, Detroit. He stated he was going to retire. Then he changed his mind. Then the team said, “Sure, but you have to take a ‘Hair Cut.’” A pay cut was not palatable to Taylor. So, he’s out on the street. The reason he was going to retire was chronic shoulder pain. He’s still out there because of a) the injury concern, and b) he’s expensive.

Washington has the cap space. That’s not a problem. IF he comes here then it will likely be more than a one-year deal with a signing bonus. But, expect him to be here for one-year only. The “Void Year” will cost the team some “Dead Money” next year. Peters has been good with that. This year’s Dead Money is $20-Million. That sounds high although relatively it is not. At last glance it was the 12th lowest in the League. The worst, ironically, is this week’s practice/pre-season game foe the Dolphins at a staggering $179-Million or 56% of their total cap.

Deker here works IF he’s physically up to it. That would put Coleman back to battle Chris Paul for Left Guard duty. We’ll just have to wait and see if Adam Peters throws thunderbolts twice in two-weeks.

Diggs

Lost in all the pain of the Tunsil injury was the jolt to the Offense in gaining Stefon Diggs. There are many considerations. First of all Diggs will get bracketed wherever he lines up. With McLaurin out last year teams sat in Quarters and other straight-up Defensive alignments. None of the Receivers demanded extra attention. And, then came the dropsies. This Wide Receiver Room had the highest Drop rate in the League at 8% of Jayden Daniels‘ throws. There are lots of other stats out there about Wide Receiver Errors. Again, it was an ugly picture. Diggs had two-drops all year.

McLaurin is an “X Receiver.” He’s WR1 mostly going outside. Diggs was an X at Houston before he tore his ACL. Last year he split time between the Z-position (the other Outside Receiver) and the Y-position; Inside or Slot Receiver. In fact, he had more snaps inside than outside; 308 vs 286. He’s also 32-years old. He and McLaurin are pushing the “Long in the Tooth” envelope. With age comes diminished speed. The quotes from anonymous NFL Executives are everywhere: “He’ll play more in the slot than outside due to diminished speed.” It’s not a problem, per se. But, it does complicate the dynamics of the WR Room.

Adam Peters has drafted two different Receivers in the third round for the Slot role in Luke McCaffery and Antonio Williams. Slot guys tend to be quicker, smaller, and a bit slower in flat-line speed than the X or Z. Who is going to be the other outside guy to stretch the Defense? It’s really an open question that Diggs’ acquisition does not answer. Jayden Lane is the Punt Returner. He has speed. But, he hasn’t shown real Wide Receiver chops yet.

McCaffery returns kicks. Williams just got here. So, those two and Lane are in the room to stay. There’s another whole jag of guys who are going to be battling for a roster spot including Van Jefferson. He’s had a fantastic camp according to reports. Treylon Burks has the speed and size required. And, Dyami Brown knows the ropes here. He’s got a chance to make the team. Two Undrafted Free Agent types are getting attention at camp; Jaden Bradley and Jacoby Jones are probably Practice Squad bound. River Cracraft is still around also. It’s not your every day Receiver that can last 8-years in the League averaging only 4-catches per year. That’s a neat trick right there. He’s also going to the Practice Squad. It would not be a shock if he were picked up somewhere during the season.

If you want to tune into a set of Camp Battles, then this Receiver Room is the place on which to focus.

Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Diggs’ arrival (aside from Jayden Daniels) is Tight End Chig Okonkwo. If David Blough calls up 12-personnel (One Running Back, Two Tight Ends) then that will put Diggs on one side with McLaurin on the other. Teams are going to bracket both. That leaves single coverage on the Tight End, who may or may not be in motion. It really opens the door for him to run seam-rippers between the Safeties. Ben Sinnott can run those as well. The Tight End Room consisted of Zach Ertz and not exactly guys last year. Ertz could find a hole and sit down in it, especially in Red Zone. This Tight End Room will be more dynamic. Will it be good in the Red Zone? We don’t know. But, Diggs is plenty good in the Red Zone. He rated ninth in Expected Points Added among Receivers last year.

Diggs makes the whole Offense better.

This Week

Washington hosts the Dolphins for a one-day joint practice on Wednesday, August 12. These Joint Practices are much more telling than the pre-season games. For one thing they usually have Ones vs Ones. It’s a good test for both squads. Camp has been a constant stream of positives for the Defensive front seven. The Miami O-Line isn’t bad at all. That’s something to watch. On the other hand Miami’s Secondary is godawful. Jayden Daniels may put some nice work on film against them.

The week ends with the first of three Pre-Season Games on Friday at 7:00pm at Northwest Stadium. We’ll have a short gamer up for that on Friday.

Next week we’ll cover the Defense. That depends on whether or not the roller coaster comes in for a stop.