2025 NFL Season Preview: Washington Redskins

2025 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
WR Deebo Samuel, OT Laremy Tunsil, G Nate Herbig, DE Von Miller, DE Deatrich Wise, DE Jacob Martin, DT Javon Kinlaw, DT Eddie Goldman, CB Jonathan Jones, S Will Harris.
Early Draft Picks:
OT Josh Conerly, CB Trey Amos, WR Jaylin Lane. Redskins Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
WR Dyami Brown, WR Olamide Zaccheaus, OT Cornelius Lucas, OT Trenton Scott, G Michael Deiter, DE Dante Fowler, OLB Mykal Walker, CB Benjamin St-Juste, S Jeremy Chinn.

2025 Washington Redskins Offense:
Expectations were high for Jayden Daniels entering in the NFL, and yet he exceeded all of them. A year after C.J. Stroud broke records for an NFL rookie quarterback, Daniels surpassed some of them. Stroud regressed in his sophomore campaign, but most young quarterbacks take a leap in their second seasons. It’s terrifying to think how great Daniels will be if that turns out to be the case for him.

Washington’s front office made sure that Daniels will be in the best possible situation. They did so via two moves. They initially traded for Deebo Samuel, giving Washington an excellent No. 2 receiver to pair with Terry McLaurin. Last year, it was just McLaurin mixed in with a bit of Zach Ertz, but Samuel gives Daniels another threat to utilize. Ertz was a free agent, but the Redskins re-signed him. The Redskins will also need to re-sign McLaurin, who is holding out for a new contract.

Samuel wasn’t even the best trade acquisition, as Washington dealt for Laremy Tunsil as well. Daniels didn’t have terrible edge protection last year, but it wasn’t great either. He’ll now have one of the better left tackles in the NFL protecting his blind side. The mediocre Brandon Coleman may be the bookend, but there’s a chance that first-round rookie Josh Conerly will surpass him. Conerly is very athletic for a lineman and possesses great upside.

The interior will be just as good, if not better during the second half of the season. Pro Bowl guard Sam Cosmi tore his ACL in the playoff victory over the Lions. He’ll miss the start of the season, but he could be able to return in the final couple of months. When that occurs, he’ll be joined by two new acquisitions from 2024, Nick Allegretti and Tyler Biadasz. Both were solid last year, with the latter being the better of the two.

The one area the Redskins didn’t address was running back, aside from a seventh-round pick used on Jacory Croskey-Merritt. It’ll likely be Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler again, with the two being an underwhelming duo last year. Robinson dealt with numerous injuries, so perhaps he’ll improve in 2025.



2025 Washington Redskins Defense:
While the Redskins were able to upgrade their offensive line, they also needed to bolster their pass rush. They were in the middle of the pack in pressure rate last year, but after witnessing what the Eagles did to them and everyone else, they had to obtain talent for the defensive line.

Some players were added, but the Redskins don’t seem to have a tremendous pass rush. More was expected Dorance Armstrong last year, who logged five sacks. Dante Fowler and his 10.5 sacks are gone, and the Redskins initially replaced him with Deatrich Wise and Jacob Martin. Wise is a Jack of all trades, master of none. Martin had three sacks for Chicago last year. Washington recently signed Von Miller. While Miller is obviously not the same, dominant player he once was, he can be a solid rotational player. He logged 6.5 sacks in 2024.

Washington spent the most money on this side of the ball on Javon Kinlaw. While the Samuel and Tunsil trades will improve the team, this was a highly questionable decision. Kinlaw has been a tremendous bust as a former first-round pick. He’s still young and has some potential, but there was no reason for Washington to overpay someone like him. Kinlaw will replace Jonathan Allen, who departed for Minnesota, and he’ll start next to Da’Ron Payne, a big run stuffer who is coming off a down year. There’s also Jer’Zhan Newton, a 2024 second-rounder who struggled as a rookie.

While the defensive line has its issues, the linebacking corps is excellent. Frankie Luvu does everything well, including rushing the passer. He logged eight sacks in 2024, while also covering and helping versus the run at a high level. The other starter is long-time veteran Bobby Wagner, who is stout in run support. Wagner is 35, however, so there could be rapid regression in the near future.

As for the secondary, Washington signed a couple of players to help improve this area. The team bolstered its cornerbacks by trading for Marshon Lattimore last season, so he and Mike Sainristill already looked like a strong duo heading into 2025. Jonathan Jones was then added to play in the slot. Jones, formerly of the Patriots, has performed at a high level in the past, but has also dealt with a high number of injuries throughout his career. He also turns 32 in September, so it remains to be seen if the Redskins will get him to play like a third high-end cornerback. There’s also second-round rookie Trey Amos, who was viewed as a potential first-round pick, according to some of Charlie Campbell’s sources.

The other addition for the defensive backfield is Will Harris, who figures to start at safety next to Quan Martin. Harris was mediocre for the Saints last year, while Martin performed on the same level for Washington. Martin is a recent second-round pick, so he has the potential to improve.



2025 Washington Redskins Schedule and Intangibles:
The Redskins’ rich fan base doesn’t show up to games because they’re too busy dining at fancy restaurants and passing bills that only enrich themselves and extract wealth from future generations. This would explain why the team is just 54-79 as a host the past 15 years. However, they were 7-2 at home with Jayden Daniels, so perhaps this will become a strong home-field advantage for once.

Washington’s new kicker is Matt Gay. There was certainly nothing wrong with him going 31-of-37 last year, though his 3-of-9 from 50-plus was troubling.

Tress Way was seventh in net punting last year. He was mediocre as far as placing the ball inside the opposing 20.

The Redskins have a mixed schedule. They have tough opponents like the Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Lions, Vikings, and Packers. However, they also get the Raiders, Dolphins, Falcons, and Seahawks.



2025 Washington Redskins Rookies:
Go here for the Redskins Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.

2025 Washington Redskins Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks		Offensive Line		Secondary
Running Backs		Defensive Line		Special Teams
Receivers		Linebackers		Coaching