23-year old WR Devin Thomas will duke it out with rookie 7th round pick Terrence Austin for the kickoff return job in 2010.  Thomas has been a disappointment at WR and he doesn’t have great speed.  But he does have good hands and he’s a big guy at 6′2″, 215 pounds so he has straight line power.  Thomas played in 14 games for the Redskins last season and he returned 20 kickoffs for 439 yards (22.0 avg).  Terrence Austin is lightning quick but he’s small at 5′11″, 172 pounds.  The Redskins hope that whoever wins the starting job puts the offense in good starting field position in 2010.

It all starts at LT where rookie 1st round pick Trent Williams will be playing.  He is the kind of athletic player the Redskins want for there new zone blocking scheme.  But, he needs to develop a mean streak as he appears to be too laid back.  LG Derrick Dockery isn’t too well suited for the new blocking scheme of the Redskins.  Center Casey Rabach stays low and wins a lot of battles in the running game so he fits the new system well.  RG Artie Hicks will likely fit in well in the Redskins new system and he can play all over the O-Line.  RT Jamaal Brown is a solid all-around blocker who the Redskins stole from the Saints recently in a trade.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE REDSKINS O-LINE in 2010:  B

57-year old head coach Mike Shanahan was brought in to get the Redskins back to the playoffs.  He last coached in 2008 with the Broncos.  Shanahan has a career record of 146-98 (59.8%) during the regular season in his 16 years as a NFL head coach.  He is also 8-5 (61.5%) in the post season as he won back to back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 with the Broncos.  Shanahan always seems to coach to the level of players he has and that bodes well for the Redskins who have improved the roster big time over the offseason.  I think Shanahan will have the Redskins in the hunt for the playoffs when December rolls around.

The Redskins are going with 23-year old kicker Graham Gano in 2010.  He played in 4 games as a rookie for the Redskins last season and he made all  4 of his field goal attempts.  He was also 6 of 7 on extra points to finish up with 18 points as a rookie.  I have a feeling that Gano is going to be a solid kicker for the Redskins in 2010 as he has a strong leg.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR REDSKINS KICKERS in 2010:  B

31-year old Santana Moss is the only WR still on top of his game in the Redskins’ WRing corps.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Redskins last season and he caught 70 passes for 902 yards (12.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 8 yards (4.0 ypc) last year.  Moss has now played in 127 games (103 starts) in his 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 500 passes for 7,443 yards (14.9 avg) with 46 TD grabs.  Moss has also carried the ball 40 times for 254 yards (6.4 ypc) so far in his career.  Moss has made it to 1 Pro Bowl in his career and he will be trying to make it 2 times this year as the Redskins have really improved at QB for 2010.

23-year old Devin Thomas would be the other starting WR for the Redskins if the season started tomorrow.  He played in 14 games (10 starts) for the Redskins last season and he caught 25 passes for 325 yards (13.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Thomas has now played in 30 games (11 starts) in his two years with the Redskins and he has caught 40 passes for 445 yards (11.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 6 times for 51 yards (8.5 ypc) with 1 TD carry in his career to date.  The Redskins need Thomas to step up in 2010 as he has a lot of talent.

23-year old Malcolm Kelly is a great athlete but he’s not a good WR quite yet.  Kelly played in 16 games (10 starts) for the Redskins last season and he caught 25 passes for 347 yards (13.9 avg).  He has now played in 21 games (10 starts) in his two years with the Redskins and he has caught 28 passes for 365 yards (13.0 avg).  Kelly has a nice upside but he needs to start showing more in 2010 for the Redskins.

38-year old Joey Galloway is in camp trying to win a job with the Skins.  Galloway played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Patriots last season and he caught 7  passes for 67 yards (9.6 avg).  He has now played in 188 games (171 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 689 passes for 10,777 yards (15.6 avg) with 77 TD grabs.  Galloway has also carried the ball 63 times for 496 yards (7.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Galloway is in the twilight of his career but he might have another year of being a solid #4 or #5 WR.

29-year old Bobby Wade will likely have a good chance of making the Redskins in 2010.  Wade played in 12 games (6 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he caught 36 passes for 367 yards (10.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 102 games (50 starts) in his 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 244 passes for 2,858 yards (11.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Wade has also carried the ball 22 times for 93 yards (4.2 ypc) in his career.

33-year old WR Mike Furrey played offense, defense and special teams for the Browns last season.  For those reasons he might be a solid bet to make the Redskins in 2010.  Furrey played in 16 games (4 starts) for the Browns last season and he has caught 23 passes for 170 yards (7.4 avg).  Furrey has now played in 94 games (41 starts) as a offensive player and he has caught 221 passes for 2,298 yards (10.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs. 

7th round pick Terrence Austin out of UCLA will have a hard time making the Redskins’ roster.  He’s on the small side at 5′11″, 172 pounds and he goes into training camp #7 on the depth chart.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE REDSKINS WRs in 2010:  C