Can Washington Football Team Defense Move To No. 1 in NFL?

The Washington Football Team can boast the No. 1 defense in the NFL - but will need a middle-of-the-pack offense to charge toward a repeat NFC East title.

The obstacles might not be the 17 games on the 2021 NFL schedule. The obstacles that would keep the Washington Football Team from being the NFL's No. 1 defense in 2021 might be nothing more than ...

The WFT itself.

In 2020, under the new management of head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, there was only a brief time of "Excuse Our Dust'' as the turnaround to rebuild was executed. In the end, the WFT finished No. 2 in total defense in 2020. ... and because of it, won the NFC East.

This was accomplished while carrying on its back a mediocre-at-best offense and despite some growing pains for young studs like rookie defensive end Chase Young, who eventually emerged as a star and leader of the group. despite one of the statistically worst offensive units in the NFL.

Where does the WFT D rank going into this year?

Bleacher Report has its defensive rankings for 2021, and Washington rolls in at No. 3 behind Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Rams. B/R's logic:

"The Washington Football Team ... should be even better this year thanks to some shrewd moves in the draft and on the open market. No player will have more of an impact on this defense than Jamin Davis, the linebacker prospect that the club picked up at No. 19 overall. ... Third-round cornerback Benjamin St-Juste should see a good amount of snaps as a rookie as well. ... The Football Team ... signing cornerback William Jackson will offset the loss of Ronald Darby.''

Washington fans hope all those assumptions are correct. But ... we have no way of knowing yet that Davis will top the team in "impact.'' And we're not sure St-Juste's name should be etched in stone yet as a rotational contributor.

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Darby out with Jackson in figures as at least a wash, and maybe more. The other concepts are educated guesses. But frankly, even if they are off - if Davis is not immediately a star and/or if St-Juste isn't yet ready to contribute - the Chase Young-led defense has enough carry-over tools to be a top-three defense for certain ...

And with the talent injection on offense - because the two units working as one, the effectiveness of each of them feeding the other  - the Washington Football Team can boast the No. 1 defense in the NFL. And can ride that, combined with a middle-of-the-pack offense, to a charge toward a repeat NFC East title.

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