So far, this offseason, the Washington Redskins have made many different moves in giving away and acquring different players. Not many of their acquisitions were very notable, other than their large investment in cornerback Kendull Fuller (who is now returning to the Redskins after playing with the Kansas City Chiefs for two seasons. Although, other than that, most of the other players that the Skins have brought it were previous reserves from other teams.
However, in lieu of signing Kendull Fuller, to their depleted secondary, the Skins traded fellow cornerback Quinton Dunbar to the Seattle Seahawks, for a fifth round draft pick. This move greatly surprised me, not because of the trade though. Weeks before the trade, Dunbar had displayed interest in moving elsewhere to a new team, but I was never certain until hearing about the news of the trade. What I intitially was surprised about was what the Redskins received in return of trading Quinton Dunbar; a fifth round draft pick. According to Pro Football Focus, through week 17 of the 2019-20 NFL season, Dunbar ranked as the second best cornerback in the league in his overall PFF grade (which is judged by completion % allowed, opposing QB passer rating, etc.). Dunbar also had four interceptions, tied for eighth in the league. I get that Ron Rivera (Redskins new head coach) has a philosophy that only players who want to be on the team will play under him, but I am still astonished at the value dropoff that the Redskins received in return of trading Dunbar. However, I shouldn't be surprised, as the Skins' front office has a history of making questionable decisions.
Before this trade, I had my hopes up high for the Skins defense in the upcoming 2020-21 season. Those high hopes took a big dip after the trade. But it's time to reconsider.
The big question is:
Does trading Dunbar really make a big difference?
Kendull Fuller, cornerback who the Redskins recently acquired from the Chiefs, played alongside Dunbar in the 2017-18 season. During that season, Dunbar had a 74.7 overall PFF grade, while Fuller had a grade of 90.6, one of the best in the league at the time. Although there grades show significant difference, they both allowed pretty much the same completion percentage, at about 56%. With a promising young core of Fuller and Dunbar, in a struggling secondary with a declining Josh Norman, the future looked bright, as the Skins were expected to develop their young cornerbacks for the next season.
Despite the fact that Fuller had one of the highest overall grades in the league as a cornerback, the Skins decided to trade him to Kansas City for an aging Alex Smith, who would replace Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback. That year, Dunbar's production took a dip, receiving more targets, and allowing a higher completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks. It was clear that Dunbar wasn't used to being the top corner on the team, and he used that season to adjust. The year after (2019-20), was much different, as I eluded to earlier.
With almost an entirely new coaching staff, along with a new defensive coordinator (Jack Del Rio), and also verteran corner Josh Norman leaving to the Bills, Dunbar and Fuller would have been the leaders of that secondary. I'm sure a whole lot of Redskins fans were looking forward to that, but unfortunately, things didn't pan out the way we wanted it to, which happens a lot when you're a fan of the Washington Redskins.
So, to sum everything up:
did the trade make a big difference?
The final answer is yes. The Redskins secondary could have been significantly better with him playing alongside his old teammate Kendull Fuller. With that being said, this young secondary has great promise. Former slot corner, Fabian Moreau, started stepping up later in the season once being moved to the outside. The Skins also have a guy who is more comfortable covering in the slot, Jimmy Moreland, who is coming off a solid rookie campaign. With the recent addition of Ronald Darby (corner from the Eagles, who struggled a bit last year, but a proven defender in past years), there should be some interesting competition for starting spots as the upcoming 2020-21 season approaches.
