Now that Trent Williams has moved on, who is the Redskins best player?

Trent Williams made life easier in Washington for nearly a decade.

Forget protecting quarterbacks. I’m talking about ranking the players.

From the time Williams received the first of seven consecutive Pro Bowl selections in 2012, the answer to the question, “Who is the Redskins’ best player” typically landed with the left tackle. He retained the title last year despite not playing a snap because of his dispute with the organization. Now that Williams plays for the 49ers, the answer to that simple question becomes complicated.

Put down your phone and hand sanitizer for a moment, or pause your Netflix show of choice to consider the matter. Who wins the belt for the best player on the Redskins right now?

Go ahead; take your time. There’s no easy response with the current roster, which is both frightening for the present and fascinating for the future.

Stated criteria become crucial for such subjective debates. For example, “best” is different from “most valuable” as the former involves pure talent and the latter leans heavier on usage and scarcity. Pro Bowl punter Tress Way was arguably Washington’s MVP last season, but no specialists make this best player cut.

For that list, I made choices based on three evenly weighted considerations:

Upside: No matter the player, there’s always the curiosity of what’s possible. That goes triple for rising talents like 2020 first-round selection Chase Young.

Production: Potential works primarily for a team with a new coaching staff and coming off a 3-13 season, but at some point, performance matters most.

Expansion draft mentality: Which players would other teams grab if everyone became available? Age, health and contract figures become factors here, though I cashed out my picks without worrying about, as an example, Brandon Scherff earning $15 million in 2020 versus those on rookie deals.

Let’s do this. Here’s my list, I look forward to your breakdown and reasoned counter takes in the comments section below.

10. Montez Sweat: You’re not alone in thinking the 26th selection in the 2019 draft had a mostly low-key rookie campaign and yet the final numbers suggest otherwise. Sweat finished second in sacks (7.0), third in tackles for loss (eight) and quarterback hurries (13) while turning into one of the more sure-handed tacklers on the roster. The edge rusher scores high on the upside spectrum to the point this ranking might seem low one month into the 2020 season.

9. Adrian Peterson: Props to “All Day” for providing the playmaker-light offense with nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns since arriving before the 2018 season. That Washington remains overly reliant on the 35-year-old physical freak speaks to the concerns elsewhere. The perfect world for this fixer-upper of a team unfolds with Derrius Guice handling lead-back duties with Bryce Love and third-round selection Antonio Gibson high in the rotation. Bet against Peterson leading Washington in carries and yards at your own risk. There’s no upside here, but there’s no overlooking Peterson’s importance and production until others step up.

8. Ryan Kerrigan: Entering 2019, the longtime edge rusher ranked no less than the top three on the “Best Player” list, but Kerrigan is coming off the least productive of his nine seasons. Even before a November toe injury ended his consecutive games streak at 139 and a calf issue put him on injured reserve, the linebacker’s play-to-play impact diminished (career-low 5.5 sacks). But with a chance to break the franchise record for career sacks and entering the final year of his contract, let’s not brush Kerrigan aside just yet even as Young and Sweat eat into his snaps.

7. Landon Collins: Washington’s splashy free-agent signing last year led the Redskins with 117 tackles (and finished ninth league-wide with 16 missed tackles). Having a safety to lead in tackles isn’t ideal for any defense, but Collins provided an up-the-middle presence in the secondary. He’s undoubtedly one of the players expected to benefit most from the jacked defensive line.

6. Jonathan Allen: The moment before Washington selected Young second overall in the NFL Draft, this University of Alabama product stood as the face of the defensive line. Allen causes pocket-collapsing chaos (14 sacks since 2018) and his intellectual side turned him into one of the team leaders. The 2017 first-round pick also showed durability by playing 31 of 32 games after missing 11 during his rookie season. Yet there’s a case for stacking Allen behind three other linemen based on their work and hope, and his sideways 2019; Pro Football Focus rated him 81st among 115 qualifying defensive linemen. How Allen performs this season likely goes a long way to determine if he can hold off Young as the positional face and whether Washington offers a robust contract extension. Allen did finish first among the linemen in tackles (68) despite receiving fewer snaps than Daron Payne and more than 100 less than Matt Ioannidis. Now he will receive more one-on-one opportunities with Young and others around.

5. Daron Payne: Washington selected this immovable object 13th overall in 2018, hoping he emerges as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the league. That vision remains. PFF rated Payne’s run defense second on the team behind only Collins and among the top 30 with interior defensive linemen around the league. The Redskins have plenty of pass rushers, but it’s Payne primarily tasked with holding up the middle of the line and causing offensive coordinators to think twice about running inside. Not sure what a breakout season looks like statistically since run defense numbers aren’t just about one player, but I’m expecting Payne to put a hurt on foes this season.

4. Chase Young: This slotting is all estimation since Young is months away from his first live NFL action, but what a dynamic projection painted by draft analysts. Not every second-overall selection receives praise as one of the elite prospects entering the league at his position. Young did after setting Ohio State’s single-season record for sacks, and making comparisons to the electric Bosa brothers, Joey and Nick, seem fair. It’s the 6-foot-5, 265-pound end football folks see as the player capable of unlocking more from Washington’s other defensive line talents and propel the overall defense, with good health and coaching, toward Top 10 status. Rookies often take a minute to adjust from college to the pros and this pandemic-altered summer makes for a challenging transition. If the hype proves real, the challenge will come for opposing teams to try to slow down Young. That he’s yet to play an NFL snap keeps him outside the top three.

3. Matt Ioannidis: By taking Young, Washington became the first team in NFL history to draft a defensive lineman in four consecutive seasons. Yet it’s a fifth-round pick ahead of all those taken higher. Maybe Ioannidis lacks the pizazz compared to others, but the production speaks loudly. He led Washington last season with 8.5 sacks, finished fifth in tackles (64), ranked eighth in the league with 18 quarterback hurries and tied for 14th with 35 pressures.

2. Brandon Scherff: The fifth pick in the 2015 draft justified that lofty selection with five seasons worth of rugged, pile-moving power that culminated in three Pro Bowl selections. At times last season, the right side combo of Scherff and Moses struggled more than expected especially compared to the patchwork duo of tackle-guard counterparts Donald Penn and Ereck Flowers. PFF still rated Scherff 10th among guards last season. Without Trent Williams, there’s no debate over Washington’s top offensive lineman. For some, it’s Scherff who should wear the “Redskins best player” crown. Maybe if injuries didn’t cost him 13 games over the past two years, I would concur.

1. Terry McLaurin: As I sit in front of my keyboard seeking the proper words and context to justify ranking the second-year receiver best on Washington’s roster, I’m reminded of a conversation with a football lifer who struggled to articulate McLaurin’s gifts.

“Man, I don’t know where to start,” former Washington receivers coach Ike Hillard said last year. “There are so many good things I could say.”

The blinding speed stands out even for a layman.

Asked at one point when he knew no defender would corral him en route to a 75-yard touchdown against the Eagles, McLaurin said with a knowing chuckle, “When I catch it.” It’s not bragging when true and McLaurin blew past shocked defenders repeatedly as a rookie.

Speed kills, but the third-round selection also tortured defensive backs with exquisite route-running. The twisting and turning of defenders put the receiver in open space and that’s when he opened the jets after his sure hands secured the catch.

“His speed and just being able to stick his route at his top speed and get separation. … Not many guys can do it,” Collins said.

Yet for all the physical gifts, McLaurin’s maturity and drive separated him from the rookie pack.

“Why he hit the ground running is, I really believe, it’s his character,” Redskins vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith said of McLaurin. “It’s who the dude is. He’s a pro. And he’s extremely smart. Most wide receivers that come in the league and have success early, it’s because No. 1, they were mentally able to pick it up. The different things we were able to do with him and move him around gave him the opportunity to have success.”

McLaurin led Washington with 58 receptions, 919 yards, seven receiving touchdowns and a 15.8 yards per catch average. Inconsistent quarterback play and his missing two games with an injury, including the season finale, kept him below 1,000 yards. That might be the last time he fails to reach that benchmark for years to come. Heading into the 2020 season, it’s McLaurin setting the bar for Washington’s top talent.

Just missed

Kendall Fuller: I dropped Fuller at the last moment even though I remember when in 2017, he was one of Washington’s ascending players. Now the cornerback returns after signing a lucrative four-year deal this off-season as the Redskins moved on from Quinton Dunbar and Josh Norman. Nostalgia reigned and helped ignore any quibbles about the $40 million contract for a player who allowed a passer rating of 131.6 last season in Kansas City per Pro Football Reference (Dunbar finished at 68.4.) Fuller enters the season, the lone cornerback expected to play every snap.

Derrius Guice: We can move Guice into the top five if he avoids injury and performs like the running back who averaged 5.8 yards per carry (42 attempts) last season. That he’s played only five games since entering the league in 2018 keeps him on the outside.

Morgan Moses and Chase Roullier: The two offensive linemen remain viable presences for a unit that was anything but steady last season. From the upside and expansion draft mentality angles, other players offer stronger cases.

Dwayne Haskins: Maybe Haskins turns his late-season growth into a picture-perfect sophomore campaign. Based on the entire season and even when considering his physical gifts, he must wait his turn for Top 10 status.

(Photo: Sam Navarro/ USA Today)

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