Redskins Make a Splash On Day Two of Free Agency

The Redskins inked DT Barry Cofield to a 6 year $36 million deal from the Giants. Cofield has been one of the most underrated defensive tackles in the league these past few years, and looks to fill a major need for Washington as their new nose tackle. Cofield has played the NT role in the Giants 4 man defensive front, but he has never been asked to handle the role in a 3-4 alignment. While that might cause some concern for some, I think Cofield is a good fit for Washington and applaud his signing.

He might not end up being the traditional run plugging NT, but he will be a great upgrade to the Redskins line. Cofield is the type of tackle who will generate a push up the middle and will do something that was quite rare in Washington last year, and that is force the double team. Cofield though is more than just that wall in the middle of your defensive line as he has some ability to get after the quarterback as well. He’s by no means a great pass rusher, but he should get a fair share of quarterback pressures and open up blitzing lanes for the linebackers.

While Cofield appears to be a slight risk, because he isn’t a traditional NT, I think the Redskins will be quite happy with this signing. Cofield’s skill set brings more to the table than just a 3-4 NT, as he can be highly effective when the Redskins run a 4 man line on passing downs. He also probably has enough versatility to play the 5 technique (3-4 DE) as well, if the Redskins find a decent backup NT for a Jumbo set. That type of versatility can be key to confusing opposing offenses and giving QB’s fits.

Cofield is young (27) and should be able to play out the majority of his 6 year contract. And a $6 million a year average is a good price for a quality DT. That price looks even better if Cofield can become the nose tackle the Redskins are hoping for. Nose tackle is a highly important position, and not having any talent there last year, left the Redskins once proud defense among the league’s worst.