Washington Redskins: 5 players who must improve in 2018

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 23: Redskins WR Josh Doctson (18) steps up to the line before a play in the first half during the game between the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles on October 23, 2017 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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2. Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine

The Redskins had the league’s 28th-ranked rushing attack last year (90.5 yards per game), and they were toward the bottom in yards per carry (3.6) and rushing touchdowns (10). That number of rushing scores looks even worse when considering Cousins accounted for four of them.

After showing some promise in 2016, Kelley averaged just 3.1 yards per carry over seven games last season before landing on IR with knee and ankle issues. Chris Thompson went down with a broken leg right after that, so Perine stepped into a prominent role.

Perine topped 100 yards on the ground in back-to-back games (Week 11 and Week 12), with 217 yards on 47 carries over that span. But he faded quickly, averaging 2.9 yards per carry over the next four games before an inconsequential Week 17 which he left injured (two carries for three yards).

Kelley and Perine combined to average a shade under 3.4 yards per carry last year. They were put on obvious notice by the Redskins drafting Derrius Guice in the second round of April’s draft, and Thompson’s passing down role is safe as long as he’s healthy.

Kelley and Perine seem to be competing for one potential role, and maybe eventually even one roster spot with Kelley a more likely release candidate. But if Guice struggles at all in his transition to the NFL, one or both guys will be tasked with sparking the Redskins’ ground game in a way neither really did in 2017.

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