Risk/reward

What Washington lacks at the receiver position is made up for with tremendous depth and variety at running back. Prior to breaking his leg in mid-November, scat back Chris Thompson had emerged as a dynamic weapon in the Darren Sproles mold. He had two games with 100 or more receiving yards and four games with 50 or more receiving yards. He had two rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns.

Thompson’s work was augmented by rookie Samaje Perine, who carried 175 times for 603 yards and served as the starter for the second half of the season.

Washington added to that mix by selecting LSU tailback Derrius Guice in the second round of this year’s draft. Guice, 20, had back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons in college before entering the draft early. He was considered the secondbest tailback in this year’s class behind Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick.

Washington held the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft, one spot before the Packers, and had the chance to draft a pair of players who received almost universal praise during the predraft process: inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and safety Derwin James. While both players would have been welcome additions, James in particular could have been a huge boost for the defense, which lacked playmakers on the back end last season. Washington passed on both to select defensive tackle Daron Payne from Alabama, and the Packers followed suit by trading their pick to the New Orleans Saints. Three years from now, will both teams regret passing on James and Edmunds? We’ll see.