It’s been said countless times; football is a team sport. As a player, one relies on the fellow players ahead of and behind him, in order to help him maximize his role in a system, as a member of a team.
It was this team dynamic that explained the elation the Washington Redskins inside linebackers had when their team selected Daron Payne in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Defensive tackle had previously been a major problem for the burgundy and gold, and with the addition of a stalwart trench warrior, the linebackers felt they could be more aggressive.