Bashaud Breeland Says He Can Be the Next Darrell Green, Talks 2016 Expectations

Josh Norman may be the face of Washington's secondary after signing with the team in April, but Bashaud Breeland wants to make sure everyone knows about him and remembers his talents.

Speaking to Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post, Breeland said he's "just on a new level: different mindset, different goals."

As for what those goals entail, Breeland has set lofty expectations for himself. He said he wants "to be the No. 1 corner in the league, [and] to help my team get to the Super Bowl."

Norman's signing did seem to rattle Breeland. He told SiriusXM NFL Radio in April (via Scott Allen of the Washington Post) that "at first, I took it as disrespect."

Eventually, Breeland did get on board with Washington adding one of the league's best cornerbacks to a defense that finished tied for 21st in interceptions, tied for 22nd in touchdown passes allowed and 25th in passing yards allowed.  

Breeland, who was a fourth-round pick in 2014, has developed into one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL, but there is still work to do if he wants to be on the short list of players considered as the NFL's top defensive back.

Lorin Cox of Pro Football Focus did posit a few reasons to believe that Breeland will be able to crack the website's list of top 101 players for the 2016 season:

"

Breeland had some issues adjusting to the NFL game as a rookie in 2014, but a change in the defensive coaching staff helped open things up for him this past season. For the second straight year, he was third among cornerbacks in run-stop percentage, and through the first 14 weeks of the season, Breeland was our sixth-highest-graded cornerback in the league.

"

Another note Cox mentioned was that Breeland struggled last year in two games covering Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr., who are "the types of matchups he will likely avoid to a large extent in 2016 with Norman now also in Washington."

Breeland has not backed away from challenges and is not shy about putting high expectations on himself, as this tweet from May proves:

Expanding on that tweet, Breeland told Steinberg he knows "what I meant and I know what I said and I meant what I said, and that’s what I’m going to be. You can say it’s a big goal. That’s your opinion. But my opinion is that I can be the next Darrell Green or better. That’s my expectation for myself.”

Whether Breeland is able to reach the level he has set up for himself or not, pairing him with Norman gives Washington a cornerback duo who will be among the best in the NFL next season. It will be a big reason the franchise will challenge for a second straight NFC East title.