The Washington Redskins will have five captains for the regular season this year, with two on offense, two on defense and one on special teams.

The Washington Redskins will have five veteran captains the roster will be able to seek guidance from this season.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and left tackle Trent Williams will be offensive captains, linebacker Will Compton and DeAngelo Hall will be defensive captains and Niles Paul will be special teams captain.

Captains are selected based on votes from teammates.

Cousins is entering his second season as the Redskins' starting quarterback after smashing multiple franchise records in 2015.

The Michigan State product finished the campaign with 4,166 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions. He also totaled a team-high five rushing touchdowns.

With the offensive unit now under his reign, Cousins was clearly more comfortable in the huddle throughout the offseason.

"He's a leader by example, for sure," Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said in August. "He's the guy that everybody knows is going to do the right thing and he's a very unselfish player and he's going to try to distribute the ball equally. The more and more he gets comfortable, the more success that he has, the more of a vocal leader he can be."

While this is the first time Cousins has been selected as a team captain, Williams has been voted to wear the captain's badge for the sixth straight season.

Williams' status as a leader proved valuable for the offensive linemen in the offseason when the four-time Pro Bowler invited the entire group down to Houston for a three-day workout session that became known as "Hogs 2.0."

"We trained together and we're able to sit at the dinner table and break bread together," right tackle Morgan Moses said. "It's all about knowing the guy off the field so you can play with him on the field."

On the defensive side of the football, Compton has become an example for the entire defense about hard work paying off.

In 2013, Compton dealt with a torn hamstring as an undrafted rookie and spent a majority of the season on the practice squad.

Now, he's the starting Mike linebacker and someone awfully hard to miss on the field. He's engaged in quite a few vocal battles back and forth with Cousins recently, sure to let the offense know when the defense gets the better end of practices.

"It's very important to – again – be loud, be fast, trust what you're seeing and don't second guess yourself," Compton said. "When you're about to make a call just be as loud as you can."

Hall, like Williams, has previously been a captain for the Redskins, as he was one during the 2010, 2011 and 2014 seasons.

The Virginia Tech product is the most experienced player on the Redskins' roster entering his 13th NFL season.

Paul is the team's special teams captain after missing the entire 2015 season with a dislocated ankle suffered in the preseason opener.

The Nebraska product hopes that people will "remember the type of player" he is now that the regular season rolls around, and that includes his work on special teams.

During the 2014 season, Paul totaled seven special teams tackles and a fumble recovery. In 2013, he spent significant time as the team's primary kickoff returner while leading the Redskins in special teams tackles with 16.

"No matter what you label me as, a special teams player or a fullback whatever, I'm trying to be the best I can be at it and I'm going to go all out," Paul said.