Washington fancies itself as not just a Pac-12 title contender in 2023 but also a team that can compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The Huskies went 11-2 in Kalen DeBoer’s first season at the helm, led the nation in passing, then returned just about everyone of significance for Year 2. And ESPN insider Greg McElroy likes the Huskies to be right in the thick of the CFP conversation in 2023.

He discussed a number of programs and their spring prospectus on ESPN’s Always College Football podcast on Monday, and said he thinks UW has a better shot to make the CFP than Florida State does — a team that figures to open the year somewhere close to the AP top five.

“We talked a second ago about Florida State. I think Washington has a better chance of getting to the College Football Playoff than Florida State,” McElroy said. “Why? Because I look at the Pac-12 and I think it’s more gettable than the ACC. Just saying. … I think the Pac-12, pretty good, especially with the quarterback situations. But tell me a team in the Pac-12 right now that returns as much as the Washington Huskies.

“They bring back a bunch of high-quality pieces offensively. You bring back Michael Penix, who is, I think, only going to get more comfortable as he continues to dive in to Kalen DeBoer’s offense. They’re going to be really good offensively.”

The question rests on defense. And it has been posed already this offseason: Does UW have the secondary to fuel a title team?

“We know they’re going to be really good along the line of scrimmage defensively. We know they have a couple of edge rushers that are legit, that can flat-out pin their ears back and make life difficult for the opposing quarterback. Here’s the problem: their secondary was an issue,” McElroy said. “They were 111th nationally in pass efficiency defense, and they had the fewest PBUs in the Power Five.”

UW dealt with significant injury concerns in the secondary last season — a group that began the year thin on depth and then was really stretched during the year. This offseason, DeBoer flipped blue-chip freshman corner Caleb Presley from Oregon (on campus for spring ball), signed one of the top JUCO players in the class in Thaddeus Dixon, and dipped into the transfer portal for former Oklahoma State corner Jabbar Muhammad.

Depth should be better. McElroy also likes the fact the secondary will be going against what he feels is the best passing attack in the country all throughout spring ball.

“The best news for the Washington Huskies and their secondary? The group you’re going to see every day in practice, you’re not going to see many groups that are more potent than that. If you can practice against the best, you’re probably going to get better,” he said. “Guess what? You’re practicing against the best the Pac-12 has to offer. With all due respect to SC, with all due respect to Utah, with all due respect to Oregon, I’m not sure there’s a passing attack that’s more capable in the Pac-12, or nationally for that matter, than Washington’s passing attack.”

UW held its first spring practice on Monday. You can see the full commentary from McElroy below.

(The Washington section begins at the 15-minute mark.)