Washington’s receiving corps opens camp with Terry McLaurin and a bunch of question marks

“Besides Terry, [who] we know can play and has been out there, the rest of the group is really young,” receivers coach Jim Hostler said during a video conference call Thursday. “The rest of the guys are all in a competition. I have no idea who the next two guys are right now.”

New offensive coordinator Scott Turner expects to be creative with shifts, motions, formations and play-action, but whom he’ll rely on to execute them remains a big question mark. Tight end is arguably an even bigger question mark, as the group is made up of a rookie (Thaddeus Moss), an injury-prone veteran (Richard Rodgers) and a talented-yet-inexperienced former quarterback who remains on the covid-19 list (Logan Thomas). Coach Ron Rivera did express confidence in the group during his conference call Tuesday.

“I feel good about the tight ends,” he said. “I think obviously once we get Logan through the protocol we’ll be okay.”

But the lack of a proven pass-catcher among the tight ends sharpens the focus on the receivers, a group that was hurt by a number of developments over the last five months. Washington made a major offer to Amari Cooper in free agency, only for him to opt to re-sign in Dallas, then lost Kelvin Harmon to a knee injury, and then saw free agent pickup Cody Latimer go on the commissioner’s exempt list stemming from an arrest on multiple charges.

To compensate, McLaurin will likely shoulder more work. This promises to be difficult. NFL Next Gen Stats tracks a stat called “separation,” which measures the distance between a receiver and the nearest defender at the time of the catch or incompletion, and McLaurin’s average of 2.1 yards of separation per target last season was the third-lowest rate among any qualified receiver. This seems less a reflection of McLaurin’s talent and more of how much attention defenses showed him. So, to take the next step, Washington wants McLaurin to expand his route tree and be able to go inside.

“That is the challenge,” Hostler said, adding, “It’s the pressure of being a No. 1 guy.”

So, Washington must develop a reliable second receiver to McLaurin. Yet Hostler didn’t sound confident when asked who he expected to emerge.

“Crystal ball, I wish I could look into the future and tell you that I’ve got a definite — but I don’t,” he said, adding, “There will be somebody that emerges, and hopefully that one person we’re sitting here talking about next year as, ‘Oh, he had a breakout season.’”

Before training-camp practices begin, there seems to be three leading candidates: last season’s late breakout Steven Sims, newly signed veteran Dontrelle Inman and under-the-radar third-year pro Trey Quinn. Sims flashed during the last four games of last season — 20 catches, 230 yards, four touchdowns — and he created 3.2 yards of separation per target, which ranked among the league’s top quarter. That said, Hostler pointed out Sims and Quinn will probably remain slot receivers this season unless others develop, because “it’s going to take two guys in there the whole year.”

Of the other eight receivers Washington has in camp, two have two or fewer career receptions (Cam Sims, Darvin Kidsy) and six have never taken an NFL snap: Antonio Gibson (who will also play running back), Antonio Gandy-Golden, Isaiah Wright, Johnathon Johnson, Jester Weah and Jordan Veasy. This puts Hostler, the receivers coach, in a tough position because “there is not a lot of tape on some of these guys, and I don’t know them.”

In practice, Hostler added they’ll put young receivers in bigger situations to help determine who they can trust moving forward. He praised the early work of Gibson, who seems “comfortable,” and Gandy-Golden, this year’s fourth-round pick who Hostler said plays faster than his 40-yard dash time (4.6 seconds). This offense likes to throw the ball down the field, and bigger-body receivers, such as Gandy-Golden (6-foot-4, 223 pounds), have had success.

“They are all talented players,” Hostler said of the young group, listing off speed, length and scheme fit as strengths. “Hopefully, over the next couple weeks, we can narrow it down to how we are going to be doing this.”

For his part, Haskins could help the receivers by taking the next step in his own development. Every coach seems to understand this season on offense will include growing pains, but their focus remains on laying the groundwork for future success.

“The longer and farther we go down the road, the better off we will be,” Hostler said of his receivers. “It is going to be a little bit of a challenge early.”

Source:WP