Doctson has Big Shoes to Fill in Washington

By Mark Solway | July 18th, 2017

Last season, the Washington Redskins used the 22nd pick in the draft to select Josh Doctson. At the time, the Redskins envisioned Doctson as a player that could become their best receiver in the future, after a successful collegiate career in which he had 25 touchdowns in two seasons with the TCU Horned Frogs. If you want to bet on the Redskins, check out the football odds for this season.

By selecting him with the 22nd pick, the Redskins were clearly impressed by what they saw from Doctson, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and ran a 4.5 40 during pre-draft workouts. With Pierre Garcon and Desean Jackson in the final year of their contracts, the Redskins were hoping Doctson would learn from the veterans and establish himself as a legitimate deep threat.

The Redskins weren’t able to see Doctson in action as much as they would have liked because he dealt with an Achilles injury that ended his season in October after being put on Injured Reserve. In the two games he played, Doctson had 22 catches for 66 yards.

When asked about his Achillies after practice in June, Doctson said it felt good because he was able to rest and get healthy in the offseason. He added that he has moved on from 2016 and looks forward to contributing to the team’s success this season.

With Garcon and Jackson departing in free agency, Doctson has an opportunity to show the Redskins what he is capable of because he will get a lot of playing time this year. The Redskins also added Terrell Pryor during the offseason to play opposite Doctson.

Despite being guaranteed a starting spot, the Redskins have been working with Doctson to help him learn how to play the Z receiver position, which he is expected to play primarily this season. Pryor, who had 1,000-yard season with Cleveland last year, is expected to play the X receiver position.

According to Redskins coach Jay Gruden, Doctson can play both the Z and Y receiver roles, but the team feels he is better suited for the Z role.

Despite the team’s high hopes for him, there isn’t a lot of pressure on Doctson as the team isn’t expecting him to be the savior.

If Doctson has a 1,000 yard season, his coaches and teammates will be happy, but they aren’t utting any pressure on him to top the 1,000 yard receiving mark.

With the loss of Jackson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Redskins are hoping Doctson will be their deep threat. The second year receiver is faster than Pryor, but not as fast as Jackson, who is one of the fastest players in the NFL.

In the two games he played, Doctson showed he was capable of being a deep threat when he hauled in a catch and ran it for 57 yards, making it the longest reception by a rookie in Redskins history.

Washington is also hoping Doctson can be their go-to guy in the redzone, which the team struggled with last year. Despite having the third best offense in the NFL, the Redskins only converted on 45 percent of their chances, which was 26th in the league last season.

For now, the Redskins just want Doctson to become comfortable in the offense.