The Washington Redskins' offense underwent a remix this offseason, but one expectation remains the same: Josh Doctson must step up.
The former No. 22 overall pick saw his rookie season all but washed away due to injury. Last season, Doctson showed brief flashes of uber potential but mostly was a frustrating amalgam of inconsistency.
Healthy for a full offseason, Doctson believes he's finally settling in to be the player the Redskins used a first-round pick to snag.
"The biggest thing is confidence level," Doctson said this week, via NBC Washington. "It's kind of surreal when you first get here, then last year was my first year playing. [Last year] kind of calmed it down and now I'm just back like I was at TCU."
Doctson earned just 35 receptions for 502 yards in 16 games in his second NFL season but displayed the tantalizing ability to high-point the ball and make contested catches over defenders. His six TDs also suggest the potential to be a beastly red-zone target.
Coach Jay Gruden said he can see the difference in a fully healthy Doctson.
"Oh, yeah," Gruden said, via the team's official website. "You know, the more experience you get... The first year was a wash for him. Last year was really his first year here. And then this year is just a matter of reps and getting to know Alex [Smith] and just being precise in what he does and without hesitation. You can see that confidence in the routes that he's running. And every day we're going to get different looks. We're going to get cloud tech, we're going to get bump-and-run, we're going to get outside leverage, inside leverage, boxes and all that good stuff. But for him to just continue to see different coverages, different looks, different techniques with the routes that we have called, he'll be a much better player."
With the Redskins importing Smith under center, it will be interesting to see how the passing offense grows around Doctson, Jamison Crowder and newly signed Paul Richardson. Each receiver complements the other well, in theory -- Crowder as the shifty slot, Richardson the field stretcher, and Doctson the go-get-it big body. If Doctson can become a go-to target, Washington's offense has the potential to hum along in 2018. Right now, that's an amorphous if.
