Jamison Crowder, the Redskins 5-foot-9 wide receiver, is not who many would have pegged to be leading the team in yards (498) and touchdowns (4) midway through the 2016 season.
But, according to Kirk Cousins, his size had a distinct advantage for a quarterback who started the season out rather erratically.
"I feel like sometimes he makes me a more accurate quarterback with the way that he chases down the football and brings it in," Cousins said of Crowder, via The Washington Post.
While that may be a complement to Crowder's speed and ball tracking ability, it's also a nod to Cousins' completion percentage, which seems to have risen alongside the number of targets for Crowder, a 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
Over Cousins' first three games, he completed 63.71 percent of his passes while targeting Crowder a total of 25 times (10 in one game against the Steelers back in Week 1). Since, he's completed nearly 70 percent of his passes, with 32 more targets for a receiver drawing Victor Cruz comparisons from scouts around the league.
In a matchup this weekend against the Vikings, it will be interesting to see if a speed threat with possession skills and short-yardage capabilities can break the Vikings defense wide open. Mike Zimmer's Minnesota (5-3) defense is not the indestructible force we thought it was four weeks ago, but can still dominate a team that doesn't have three or four solid options on offense.
Crowder was the scale-tipper many thought 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson would end up being in 2016. Should a healthy Doctson develop anywhere near the speed Crowder has, Cousins will have receivers making him more accurate for years to come.
