There was a lot of talk about the Washington Commanders‘ wide receivers this summer. With Terry McLaurin holding out, then holding in, and Noah Brown dealing with an injury, the Commanders were hoping other receivers outside of Deebo Samuel would take advantage of the reps provided with the absence of McLaurin and Brown.
Rookie fourth-round pick Jaylin Lane answered the call. Lane had a terrific camp, both in practice and during the preseason games. Not only does Washington believe Lane will start at punt returner, but he will also find an immediate role on offense with his outstanding speed.
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Outside of Lane, though, there were so many unanswered questions. Washington wanted 2024 third-round pick Luke McCaffrey to assume a more significant role, but he’s had a mostly quiet summer.
Every preseason, we hear of receivers stepping up out of nowhere to claim a spot on the 53-man roster. The Commanders believed that it could happen in their three preseason games. It didn’t.
Why?
Outside of one series, Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson played every snap for Washington this preseason. They combined to turn the ball over seven times, including four times in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Ravens. It almost felt unfair to the receivers battling for a roster spot.
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Did head coach Dan Quinn think the spotty quarterback play impacted the evaluations of Washington’s receivers?
“You really have to look at, from the receiver spot, where the route was?” Quinn said Saturday.
“Like, for instance, there was a time last week that Luke absolutely got on top of somebody on a deep route. Now we didn’t throw it that way, and so maybe we didn’t take the attempt to him, but you felt the speed of him absolutely. Going forward, I would say it’s, are you in the right spot doing the right route? And if the ball doesn’t go your way, I think that’s more difficult than if you are getting covered. You got beat and the ball wasn’t able to go your way because of getting guarded in that way. So, it is a good question. I don’t think it hampers the receiver unless there was an errant throw or a decision not to go to the correct read. But, as far as the routes and the physicality and going to do things, there’s always good things to hit on that way.”
That’s a great answer from Quinn. He went into detail about how the lack of receiver production is not always on the quarterback.
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How many receivers will Washington keep on its 53? The deadline is Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders’ Dan Quinn explains how QB play impacts WR evaluations