Commanders WR Depth 'Comfortable' for Ron Rivera, Sam Howell
What's a quarterback without weapons to throw to?
Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell earned the starting spot for their Week 1 opener against the Arizona Cardinals Sept. 10 — a defense that allowed 3,915 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks last season. Howell will need reliable options to throw to, and head coach Ron Rivera likes the weapons the Commanders have, especially the depth at wide receiver.
“It's led by Terry (McLaurin)," Rivera said. "He's a solid veteran guy who's been an All-Pro player for us and we just feel good that he's got a good group of guys behind him with Jahan (Dotson), Curtis (Samuel), Dyami (Brown) coming along and (Byron) Pringle really stepping in for us and helping us out. We have the pieces that we're looking for. We just feel comfortable.”
McLaurin, Dotson and Samuel were staples of consistency for whoever was throwing them the ball last season, as former quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke started in seven and nine games, respectively.
Now with an entire offseason with the same quarterback throwing them the ball, Howell and the pass-catchers were able to develop a rapport which is vital to success in the passing game.
Quarterbacks and receivers aren't able to just step onto a field and run timing routes to the sideline without persistent repetitions together. The quarterback needs to know how much time he has until the receiver gets into his break, whereas the receiver needs to know how long after his head turns around that the ball will be on him and at what velocity.
In addition to repetitions, having good hands always helps a quarterback's development and trust. In 115, 87 and 56 targets, respectively, McLaurin, Samuel and Dotson each dropped only three passes.
McLaurin led the way with 77 receptions, 1,191 yards — his third-consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season — and five touchdowns. Samuel had 64 catches, 656 yards and four scores, while Dotson found the end zone seven times with 523 yards on 37 receptions.
In limited opportunities in year 2, Brown flashed that continued deep-threat ability, catching passes of five, 15, 17, 30 and 75 yards — the latter two both going for touchdowns.
With Pringle, he's shown he is a reliable No. 4 or 5 receiver. Other than Pringle's anomaly final year in Kansas City where he hauled in 42 passes for 568 yards and five touchdowns, he's averaged approximately 12 receptions, 155 yards and one score.
The Commanders have the receiving pieces in place. If they can get on the same page in Howell's first year as a starter, expect a step up from Washington's No. 21 passing offense from 2022.
