Josh Doctson has been biggest disappointment of the first month of Redskins season
Doctson doesn’t have confidence in himself or from others
The final piece to the puzzle for Doctson is that he doesn’t have any confidence at the moment. It’s obvious that he has yet to figure out how to play at the NFL level. The adjustment has not gone well for him, and his lack of confidence has rubbed off on others.
Most notably, Jay Gruden has not expressed any willingness to put Doctson on the field. Through the first three games, Gruden has only put Doctson on the field for 42 percent of the team’s snaps. That is a reasonable number for a backup receiver, but Doctson was supposed to be the No. 2 receiver on this squad. Gruden’s refusal to use Doctson is concerning, and it doesn’t appear to be trending in a positive direction.
Against the Chiefs, Doctson played in just 17 total snaps, his lowest of the season. Though he saw a season high in targets (3) and catches (2), he just didn’t see the field. Gruden opted to use Jamison Crowder and Pryor in most two receiver sets, and that just didn’t allow Doctson many snaps. The concerning thing is that Ryan Grant was used ahead of Doctson despite the fact that Grant has almost no upside at this point in his career.
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While Gruden has lacked confidence in Doctson, there was always a chance that Cousins would develop chemistry with him. In fact, it looked like the two were on the same page for most of the game against the Chiefs. However, that one drop could discourage Cousins from throwing Doctson’s way again. Cousins likely won’t take kindly to the dropped touchdown, and he may try to target any of his other more reliable receivers.
That is definitely going to hurt Doctson moving forward. If his coach and quarterback don’t have faith in him, it will be difficult for him to have confidence in himself. That could be another major thing that stunts his growth.
Next: Redskins Breakdown for Week 4 vs. Chiefs
Doctson has an uphill climb to make. He is a player who has the potential to become a No. 1 receiver in the NFL. But right now, he just has to get onto the field and start performing well. If he doesn’t, he’ll never live up to his enormous potential.