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Redskins: How Josh Doctson can improve before the 2018 season

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 24: Wide receiver Josh Doctson #18 of the Washington Redskins scores a touchdown against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at FedExField on December 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 24: Wide receiver Josh Doctson #18 of the Washington Redskins scores a touchdown against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at FedExField on December 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 24: Wide receiver Josh Doctson #18 of the Washington Redskins makes a catch over cornerback David Amerson #29 of the Oakland Raiders and free safety Reggie Nelson #27 of the Oakland Raiders in the third quarter at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 24: Wide receiver Josh Doctson #18 of the Washington Redskins makes a catch over cornerback David Amerson #29 of the Oakland Raiders and free safety Reggie Nelson #27 of the Oakland Raiders in the third quarter at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Work on catching the ball

The biggest problem that Doctson had during the 2017 season was his inability to consistently catch the ball. At times this season, Doctson’s hands were like bricks and he had trouble bringing in key passes. Notably, he dropped some important touchdowns, but none were bigger than the one he almost got his hands on in Week 4.

Against the Chiefs on Monday Night Football, the Redskins were engaged in a tight battle, and the team had a chance to take a lead with a touchdown. On the play, Kirk Cousins threw a perfect pass into the end zone where Doctson would have a chance to make the catch. Doctson had a step on his defender, and Cousins put it in a spot where he could jump up and catch it. Doctson went up to grab the ball and got both hands on it, but he couldn’t reel it in as he went to the ground.

It wasn’t an easy catch. He hit the ground very hard while trying to reel it in. But it was one that in a key moment, and he had a chance to grab it. He needed to make to give his team a chance for another upset win. He didn’t, and that cost the team the game.

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Now, it would be easy to write this off as a rookie mistake (even though Doctson is technically in his second season, he barely played in the first). However, this continued to happen throughout the season, Doctson was guilty of dropping a lot of passes, and many were also touchdowns. One of his most egregious drops came against the Broncos, when he just flat out dropped a perfect pass into a tight window by Cousins. It was a play that an NFL receiver needed to make.

By the end of the season, Doctson had only caught 35 of his 78 targets. That was good for a catch percentage of 45, which is well below the league average. Yes, not all of his targets were on target throws, but he still got his hands on a lot of passes that he should have caught. This is really the area that Doctson needs to improve the most.

If Doctson can work on his catching ability and get softer hands, then it will allow him to convert on more receptions as in 2018. The good news is that he can definitely fix this problem with work. Now that he’s adjusted to the arm strength of NFL caliber quarterbacks, he might be able to see the game slow down and that will give him more of a chance to grab passes with confidence and better technique.

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