Redskins: Four position battles to watch in preseason opener vs. Browns

Wide Receiver

Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson and Trey Quinn seem to be the starters at receiver ahead of the season. But there will be nine other wide receivers competing for three or four roster spots.

Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon, Robert Davis, Cam Sims, Brian Quick, Jehu Chesson, Steven Sims Jr., Darvin Kidsy and T.J. Rahming will be competing not only just at wide receiver but also special teams as well to see who will make the final roster. Rookies McLaurin and Harmon seem to be almost locked to make the team unless they suddenly go off the rails, that seems to leave all but a max of two wide receiver spots open.

Davis and Cam Sims seem like the likely two guys and could end up competing against each other for the last receiver spot if the Redskins decide to keep only six receivers. If someone else is going to step up, it will likely be due to flash plays on special teams and maximizing the reps that they will have in games.

Remember Brandon Banks the return ace a few years ago? Well, Banks was an unknown undrafted rookie free agent receiver going into Redskins camp until he showed off his blazing speed and special teams return skills during the preseason. That secured him a roster spot because he gave the Redskins special team an explosive player that they didn’t previously have.

These positions battles won’t be won in the first preseason game. But whoever steps up will gain an advantage on the competition. And that could mean the difference between making the team and being out of a job.

The battles will bring the best out of everyone and only make the team better as things play out. They say the NFL preseason is too long, but it needs to be because building a complete roster takes time and finding the right pieces means getting guys reps that they otherwise wouldn’t get. It’s just the first preseason game so there are still a lot of things that need to play out.

But I’ll say this much. Man, am I glad football is back!