Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins flashes again, but big fixes are needed

Positives

We’ll touch on Haskins’ inaccuracy later, which was undoubtedly the most obvious takeaway from his game in Week 12. But while Haskins was scatter shot as a passer, he did a better job going through his reads in this game, and he also displayed poise and pocket mobility uncharacteristic of his collegiate tape.

Haskins can still work on avoiding selecting his targets before the snap, but on Sunday, he did a better job working through his progressions in the pocket and finding open receivers. Many of his misses were to receivers who were open, so Haskins was mentally picking out those targets, seeing the field better than he had in games past. He also showed anticipation in an NFL setting, which was a promising mental development, as analyst Mark Bullock noted:

At the end of the day, Haskins’ reads don’t matter if he can’t get the ball to his receivers with precision. But it’s at least a promising sign that Haskins is progressing mentally, and the game is continuing to slow down for him. He has yet to put the pieces together, but he has what he needs in his tool box to be a complete quarterback before the end of the year.

Haskins mobility was perhaps the best thing about this game. Haskins can still improve his pressure sensitivity, but when faced with pressure, he did a good job of manipulating the pocket to make defenders miss, and on several occasions, he took off and ran when he needed to, picking up additional yards. On the last drive, he earned a key first down by navigating the pocket and running up the middle of the field, showing good awareness as he charged past the marker.