Redskins: Five reasons to be optimistic about the Scott Turner hire
By Ian Cummings
No. 3 – Turner will have lots of talent to work with
Scott Turner doesn’t have Christian McCaffrey here in D.C., but he won’t be short-handed on talent by any means. The Redskins offense has a good foundation in that regard, and the team can add more weapons in a deep NFL Draft this spring.
Included in the Redskins’ offensive core is four 2019 rookies who find themselves returning in 2020. Dwayne Haskins will presumably be the quarterback, and while Rivera has made it clear that Haskins will have to “earn it”, Haskins made great strides in the latter part of 2019, both on and off the field, and Rivera stated that Haskins has “franchise-type” potential. Turner will get to work with that.
Outside of the quarterback position, there are plenty of budding weapons to make the offensive coordinator’s job a lot more fun. First on the board are Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims, two wide receivers with impressive speed, route running nuance, and dynamic ability. Sims, in particular, was used as a versatile offensive weapon by Kevin O’Connell, and Turner will likely try something similar, with his own added wrinkles.
Additionally, the Redskins have Derrius Guice in the backfield, an athletic, energetic runner who should be healthy after a full offseason of rehabilitation. Bryce Love might also enter the fold this year, and in the receiving core, Kelvin Harmon is another who garners excitement, as he caught 30 catches in 2019, entering the full-time starting lineup late in the year. There are also a few other players who can prove themselves to Turner in a full offseason.
The Redskins still have some building to do on the offensive side of the ball, but there’s already a solid foundation to add onto, and Turner has the pleasure of putting it all together.