Breaking down the Redskins’ wide Receivers and tight ends for 2020
By Jonathan Eig
Wide Receivers
On Roster: Antonio Golden-Gandy, Emanuel Hall, Kelvin Harmon, Johnathan Johnson, Darvin Kidsy, Cody Latimer, Terry McLaurin, Trey Quinn, Cam Sims, Steven Sims Jr., Jordan Veasy, Jester Weah, Isaiah Wright
Projected Starters: McLaurin, Sims Jr., Latimer
Only two of the 13 players have roster spots locked up. McLaurin is the top receiver, who should usually play the Z spot (though he is fully capable of lining up at X), and Steven Sims Jr. is the top option in the slot. Both should build on their strong rookie seasons. Sims’ body frame will always be a concern, much as it was for Gary Clark. But based on an admittedly small sample size, Sims appears to have a similar type of toughness that will keep him on the field. He even has a little more speed than Clark, though no one has that Clark spin move. As for McLaurin, he is about as sure a thing as there is on the Redskins offense moving into 2020.
The other eleven receivers can roughly be broken down based on size. The bigger receivers – Gandy-Golden, Hall, Harmon, Latimer, Cam Sims, Veasy, Weah and Wright, are likely competing for 3-4 slots as an X or Z. I project Latimer to be the frontrunner for the X position, though like McLaurin, he may be more suited to play the Z.
With changes to camp and preseason expected, a veteran like Latimer should have a leg up, and though he has not been in the Redskins system before, with a new coaching staff in place, that may not matter. Even if it were a normal training camp, I would still favor Latimer. He is a talented receiver. He may never live up to his second-round draft status (2014), but he has shown flashes in recent years that give me cause to hope he can be a productive – if not brilliant – complimentary receiver.
The other primary contenders for the X spot are 2020 draftee Gandy-Golden, 2019 starter Harmon, and Sims. These are all classic X receivers – big and strong, able to take on press coverage, but unfortunately lacking the speed and quickness to run many complex routes. It looks like this will come down to a battle between Gandy-Golden and Harmon, and my hunch is the coaches want Gandy-Golden to emerge. He has great hands and an extraordinary catch radius.
Harmon showed promise last year and should stick around as a backup. Sims seems like more of a long shot to me. He was unable to beat out Harmon last year, and there’s little to suggest he can rise above the others this year. Best-case scenario, Gandy-Golden emerges as a legitimate X, allowing Latimer to backup McLaurin and play more in four-wide sets. Worst-case, none of these players emerge and opposing defenses are able to shift coverage to shut down McLaurin.
In the slot, Quinn and UDFA Johnson would seem to be in line to back up Sims Jr. Johnson is very difficult to evaluate at this point. He appears to have great speed – in the range of Sims Jr., but he does not have a long history of high production. Quinn has limited speed but has the quickness to be a serviceable slot backup and special teamer. He is not nearly as exciting a prospect as Johnson, but he is more of a known entity.
After that, there are five players who will need to make the team through their versatility and special teams play. Veasy and Weah have some experience in Redskins camp, and both have decent size. Weah is the more gifted athlete, though both need truly eye-opening camps to stick around. Kidsy can play inside or out, and showed a little bit of promise in 2019’s preseason. But he also appears to be fighting a big uphill battle.
2020 UDFA Wright and 2019 UDFA Hall are the most intriguing of this second tier. Wright has great size and showed excellent straight-line speed in college. He could stick around as a kick returner. Hall is an extremely gifted athlete with great speed, very good size, and real explosion (he was a quality high jumper in high school and his measurables are through the roof). Hall, more than anyone, needs some time and some strong coaching to emerge as a real threat.
Right now, I see McLaurin, Sims Jr., Latimer, Gandy-Golden, Harmon, and Quinn making the final 53, though Quinn’s spot is there for the taking, should Johnson, Wright, or Hall emerge. Those three players would be candidates for a slightly expanded practice squad as well. I would expect the team to keep two WRs on the practice squad.
And the final complicating factor is uncertainty over 2020 draftee Antonio Gibson – listed as a running back but with the potential to line up outside. That is actually true of the other pass catching backs as well. Bryce Love and J.D. McKissic can also split out wide, which could result in one fewer wide receiver making the final roster.