Breaking down the Washington Football Team’s position battles: Tight End

Top Challenger: Marcus Baugh

Nobody had Marcus Baugh as a potential contributor for Washington at any point in the offseason. But here we are just a few weeks ahead of the season and he’s looking like a top challenger for some playing time for the team.

At camp, Baugh has been working with the first-team offense quite a bit. Along with Thomas, no other tight end has seen more action with him on that unit. His chance to play up there isn’t due to injuries either. It looks like Ron Rivera legitimately believes he can play a role for the team.

Baugh figures to be a solid blocking tight end. At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Baugh has the frame needed to help open up running lanes and pass protect for Dwayne Haskins. The latter role will be especially important considering the completely unproven crop of players that Washington figures to start at left tackle this year.

In practice, Baugh has had some nice blocking reps. Zach Selby, a staff writer for the team’s website, noted that Baugh worked well with Geron Christian to slow down Montez Sweat on one play Sunday. That’s certainly no easy task, so it’s worth noting.

That said, Baugh also had a drop at practice that the coaching staff gave him grief for. So, he’s clearly more polished as a blocker than he is as a receiver, and for that reason, he’ll probably stick in a role as blocking tight end as opposed to a well-rounded starter.

Still, Baugh’s superior blocking could afford him the opportunity to see more snaps than Thomas at times depending on the game situation. And if he can improve as a receiver as the year goes along, perhaps his playing time will rise.

Baugh’s emergence has certainly been unexpected. He’s one of the biggest surprises of training camp at this time. Maybe he’ll regress a bit in this battle but for now, he seems like the No. 2 option and his history with Ron Rivera, who coached him with the Panthers, should give him a shot to make the roster at the very least.