Dwayne Haskins backs up impressive offseason by winning captainship

In what might be his most important offseason ever, Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins answered the call and has done no wrong.

We have yet to see exactly what the 2020 version of Dwayne Haskins will look like, but you can bet he’s leaving his rookie campaign in the rearview mirror.

Entering his second NFL season with the Washington Football Team, former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins had a lot on his plate. Between an up-and-down rookie campaign, an entire new coaching staff being brought in around him, and his team in prime position to take a QB high in the draft, Haskins didn’t flinch.

The first of his many feats was dealing with the hiring of former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who did everything but make it clear this was Haskins’ team. In fact, he went to great lengths to make sure Dwayne earned every snap.

During his introductory press conference, Rivera ducked any question regarding Dwayne Haskins and the starting QB job, often referencing how exciting Haskins was as a prospect and implying it was anyone’s gig at that point.

Even up until late, Rivera hasn’t shied away from making sure Haskins doesn’t get complacent. The terms “open competition” and “anyone’s job” were floated around a lot. Things got even more suspect when the team traded for former Panthers QB Kyle Allen, who started 12 games for Carolina in 2019.

While Allen was never a real threat to Haskins, it can’t be easy seeing one of your coach’s former players brought in for competition, especially when you’re coming in off a rocky first year.

Since then, however, Rivera has grown increasingly supportive of Haskins, ultimately naming him the team’s starting QB for Week 1 against Philadelphia. His admiration and decision to make Haskins the opening day starter doesn’t go unwarranted. Haskins surprised many in his offseason progression.

Haskins’ first noticeable change this offseason was his weight. Down about 17 pounds from his arrival in Washington, the former Buckeye is slimmer and, in his words, is going to be a “more dynamic player” at his new weight.

This is exciting to hear, seeing as even at his heaviest last season, Haskins flashed both the arm talent he’s known for, but also some sneaky mobility that allowed him to become more multidimensional in his play. Being lighter on his feet can only stand to help him has he enters a huge year, progression-wise.

In addition to bettering himself physically, Haskins took to his new offense by holding workouts with wide receivers and running backs prior to training camp. This is a pretty typical practice for NFL quarterbacks during the offseason, but Haskins did it a little differently. Usually, you see reports of QBs holding their own “passing camps” with invited wideouts at a set location; for Haskins, these workouts had to be a little more local and spur-of-the-moment.

Often times, these camps are a plane ride away to some beach. However, due to COVID-19 and restricted travel, the Washington Football Team players couldn’t just fly off to California for a few days and return home. Haskins took initiative and held multiple workouts with his wideouts, and others such as Stefon Diggs and Antonio Brown, without having to travel very much.

Washington’s starting QB chronicled his workout sessions via social media and posted photos and video from multiple locations around the Northern Virginia area. These locations ranged from local middle schools to fields for youth leagues. Haskins was getting the reps in wherever he could.

Fast forward to late July when players report to training camp to prepare for the NFL season. With no preseason games, Haskins and company had more practice time, which when learning a new playbook can be helpful. But they lost the in-game action that helps with rhythm and timing, which could result in somewhat of a slow start in the early weeks of the NFL season.

Coming off a strong camp practicing with mainly the starters, Haskins impressed many and had his teammates fired up leading to the mid-September opener at FedEx Field — so much so that the QB was awarded his first captain’s patch with Washington, which comes as a massive tip of the cap from Haskins’ teammates.

Haskins has earned the respect of many in the locker room and is primed for a breakout year. If all goes according to plan, Haskins might just cement himself as the franchise piece in the nation’s capital, and could finally put a stop to the ever-turning Washington quarterback carousel. While this year might not be a glamorous, double-digit win year for Washington, one thing is for sure: This is Dwayne Haskins’ team, and he is ready.