Washington Football Team: An early look at the 2021 wide receivers

Here’s a trivia question for you. A few seasons back, in 2018, 44 players took the field in at least half the games played by the Washington Football Team. How many of those 44 remain under contract to Washington as of today?

The answer is 13.

That is by no means a mind-boggling statistic. Many bad-to-mediocre teams turn over much of their roster over a several-year period. Back in 2018, the Washington Football Team was the picture of mediocrity. A 7-9 season. A coach in Jay Gruden rapidly approaching lame-duck status. A few seeds of quality youth along the offensive and defensive fronts, but little else to bank on.

The roster turnover does become a little more mind-boggling when you begin to break it down.  Of the 13 players that remain, seven of them are linemen. Three are defensive backs (all of whom are primarily special teamers). Two are the specialists themselves. And one is a linebacker who opted out of the 2020 season.

That means there is not a single offensive specialist from 2018 still with the team. No one who threw a pass, or caught a pass, or ran with ball. No one who gained a yard from scrimmage. They are all gone.

In hindsight, it was inevitable. The Washington Football Team’s offense has been bad for a while now. Bad and fairly old. They began to reverse this in 2019 with the arrival of Terry McLaurin and continued it last year when Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic and Logan Thomas arrived.

In 2021, we should see the biggest transformation in recent memory. Today, I want to take a look at the position that should show the most progress. Wide receiver.