Are we sick and tired of hearing about the Brandon Aiyuk saga yet? I'd venture to guess most Washington Commanders fans are torn between being flat-out sick of it all and also pondering the potential of what a healthy Aiyuk could do for the offense.
For those who are sick and tired, though, let's start dreaming of a Luke McCaffrey breakout, shall we?
As the Commanders go into training camp here in a few weeks, the team might have set McCaffrey up for a Year 3 breakout without even trying. For a player who has been more of an afterthought in two seasons, a Year 3 breakout would certainly qualify as his biggest moment in Washington, to date.
The "without even trying" part could be taken as literal as you'd like it, too, after the Commanders didn't do a whole lot at the wide receiver position this offseason.
Luke McCaffrey could be in for the perfect opportunity at Commanders training camp
After hearing about Commanders wide receivers dropping passes left and right at minicamp, fans can't help but wonder just what the heck this team is going to do for depth behind Terry McLaurin. After all, McLaurin turns 31 years old right as the season begins and is getting to that age where he may not have it in him to be the true no. 1 guy in the near future.
What are the Commanders going to do?
And I swear to you, if you are thinking Aiyuk, you've got another thing coming.
At this point, maybe it's Antonio Williams who steps up and offers this offense another legitimate weapon even as a rookie.
Or maybe, it's McCaffrey.
He only caught 11 balls last season. As a second-year player, McCaffrey was still more of a special teams guy than an offensive stalwart.
However, there was one key difference between McCaffrey's rookie campaign and Year 2: as a sophomore, he scored three times on those 11 receptions.
McCaffrey didn't score once as a rookie.
In his final collegiate season at Rice, McCaffrey led his conference with 13 receiving touchdowns. He's no stranger to the end zone.
Let's also not shy away from the fact that his second season was cut short by injury in Week 9. In five of nine games, last year, McCaffrey was targeted multiple times and caught a total of 73 percent of his overall targets. That's got to count for something, as well.
This is all to say that, if McCaffrey comes out and has a great training camp, it wouldn't be surprising to see him earn the WR2 role. That might sound a little crazy right now, as Treylon Burks and Van Jefferson appear to have a leg up. You could argue that even the rookie, Williams, may be in that category.
But, McCaffrey certainly has the desired skills to become a real part of the offense. His route running has gotten even better dating all the way back to his final two years in college. It's become more polished.
Coming out of college, his hands were maybe his best attribute. And, if you can catch the football, you're going to regularly find yourself on your quarterback's radar. McCaffrey's hands and ability to catch the ball in traffic, or in difficult positions, are key in this discussion.
With drops being a recent gripe at practices, this is an area that could catapult McCaffrey in a hurry. Assuming he has a strong camp, don't be surprised if he winds up being on the field a whole lot more than some might be thinking right about now.
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