Analyzing the polarizing opposites of Commanders UDFA and established WRs

Commanders new WRs follow the Eric Bieniemy blueprint

Does this tell us anything about what Eric Bieniemy hopes to do with the Washington Commanders' offense? Maybe not. But it does hint that they would like to have a little more diversity in its receiving corps.

It seems likely that Marcus Kemp, at 6-foot-4, will naturally fill Cam Sims’ shoes in 2022. He had limited offensive impact but was a stalwart on special teams. Kemp fits that profile.

It also seems likely that the one smaller UDFA signed by the Commanders this off-season – Kazmeir Allen – will challenge Milne and perhaps McGowan to become the team’s primary kick returner.

Those things are certainly not etched in stone, but let’s assume that Kemp has a spot and that one of the kick returners takes another place. That leaves one position almost certainly open, with a second also a possibility.

We would guess at this point that Brown, who has twice as many receiving yards in his career as all the non-starters combined, would have a position fairly well locked up. But this is where I become intrigued with how Andy Reid and Bieniemy rebuilt the Chiefs receiving corps on their way to a Super Bowl win last season.

From 2019, when the Chiefs won their first championship under Reid, to 2021, their receivers looked a lot like the Commanders' current group. They had one stud in Tyreek Hill. They had a consistent group of talented support players in Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, Demarcus Robinson, and Sammy Watkins. They were all pretty much built the same, and that was similar to Washington's players.

Around six feet tall and weighing 200 pounds.

Watkins left prior to 2021, but the other four remained. Then last year, when financial considerations forced the trade of Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs did a complete makeover.

Hardman was the only receiver who stayed, and he really didn’t figure into a lot of the offense. His value was as a return specialist. Replacing Hill, Pringle, Robinson, and Watkins were Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Juju Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson, and Skyy Moore. With the exception of Moore, all the new players were noticeably bigger than those who departed.

The Chiefs hoisted the Lombardi Trophy nonetheless.

I know they have Patrick Mahomes. I know there is some truth to the notion that he could win games throwing to your uncles, who last set foot on the gridiron back in 1974. But still, I wonder if Bieniemy enjoyed the option of occasionally targeting a bigger receiver.

Perhaps Kemp can step into such a role. But the fact that he didn’t last season has me thinking he is still viewed primarily as a special teamer. So who are these new, bigger UDFAs, and do any of them have a legitimate chance of cracking the roster?

Zion Bowens, from Hawaii, is much closer in size to the current receivers. In fact, if you believe multiple scouting services instead of the Commanders, he is virtually identical.

The Commanders currently list him at 6-foot-1, but every service I have seen has him at 5-foot-11. The same discrepancy applies to his straight-line speed. He tested at a rather mundane 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash, but I have seen other reports that he has been timed under 4.4.

Regardless of what you believe, when you see him play, he looks fast. Bowens never put up huge numbers in college, but he made a lot of big plays – to the tune of a career yards-per-catch of 17.2. In the tape I’ve seen of him, I have yet to see someone catch him from behind.