Prepare for a way different passing attack in Washington originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Dyami Brown, who was just added to Washington's receiving corps in the third round of the NFL Draft, owns a 4.44 40-yard dash time. Pretty blazing, right?
Well, yes, it is — except with the Washington Football Team, it barely gets him on the podium when it comes to ranking the position group's speedsters. Terry McLaurin can run the 40 in 4.37 seconds, while Curtis Samuel can do so in an absurd 4.31.
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Those two paragraphs are just one reason why Ron Rivera and Scott Turner's offense should look completely different this year compared to what it was last season.
In 2020, McLaurin was the only legit vertical threat — and really the only legit threat on the outside, period — which really hampered the unit's ability to create chunk plays. Aside from the occasional long grab by Cam Sims, McLaurin was the one generating game-changing catches or no one was.
Fortunately for McLaurin and the group overall, his supporting cast is much deeper and also much more dangerous.
In Samuel, based on his numbers last year, Washington employs the sport's most effective deep-ball receiver, a guy who caught more than three-quarters of his targets down the field. Then there's Brown, an easy-strider who hit home run after home run during his days at North Carolina; he averaged 20 yards-per-reception in both his sophomore and junior campaign there.
These new threats, however, wouldn't be as threatening with Alex Smith still under center; pairing them with him would be like handing a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Porsche to a guy who prefers to meander around in his trusty sedan.
Yet Smith, of course, is retired — and his replacement isn't into that sedan life.
With Ryan Fitzpatrick likely stepping into the starting job along with these athletic additions, Turner can feel confident in dialing up more aggressive shots, because he's got a quarterback who's definitely not afraid of letting it rip.
"We made an emphasis about, we gotta make plays down the field in this offense to really open up everything else," the offensive coordinator told the Washington Football Talk podcast in an interview that'll air soon. "To try and take that next step we gotta get some plays down the field. And that’s been an emphasis. Fitzpatrick’s done it, obviously, his whole career."
This won't just be a chuck-it-and-pray scheme, though. There should be much more success in throwing over the top of opposing secondaries because of all the depth chart changes, but there are other skill players who'll help underneath, too.
New slot man Adam Humphries is a favorite of Fitzpatrick's. John Bates and Sammis Reyes are two intriguing options at tight end that weren't around in 2020. And the likes of Antonio Gibson, JD McKissic and Logan Thomas — all of whom thrived in their first go-round with Turner — can't be forgotten as they further grow in the system.
Fitzpatrick still has to, you know, play well, or else all this optimism will disappear rather quickly. But the fact that there's optimism at all is a stark difference from the past few seasons for Washington supporters.
The groundwork of a scary offense is in place, at last.
