Day 2 WR options for Washington
Taking a closer look at some potential WR options for the Commanders on the second day of the draft
The Washington Commanders have been heavily linked with a number of wide receivers in this draft. Head Coach Ron Rivera has made it clear that the priority this offseason after trading for Carson Wentz was surrounding him with as much talent as possible to help him succeed. We’ve seen them linked with a number of receivers at the 11th overall pick, but if a talent like safety Kyle Hamilton falls, then perhaps the Commanders would prefer to take the best talent and circle back for a receiver in the second round. In that scenario, who are some of the options that could be available for Washington in the second round? Here’s a quick look at a couple of them.
George Pickens
Georgia receiver George Pickens is a favorite of draft twitter. Many draft analysts go as far as to call him the best receiver in the class, mainly because of his potential to become a true number one receiver that can play the X. He offers good size at 6-foot-3 and likely runs faster than his combine 40-yard dash time of 4.47 (not that 4.47 is slow) after rushing back from a torn ACL in spring 2021 to try and play in Georgia’s playoff run at the end of the season. His speed at his size helps him attack the deep areas of the field.
This play came in the National Championship game against Alabama. Pickens didn’t play too many snaps in the game because of his rush to return from his ACL, but he did still manage to have an impact here. He’s isolated to the left of the formation and runs a deep post. He takes an inside release off the snap but then widens back out to the bottom of the numbers just to widen the corner and create extra space as he cuts back inside towards the post. Alabama has a coverage bust with no safety help in the middle, meaning Pickens only has to beat his corner, which he does. The throw from the quarterback is just a little out in front and had Pickens been 100% healthy he probably would have run under that nicely. However, because he couldn’t quite reach his normal full speed, he had to dive to reach the ball, but still managed to pull in a nice catch for a 50-yard gain.
Pickens’ hands are one of his better traits. His size allows him to offer a big catch radius, but his hands and ability to control his body to adjust to different throws is very good.
This play goes back to 2019 with Pickens working against LSU corner Derek Stingley Jr. Pickens runs a simple fade route and Stingley bails out of his press look at the snap to stay on top of it. Stingley has good position and takes away the deep threat, but the quarterback trusts Pickens’ hands and works to his back-shoulder with the throw. Pickens shows incredible body control, turning his body back against the momentum of the route and extending his arms out to reach the ball while keeping both feet in bounds. He pulls in the catch and secures it before falling out of bounds.
As an X receiver, Pickens also needs the ability to win quickly underneath and make tough contested catches in critical short yardage situations. Against Michigan this year, he showed he could do that.
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