While Washington signed both Curtis Samuel and Adam Humphries in free agency, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is out of the wide receiver market. Humphries is considered a pure slot receiver while Samuel works best inside too, though he can and will play outside at times as well. If the right guy falls to them at the right pick, adding an outside receiver could make plenty of sense for Washington.
One receiver that has been linked to Washington is Rashod Bateman. The 6-foot-1, 190 pound receiver out of Minnesota is an intriguing prospect. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get hold of any of his 2020 film, but I was able to watch some of his 2019 games. His best trait isn’t his size or his speed, but his route running and technical proficiency as a receiver. That means he hasn’t relied on beating defenders purely with his speed or size, but with technique. He’s a sharp route runner with good quickness in his feet. This allows him to work various releases off the line of scrimmage and cut off breaks sharply to maximise separation.
This play is a nice example of Bateman’s route running ability. Working against an off-corner playing with inside leverage, Bateman runs a route similar to what some call a blaze out. He initially sells a fake to the post, breaking inside towards the middle of the field and turning his head back to the quarterback to pretend to look for the ball. He corner plays with heavy inside leverage and once he spots Bateman breaking inside, he drives on the route. With the corner committed inside, Bateman then sharply cuts back outside towards the sideline. He’s wide open and makes a strong catch with his hands away from his body while managing to stop both his feet to keep them in bounds.
The sharpness in and out of breaks along with the small details like head fakes make Bateman a strong route runner that can consistently separate from defenders on that basis alone. That translates to the NFL more so than size and speed, unless a receiver is elite in either of those two categories. However, the difficulty pure route running receivers have in the NFL is getting off the line of scrimmage. The quality of press coverage is much higher in the league and some receivers struggle to release off the line and get into their route. While it obviously remains to be seen how Bateman does against consistently good press coverage in the NFL, he’s shown some nice releases in college.
On this play Bateman is tasked with running a slant against a press corner playing with heavy inside leverage. The corner’s position is clearly stating he doesn’t want to let Bateman inside. At the snap, Bateman takes a couple of stutter steps while stepping on the toes of the defender. He then takes a big jab step outside to sell an outside release. This forces the corner to open his hips to the sideline and give Bateman a path to release inside. Bateman takes that path and goes underneath the corner to get inside into his slant route, where he catches the pass in stride and picks up an additional 10 yards after the catch.
A trap that a lot of these types of receivers, with good quickness and route running ability, can fall into is trying too many moves in one rep. It can look great in one-on-one practice drills or even in college, but in the NFL, the quarterback won’t have time to wait for the receiver to use three different stutter moves and fakes to get open. Bateman didn't fall into this trap a lot, but I did see it happen on occasion.
Here, Bateman is aligned on the backside of a three by one formation, isolated to the right and tasked with running a quick hitch. However, off the snap he tries two separate stutter moves and the corner just remains patient. He doesn’t bite on either move, leaving Bateman late to get to his spot. Bateman then only has a few steps before he’s meant to break back to the ball, leaving the corner in perfect position to break on any throw. The quarterback scrambles and looks to Bateman, but he’s covered, resulting in a sack.
Sometimes receivers like Bateman try to do too many things on each snap. Had Bateman just worked vertically and used his skills to snap off his route at the hitch point, he probably would have had a much better chance of creating separation than trying two stutter moves at the line of scrimmage against a patient corner.
But Bateman is a savvy receiver in general. He understands how to attack the leverage of defenders and set up his routes. He also understands how to use subtle moves that are typically used by longtime NFL veterans rather than young players. Things like small push offs and using his body to shield the ball from the defender are things I saw Bateman do well.
Down in the red zone, Bateman has solid size to make him a threat on things like fade routes. But what helps him more than his size is his savvy. On this fade route, Bateman tries to sell an in-breaking route against the corner playing with inside leverage, but the corner knows the fade is coming. So instead, Bateman engages with hand fighting with the corner, showing officials both him and the corner are using their hands as the ball is in the air. That allows Bateman to get away with a shove on the defender just before the ball arrives. That push off allows him to separate and secure the catch for the touchdown before the defender can recover.
Some might argue it was a push off, which is technically illegal. It was, but the way in which he went about it allowed him to get away with it, to the point that the defender didn’t even look to the official for a flag.
Overall, Bateman is a technically proficient receiver that has the ability to separate from defenders with route running rather than relying on size and speed. That’s not to say he doesn’t have size or speed. He’s strong after the catch and has enough speed to threaten down the field once he gets in stride. But primarily he wins with technique, which should make him a reliable target at the next level. He’ll need to ensure his releases are polished to handle more physical press coverage at the line of scrimmage in the NFL. Bateman will also need to avoid the trap of trying too many moves in one route and not getting open in time. If he can do those things, then he should turn out to be a strong receiver in the NFL.