RADIO
Steve Rebeiro profiles Washington Redskins wide receiver (WR) Josh Doctson as a sleeper for the 2017 fantasy football season according to current ADP.
The Washington Redskins selected TCU wide receiver Josh Doctson with the 22nd pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Washington had good reason to take him that high; he has solid size, is a great route runner, and has tremendous red zone target potential.
Unfortunately for Doctson, his rookie season went wrong in every way imaginable. He missed the preseason due to injury. When he came back, he was buried in the depth chart behind a lot of talented receivers. He recorded two catches in his first two games before suffering another injury that ended his season.
Coming into the 2017 season, Doctson is flying under the radar. RotoBaller has him ranked as the 57th wide receiver and the 125th overall player. Doctson has a ton of potential and may be able to find success in the 2017 season for a number of reasons.
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Reasons to Own Doctson in 2017
Opportunity
Washington ran a pass-heavy offense that allowed both Pierre Garçon and DeSean Jackson to cross 1,000 receiving yards on the season. Both Garçon and Jackson moved on from the team this offseason, leaving both spots on the outside open.
New addition Terrelle Pryor is expected to take over one of those spots, with Doctson the favorite to take the other one. Jamison Crowder is the teams leading returning receiver, but it's unlikely Washington moves him out of his slot position.
A healthy Jordan Reed will likely be the team's leading receiver in 2017, but Kirk Cousins loves to spread the ball around. Washington had five different receivers cross the 500-yard mark in 2016 and four the previous year. This is a team that still has questions in the running game and will likely revolve the offense around Cousins and the passing attack. All four of their big targets will have plenty of opportunity to shine this season.
NFL Ready
Doctson was a bully on the field at TCU. If you look at any of his tape, he really just makes the game look easy, dominating defensive backs in the open field and on the jump ball. There's a reason Doctson was a consensus All-American in 2015 and set school records for receptions and touchdowns.
Doctson already is at an NFL level in terms of route running and on field awareness. If he can put on some mass and build his strength up, he'll have the size to immediately out muscle NFL level defensive backs. Even if he stays at the same size he'll have the tools to make an impact right away. After all, this is a guy who's currently averaging 33 yards per catch in his NFL career.
Breakout Potential
As mentioned earlier, the Washington offense is loaded with weapons that defenses will have to pay attention to. Jordan Reed and Terrelle Pryor are two of the most gifted athletes in the NFL. Both converted quarterbacks, Reed is arguably the second best tight end in the league when healthy and Pryor broke out as a major threat as a receiver last season with Cleveland.
Defenses will pay most of their attention to Reed and Pryor. Jamison Crowder, another breakout star of 2016, will command a bit of attention playing out of the slot. He emerged as one of Kirk Cousins' favorite targets last season and defenses will have to respect him.
That leaves Doctson, a talented young mystery. Defenses will not be keying in on Doctson early in the season, which will give him plenty of space to work and will likely find himself in single coverage almost always. He'll have a chance to capitalize on other players double teams or schemes made to shut down Reed or Pryor.
On his lone moment in the 2016 season, Doctson capitalized on the defense focusing in on DeSean Jackson, finding himself wide open down the field and nabbing a 61 yard gain. Doctson should find plenty of opportunities like this early on in the 2017 season. If he plays like he did at TCU, he's going to break out in a big way.
Summary
Josh Doctson has all of the rookie potential without all of the rookie hype. While young potential prospects like John Ross and Corey Davis will be over drafted in most leagues, Doctson will likely slip due to being a "bust" in 2016. Owners who know the truth about why Doctson didn't perform last year won't bat an eye at him. He's a better fantasy prospect this year than he was last year and warrants consideration as a later round backup receiver.
