Rivera says skill position players have developed well this season

The Washington Football Team’s season has had many storylines, and before the start of the season, some of the most prominent question marks surrounding the team involved the offense. As we are almost near the finish line for 2021, many of the questions still exist. The offense ranks 20th in yards, 23rd in points, 21st in pass yards, 14th in rush yards, and has committed the 11th most turnovers in the league (21). One of the best things that Washington has going for them this season is their offensive line; however, the status of Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff’s future in Washington is up in the air, so that unit may face turnover in the off-season.

Even with a team with below-average offensive production in most categories, head coach Ron Rivera is impressed with the skill position players. “I think they’re developing well.” Rivera said in his Thursday’s press conference with the media. “The fortunate thing for us is we’ve got a couple of other guys that have stepped up and have been really solid. Terry’s [McLaurin] had a very good year. He’s a guy that you wanna get the ball to and get in his hands and probably we need to do that a little bit more.” 

Some of the “other guys” are receivers Adam Humphries and DeAndre Carter and tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, who has stepped up in a few spots throughout the season. Humphries is third on the team in targets, Seals-Jones is fourth, and Carter sixth in targets. “The other guys, you’ve seen DeAndre [Carter] come along, done a nice job. We’ve seen Hump [WR Adam Humphries], who’s really been just a solid, steady, good example for our young guys, especially guys like Dax [Milne].” 

Rivera is still very intrigued with rookie Dyami Brown’s potential and hopes that Brown, who has nine catches on 22 targets, can become the player Rivera had hoped he’d be for this offense:

“You’d like to see Dyami [Brown] make a few more plays, get a few more opportunities.” Rivera stated. “Coming off the injury, he’s really kind of worked himself slowly back in and we gotta try and get him out there a little bit more, really to just see him play because of that speed and that length he has. He’s a guy that we gotta take a little bit more advantage of.” 

This year and for the future, the key focus has been about McLaurin and how Rivera and Washington can build an offense that can take pressure off their best receiver:

“Well, I think the last few weeks, you see exactly what it means to not have a Logan [Thomas] around all the time and not to have a Ricky Seals-Jones in terms of the vertical tight end threat. You kind of see what it means when you don’t have that scat-back type guy, that change of pace guy in J.D. [McKissic]. The value of those positions are important because it really does help a guy like Terry out a little bit more.” 

It is Interesting to see that, of all of the players he named (some of which have had little to no production), Cam Sims goes unmentioned. The omission of Sims, who is on a one-year deal, may be an indicator of his future in Washington. 

If you asked Curtis Samuel, the prized free agent on the offensive side of the football, he would probably tell you that he has had an extremely frustrating year. Samuel has played in just five games this year and is currently battling another lower-body injury that hinders him from producing on the field. Rivera is holding out hope that we all would be able to see his impact on the offense before the season ends:

“I think you’d like to hopefully at some point when Curtis [Samuel] really gets rolling and you get a chance to see just what his effect really is on the offense, you’ll see how much more it opens things up for Terry. Those are all things that obviously we’re working towards; and unfortunately, we’ve had some setbacks.”

Rivera is very optimistic about a struggling receiver unit, and it may be the case that the quarterback play is hindering the receivers. Just keep in mind that potential without production is simply just potential.