Fantasy Football Slant: Josh Doctson to the Washington Redskins

By Vincent Frank on Thursday, June 9th 2016
Fantasy Football Slant: Josh Doctson to the Washington Redskins

Player: Josh Doctson

Position: Wide Receiver

School: Texas Christian

Draft Status: First Round, 22nd Pick (Washington Redskins)

Rookie Wide Receiver Ranking: #2

 

College Stats
Year Class Rec Yards AVG TD
2011 (Wyoming) Freshman 35 393 11.2 5
2013 (TCU) Sophomore 36 440 12.2 4
2014 (TCU) Junior 65 1,018 15.7 11
2015 (TCU) Senior 78 1,326 17.0 14
Totals Four Years 214 3,177 14.8 34

 

Doctson started his career out at Wyoming, finishing his freshman season as the team's third-leading receiver while catching passes from former Draftnik favorite Brett Smith. After that successful initial campaign, the 6-foot-3 pass catcher decided to latch on with a more recognizable program. 

Unfortunately for Doctson, his first season with TCU (after sitting out a year due to NCAA rules) wasn't what he had envisioned. He did finish as the team's leading receiver with 440 yards, but the Horned Frogs struggled a great deal with Trevone Boykin and Casey Pachall splitting reps under center. The team finished 4-8 and finished 87th in the nation in scoring. 

With Gary Patterson at the helm, the following season was a completely different story. Doctson ended up tallying 1,000-plus total yards for a TCU squad that finished 12-1 and shared the Big 12 title. His best performance of the season came in a 42-9 win over then No. 15 ranked Oklahoma State. All said, Doctson tallied 225 yards and two scores on seven receptions. It was one of three 100-yard games for Doctson as a junior. 

Leading the charge for another 11-win team as a senior, Doctson tallied six consecutive 100-yard games, all against Big 12 competition. In a two-game span against Southern Methodist and Texas Christian, Doctson put up 23 receptions, 438 yards and five scores. Unfortunately, Doctson's senior season (and career) came to an end after suffering an injury. He did, however, finish that season as an All-American performer. 

 

Scouting Report

Strengths: With a 6-foot-2 frame and some hops to go with it, Doctson provides a huge catch radius on the outside. He high-points the ball and can dominate at the POC. An ability to separate down the field and create a cushion on intermediate routes. Smooth route-running skills. Highly targeted at TCU, an indication that he has no problem being the top dog. 

Weaknesses: Needs to do a better job off the line against press coverage. Spacing wasn't an issue in TCU's spread offense, something that likely won't be the case in Washington. 

 

2016 Outlook

With DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder likely ahead of him on the depth chart, it's unlikely Doctson will be able to make much of an impact as a rookie. Add in elite-level pass-catching tight end Jordan Reed and the emergence of a solid receiving back in Matt Jones, and there's simply not going to be enough balls to go around here. After all, that's a combined 377 targets from a season ago. 

Though, it must be noted that both Jackson and Reed dealt with injuries last year. Jackson missed six games while Reed sat out two games (and played partials in two others). If one of these two were to go down, it would open up an opportunity for Doctson. 

It also must be noted that Garcon struggled a great deal in Kirk Cousins' first season as the team's full-time starter. He put up just 777 yards and averaged 7.0 yards per target. Should Doctson perform at a higher level during the summer, there's a chance Washington could move on from the expensive Garcon. If that doesn't happen, there's very little re-draft value here. 

 

Dynasty Outlook

This becomes a bit more clear. Washington didn't exhaust a first-round pick on Doctson for him to be a No. 2 or No. 3 receiver. The thinking was clear here. Find someone that can take over for the aging veterans such as Jackson and Garcon at some point in the not-so-distant future. 

Based on what Doctson did in college and how much TCU relied on him, this shouldn't be a huge learning curve. It's all about opportunities — something that will come in time. 

The outlier here is Cousins. If he's the same type of quarterback we saw in 2015 moving forward, Redskins' pass catchers are going to be huge assets in the fantasy football world. If not, that production will dip. 

So this is more about when the Redskins will move on from their two veteran receivers and how Cousins performs than it is about Doctson's ability. We already know the TCU product can produce. That's the primary reason we have him as the second-best fantasy receiver of the 2016 NFL Draft. Top-10 overall production isn't out of the question here. 

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