Hogs Haven
Editor’s note: Each day, Hogs Haven compiles a collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, with a sprinkling of other stuff. Enjoy!
Bullock’s Film Room
They say it takes three years for wide receivers to develop into reliable targets in the NFL. That trend has changed somewhat in recent years due to a number of very strong and deep wide receiver draft classes, but McCaffrey was considered a very raw prospect coming out. He entered college playing quarterback and switched positions, so he was very new to the position when the Commanders drafted him. That has caused him to take a little longer to develop, which makes this almost a make or break year for him.
So where exactly does McCaffrey stand going into this important third year? With the current state of the receiver room, there should be opportunities for everyone to claim their spot in training camp. McLaurin is a lock as the top receiving option, but after him it’s a bit of a free for all. I don’t expect McCaffrey to establish himself as the second receiver or anything crazy like that, but I do think he can offer plenty as a fourth or fifth receiver on the depth chart and if everything goes well, could develop into the third receiver.
Looking back at last season, the stats aren’t amazing. McCaffrey only played in nine games before breaking his collarbone and missing the rest of the year. As a result, he only had 11 catches, but he did pick up 203 yards and three touchdowns. 11 catches isn’t a huge sample size to go off, but when you watch McCaffrey you can see signs of development from him.
The obvious place to start with McCaffrey last year was his 50-yard catch against the Chargers. It was his longest catch of the season and indeed his career to date, which showcased not only his speed to threaten down the field, but also his ball skills.
Heavy.com
Croskey-Merritt still looks like RB1, but the team has been warned about the risk of putting too much faith in the 25-year-old, as well as the dangers of not letting him develop crucial aspects of his game.
The two-edged sword of how much to get Croskey-Merritt involved in this season’s running game was discussed by Danny Rouhier and Grant Paulsen on 106.7 The Fan’s “Grant & Danny Show.”
Rouhier explained why the Commanders still have some doubts about JCM carrying the load as an every-down back: “I like him. It seems like they don’t as much. And here’s my evidence for that. It basically took Chris Rodriguez getting food poisoning or like a last-minute injury for them to finally give him double-digit carries. (In)...
