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Which WR or TE will become the second option as a pass catcher?
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00:00Alongside Danny Ruye, I'm Grant Paulson.
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00:13right at 4 o'clock on our Beltway Blitz that's a half hour away.
00:17We were just talking to Matt Harmon about Antonio Williams,
00:20the new wide receiver, some of the other options down the depth chart.
00:23So, Danny, the question becomes,
00:26who's going to be the second option in this passing game?
00:30In terms of targets, in terms of catches,
00:33McLaurin, barring something going terribly wrong,
00:35will be option number one.
00:38And if he's not, and he does have injuries,
00:41now you're in a real bad spot offensively
00:43because there isn't enough to mask that deficiency.
00:46If you don't have McLaurin being your alpha, your ex,
00:49and a guy that's going for 1,000 yards and getting back to his old ways pre-2025.
00:54But let's just say Terry is Terry, and now you need someone else.
00:58Is that possibly Rashad White out of the backfield as a volume guy?
01:03I would push him down the board a little bit.
01:05I think the debate becomes Shigakonkwo at tight end,
01:08who's never had a season like a number two in an offense,
01:11in a good offense, would have.
01:12But he also, as we heard Harmon talking about,
01:15didn't play enough snaps, didn't get enough work,
01:17didn't play with good quarterbacks.
01:18So I could see if you bet on him and buy low on that stock,
01:22he could be an answer.
01:23The other one, you just go to the receiver position
01:25and you pick your horse.
01:28Is it Luke McCaffrey, Jalen Lane, Traylon Burks?
01:31Is it Brandon Ayuk, who's not here yet?
01:32Could it be Deami Brown?
01:34How do you see it?
01:36If you raise Shigakonkwo's targets from last year by 20,
01:40there's your answer.
01:41Wouldn't it stand to reason that a team that just paid him,
01:43that's got a void, that's got a spot, that's got an offense,
01:46that's tight end friendly, that's got a skill set that you like a lot,
01:49that would be the guy.
01:50McLaurin won.
01:51You go back a couple years.
01:52Zach Ertz was second in this offense.
01:53Now I know it's a different offense.
01:54It's Cliff Kingsbury, but bear with me.
01:57117 targets for McLaurin.
01:58This is two years ago.
01:59Ertz was at 91.
02:00And then a cadre of receivers that were kind of a mismatch
02:03and also rands and leftovers and whatever,
02:05which is how I see this group now,
02:07with hopefully the upside of Williams maybe changing that equation.
02:09But the tight end is second.
02:11I think that's your, everything from your third down war daddy
02:14to the free few yards on first down.
02:16I don't know that the slot receiver is going to be as featured as much.
02:22If you've got Almond Ross St. Brown, you do that.
02:24I don't, you know, with all due respect to Antonio Williams,
02:27I don't know that he's there at that point where I go,
02:29my offense runs through that guy.
02:30Maybe one day it does, and I'll be proved wrong.
02:32I like the player.
02:33I'm excited.
02:33I think it's a lot more 12 personnel.
02:35I think we're going to see a lot more Burks or Dami Brown
02:38or a lot of guys that are more true outside dudes
02:40blocking responsibilities are going to be there
02:42that won't include Williams.
02:44So to me, it's Sugar Conkwell.
02:45If I was confident in Brandon Ayuk's ability to either play still,
02:51be healthy, or if I thought highly of him
02:55in terms of what he's going to be in the building
02:56to force their hand to keep him around,
02:58maybe I could roll with him just from a sheer upside play
03:00because there is an unimpeded path to him becoming wide receiver too
03:04if and when they add him.
03:05But I'm not going to, there's too many ifs there,
03:07including is he even ever going to be on the team?
03:09He's currently a San Francisco 49er.
03:11So I'm not going to go with him.
03:12I think Okonkwo is the easy answer because, as you said,
03:15as an underutilized player the last couple of years,
03:18he's been in the mid-50s in catches.
03:2054, 52, 56 catches.
03:22He's never been targeted 80 times.
03:24Last year was a career-high 560 yards, 10 yards per catch
03:27for the first time in his three seasons actually used
03:31as a tight end in that offense.
03:33I think all those numbers go up.
03:34I think it's 11, 12 yards per catch.
03:37I think it's 90 targets or more.
03:40I think it's 65, 70 catches if things go really, really well.
03:44Even if it's only 58 to 62 catches,
03:46I think it's going to be 700 yards for the first time for him
03:50if the volume is a little bit lower.
03:52Where am I coming from with this?
03:54I'm thinking about the offense, right?
03:55So where's David Blau been?
03:57We talk about Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota
03:59where they've had TJ Hawkinson,
04:01and you think about some of the guys that have been there
04:03that they throw the ball to.
04:04Prior to that, Irv Smith was the guy with Kirk Cousins
04:08who was heavily involved.
04:09But the real design that he's chasing is Ben Johnson.
04:15And I think about a better, more talented player maybe
04:17than a Conquo,
04:18but the former fringe first-rounder at 34 overall,
04:22Sam Laporta,
04:23who as a rookie went 85 for 880,
04:26has had some injury issues since.
04:28But how important is the offense?
04:31Is the tight end in a Ben Johnson offense?
04:33Well, they drafted him at 34.
04:34His first draft with the Chicago Bears
04:36as their head coach last year,
04:38they drafted a tight end at No. 10 overall,
04:40Colston Loveland.
04:41And that guy took a little while to come on,
04:44but eventually, 80-plus targets,
04:46almost 60 catches, 700 yards, 12.3 per.
04:49So if you just read the tea leaves on Ben Johnson,
04:52I think tight end's going to be really important.
04:54I think a Conquo will absolutely be the No. 2 guy,
04:57which then pushes, I think,
04:59the other guys down the board enough
05:00that it takes some pressure off
05:01getting a ton out of somebody.
05:03Where do you see Williams in that equation?
05:05I think that's fascinating,
05:06because it sounds like I'm lower on him,
05:09and that's not necessarily the case.
05:10I just don't know that it's this,
05:11in two receiver sets, he's out there day one.
05:13And maybe some of them in the building
05:14think that that's the case.
05:16They do.
05:16I mean, I could tell you that they believe
05:18that when they open on first and 10,
05:21in week one on September 8th or whatever,
05:24and they're in 12, he's out there.
05:26And they're in 12 with two receivers,
05:27he's opposite Terry McLaurin.
05:28That is their expectation.
05:29Yeah.
05:30I'm not buying it yet.
05:31Now, again, obviously, let's do a contest.
05:33Who knows more about football, them or me?
05:35Them, right?
05:35They have access.
05:36They do things I don't know.
05:37They might have said the same thing
05:38about Jahan Dotson.
05:39And that's kind of a regime,
05:40but I mean, internally here in D.C.
05:42And that's kind of my point,
05:43is I think this is more compliment
05:45than it is true solve and answer
05:48at kind of that opposite receiver,
05:49but they maybe don't think of it that way.
05:51So if you told me it's not a con quo,
05:53what's behind the door?
05:54And now you're saying,
05:55okay, well, it's not that, try again.
05:56Well, Antonio Williams is the answer then,
05:58as far as I'm concerned,
06:00because there is not anybody else
06:02with his skill set.
06:04McCaffrey is not nearly as gifted
06:06in terms of twitchiness or separating.
06:09I don't think Luke,
06:10when I watch him on the outside,
06:12has a long-term ability to play out there.
06:15He's kind of slot only for me,
06:17like the big plus slot.
06:18The big size slot, yeah.
06:19The huge slot that everyone's using now
06:21where you move in like Pukanikua and those guys.
06:23So that's, to me, where he's going to be.
06:25Jalen Lane actually can do a little more
06:27of the Antonio Williams.
06:28He could play outside some.
06:30We saw him do that last year
06:31because he can route people up a little bit,
06:33but there's a reason he went two rounds after,
06:36or not quite,
06:37but I guess almost a full round plus after.
06:39I just don't think he's on that same level.
06:43So just from a sheer skill set, talent,
06:46running a 4-4,
06:47that kind of college profile,
06:49making the 70 catches,
06:50having a nine touchdown season,
06:52there's nobody else like that in the building.
06:54And so it would be,
06:55if we're talking strictly receivers,
06:57Terry is the main guy,
06:59within Hamilton,
07:00excuse me,
07:01Williams right after him,
07:03and Antonio Williams being
07:04kind of the distant second car in the race,
07:06and then a big old gap,
07:08and then back around the next turn
07:09is everybody else vying for touches.
07:11That's how I would view it.
07:12Okay.
07:12Now let's include running backs in there
07:14because you mentioned Rashad White.
07:15I think that's a wild card a little bit, right?
07:18He's averaged 50 catches over the last four seasons.
07:21Yeah.
07:21The target share is going to be,
07:24I mean, his career high is 70,
07:25and then he got faded out a little bit,
07:26phased out rather,
07:27with the emergence of Bucky Irving
07:29who could do a little bit more there.
07:30But he's always been a pretty proficient receiver, right?
07:32That's kind of why you bring him in.
07:34Where do you think Williams' target share gets to?
07:38Like, what number jumps into your brain for him?
07:40Just kind of going back
07:41when they had a healthy situation again
07:43a couple years ago,
07:44Austin Eckler had surprisingly a few targets.
07:46In my memory, he was a 60-tar guy.
07:48He was only 41 for the team a couple of seasons ago.
07:52And, you know,
07:53it was Dalmy Brown in the 40s,
07:55Brian Robinson in the 20s.
07:56It was basically McLaurin, Ertz,
07:58and then everybody else in 40, 50, 60 range.
08:00Do you see him topping 70 targets, Williams?
08:0570's a lot.
08:06I would say it's very possible.
08:08I think David Blau would like that, yes.
08:11Maybe he cuts into,
08:13if they have their way,
08:13maybe he cuts into a little bit of the McLaurin share
08:16in production, honestly.
08:18I believe that they think
08:21he's got a chance to be special.
08:23And I think if you gave Blau truth serum
08:25or you talked to him,
08:27they chose him because he was their guy
08:29all along at the position for their offense.
08:31So what do you do?
08:32You draw up plays for that guy.
08:35You draw up looks for that guy.
08:36You're going to spend the rest of the offseason
08:38starting with rookie minicamp.
08:39You'll know right away, by the way,
08:41I think in that building,
08:42if you were right or wrong,
08:43in terms of his ability to help you soon.
08:46But you're going to make him a priority.
08:48I saw Jay Gruden said recently somewhere,
08:50I don't remember where he was talking,
08:51but he was asked about rookies
08:54that impressed him at rookie minicamp.
08:56And there's this coming up on Friday.
08:58And Jay said,
09:00they knew at rookie minicamp
09:02that Terry McLaurin was the real deal
09:05by watching him for a couple of days
09:07in the spring out in Ashburn.
09:09They said, okay, we got one.
09:10We got our guy.
09:11And if you remember,
09:12they shut him down completely.
09:13In the preseason, he didn't do anything.
09:15It was like they already saw what they needed to
09:18and they didn't want anyone else to figure it out.
09:20So they unleashed him against the Eagles in week one.
09:22He caught a 75-yard post for a touchdown,
09:25had a monster 100-yard game right away
09:27because nobody knew what to expect.
09:28But he said, basically,
09:30we knew three days in the rookie minicamp,
09:31the way he ran routes,
09:33the way he exploded off the line of scrimmage,
09:35the straight line speed,
09:36that we had just gotten a great player.
09:38I hope that's the case again, obviously.
09:40That would be such a boon to this offense
09:42and all my worries about them not having enough
09:44at the receiver spot would be solved
09:46with kind of this slot plus or slot 2.0
09:48or kind of whatever the new sort of role is.
09:50So I could see, for me,
09:52if I'm doing the pecking order,
09:53McLaurin won.
09:54That's obviously set that aside.
09:55I think that's 130 targets,
09:57kind of give or take, right?
09:58I don't know if I buy 10 per week,
10:00but I think that may be the idea.
10:01You get them a lot.
10:02Then I think it's a con quo.
10:04Then I think it's a toss-up
10:05between Rashad White and Antonio Williams
10:08for the third spot.
10:10Is that crazy?
10:11Or is that too low?
10:13No, it's...
10:13I mean, look, that's your list.
10:16I don't think that's bad.
10:17I mean, nobody knows yet.
10:19Like, I'm looking at this
10:20through the same lens that they are saying,
10:22okay, if they're right then, dot, dot, dot.
10:25Whereas you're kind of predicting it for yourself.
10:28And I'm just saying,
10:29based on what I know they think
10:31and how I know they feel,
10:32this is what I'm expecting them to do.
10:35But I'm banking on the fact
10:37that they're right about the player.
10:38And if they're not,
10:39that changes the whole algorithm.
10:41Luke McCaffrey, by the way,
10:42I just think is interesting
10:43because I think he is going to be
10:45very, very unlikely
10:50to show up at camp
10:52and have anything given to him.
10:54I think he's probably battling for a job
10:56squarely on the bubble,
10:57needs to have a really good preseason,
10:59like in that type of bucket at this point.
11:02But someone will look at his numbers
11:04from last year and say,
11:05well, he didn't drop any passes
11:06on 15 targets.
11:07You know, he was averaging
11:08over 18 yards per catch,
11:10had the big 50-yarder diving catch
11:12against the Chargers.
11:13When they targeted him,
11:14his quarterback rating
11:15was up around 155.
11:17Like, good things happened.
11:18And it was a very, very small sample.
11:20But whether it was Scheme or him
11:21or both, he got open.
11:23He made some catches.
11:24So on his very limited opportunities
11:25before he got hurt last year
11:27in the first half of the season,
11:29he did a lot with them.
11:30How should I feel about that?
11:32Should I feel like that is a sign
11:34that he is becoming something?
11:35Or do you say,
11:37well, he still barely ever got opportunities,
11:38which is the tell
11:40because they were not forcing him
11:41the football
11:42and they couldn't get him
11:43the ball enough.
11:43If you're really, really good,
11:45you just, you're 7-11.
11:47You're open all the time
11:47and you're constantly
11:48getting customers.
11:49Yeah, they look at that
11:50little Microsoft Surface
11:51and some of the printouts
11:52and go, you know who's open
11:53is Luke.
11:53Let's go to him next time.
11:54They're not really intent
11:56on doing that, it seems like.
11:57But, you know, his metrics,
11:58his rookie year were really good
11:59in that regard.
11:59The separation he was creating.
12:01And nobody cared
12:02because the offense was awesome.
12:03It's like, how are you not
12:04getting Luke the ball?
12:04You mean while we're
12:05a top five offense in the league
12:07scoring 30 a week?
12:07Yeah, I don't care where it goes.
12:09It's working.
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