Stacked

Receivers Now Tall, Deep Unit.

- Brian McNally

One of the NFL’s deeper wide receiving units was revamped this past offseason to leave the Washington Redskins with a string of questions entering this season.

What was once an unquestioned strength is now an uncertainty. But Washington believes it is equipped to handle the changes. There’s no question losing Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, who both topped 1,000 receiving yards in 2016, leaves gaping holes at the position group.

The Redskins became the first team in NFL history to lose a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in the same offseason as Garcon left for San Francisco and Jackson signed with Tampa Bay in free agency. That will require an adjustment.

“Turnover is a part of this league. I think about eight out of 32 head coaches get let go every year and players are constantly changing,” Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “So you’re going to have a lot of attrition. We’ve been fortunate to have some continuity, but this year we do have some changes so we’re going to show, hopefully, that we’re a mature football team and that we handle those changes well.”

Washington’s front office did its best to stem the damage. The Redskins signed Terrelle Pryor, a 1,000-yard receiver himself last year in Cleveland. And they are hopeful 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson, who had his rookie season ruined by sore Achilles tendons, would be healthy again. So far, Doctson has shown no signs of the injury that kept him to two games in 2016 and he has looked strong during training camp.

That has been a distinct relief to Doctson, who barely even practiced last season from rookie camp in May until the week before the season opener in September. A star wide receiver at Texas Christian in college, Doctson’s size (6-feet-2) and exceptional leaping ability would have helped make last year’s potent passing attack even more dangerous.