Obviously, you already know all about Terry McLaurin, the rookie wide receiver in Washington that has made waves so far in this first season of his career. However, there is another pass-catcher in Washington who has a superb upside, and he’s flown relatively under the radar so far this season.
That doesn’t mean that his expectations should at all be tempered.
Kelvin Harmon is a rookie receiver that looks like an aged veteran. With a 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame, Harmon is built like Julio Jones. He may not be the fastest receiver on the field, but his ability to go up and snag contested balls gives him a dominant presence over the middle of the field and in the back corner of the endzone. The Redskins drafted him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and while his rookie running-mate has taken all the shine, Harmon’s breakout is starting to show itself.
Part of that breakout can be accredited to a budding relationship between Harmon and rookie QB Dwayne Haskins, who has been named the starting QB in Washington for a few weeks now. Harmon and Haskins go way back; they both grew up in New Jersey and attended many 7-on-7 camps together. While the two were preparing for the draft, they worked out together and grew that relationship. Now, with his college teammate out on the edge as well, Haskins has a nice duo he can look for downfield.
“Having known both of them for years before even coming to the Redskins is really great for our relationship as a quarterback and receiver,” Haskins said, via Redskins.com. “They come to me to talk about anything, I talk to them about anything and it’s really great because we have a great relationship.”
While the relationship between quarterback and receiver is critical for success, Harmon also has the attributes to take that connection to the next level: good hands, large catch radius, ability to run the short and intermediate routes and gain separation in man coverage.
“He has all the traits and skills you look for in a wide receiver,” coach Bill Callahan said. “Now it’s a matter of grooming him and his techniques against the week-to-week competition that he’s schemed against, the type of corners he’s going to be faced up against.”
You may have noticed him popping up around the field already this year, but get ready to see it much more. There’s more than one dynamic rookie receiver in Washington.
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