If you want to understand the value of hitting on an undrafted free agent, look no further than Washington Redskins wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. After being passed up in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Kansas, Sims signed with Washington last offseason and worked his way through the special teams’ ranks, catching the eyes of many coaches thanks to his electric return-game abilities.
He eventually cracked his way into the offense, where the team did what they could to get him the ball in open space and let him go to work, and it paid dividends down the road. He ended his rookie season with six total touchdowns, and he boasted one of the bets target rates on routes in all of the NFL.
Steven Sims found ways to get open. He was targeted on 24.4% of his routes in 2019, 7th most among WRs.#HTTR pic.twitter.com/OA8XJT6kPl
— PFF WAS Redskins (@PFF_Redskins) May 25, 2020
Now, with a new offensive coordinator and a scheme that will try to highlight shifty backs and slot WRs who can breakaway down the field in a flash — think Curtis Samuel on the 2019 Carolina Panthers — Sims will have a major chance to continue his growth in Washington and become a dynamic player that people outside of the D.C. area know as well.
He may not have been a hot commodity coming out of college, but with his work ethic and skill-set, he’s done everything he can to become a household name going forward. If you have the chance, buy all the Steven Sims stock that you can. There’s a bright future ahead for him in Scott Turner’s offense.
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