There are a lot of things that Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins can do better in his second year in the NFL, but one of the biggest keys to his success is the ability to operate from the pocket.
At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Haskins has the size to take a hit and keep going, but he is a bit lacking in the mobility department, rarely showing the ability to get out of the pocket and make a play with his feet. While that might come as he gets more comfortable improvising as time goes on, what matters the most for his development right now is gaining comfortability in the pocket, operating with guys at his feet.
Luckily for the Redskins, this is something that they feel he already has an affinity for, as was stated by offensive coordinator Scott Turner last month.
“You look at (Dwayne) stand in the pocket; he doesn’t need a lot of space to operate,” Turner said, via The Athletic. “That is one thing that you worry about with players in college football. A lot of times in college football if you look at quarterbacks in the pocket, a lot of times, there is no one around them. That is just not how we play the game. That was one of the first things that I looked at when I got the job. Looking at Dwayne’s pass reps and how he operated in those tight pockets. His eyes stayed downfield.”
The stats from Haskins rookie year somewhat support this idea. While he was one of the worst players in the league when it came to operating from a clean pocket — completing just 63.2% of his passes — his numbers were a bit better when under pressure. According to Pro Football Focus, Haskins threw for a total of six touchdowns and three interceptions when he was either blitzed or under pressure.
“He is a big guy and he is hard to bring down. I saw that firsthand in Carolina when the Redskins came down and beat us. … You are going to make money in this league by standing in there and making throws down the field when it is tough. He has shown enough of that.”
It all means nothing without a bit more of a sample size, but the Redskins coaching staff at least feels comfortable where Haskins’ game is at when it comes to operating in the pocket going into his second season.
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