Washington Redskins breakout wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been along for the ride with quarterback Dwayne Haskins from the start.
The two played together in college at Ohio State, and they spent their first year in the NFL playing alongside each other in Washington with the Redskins. Over the years, they’ve watched as the other grows and develops into the player that he is today, vying to leave a mark in the NFL with their play and be remembered by all of those who shared a field with them.
While McLaurin had about as good of a rookie year as you can ask for — he racked up 919 yards receiving and seven touchdowns despite missing two games due to injury — it was slower going for Haskins. After not starting a game until Week 9, the rookie took a bit of time to get assimilated in the offense, finishing the season with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Still, the last two games he played were where the improvement really started to show. In weeks 15 and 16, Haskins combined for 394 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions. McLaurin noticed the leap he was starting to make.
“I think he kind of got a taste of what it’s like having some success,” McLaurin said on the Redskins Talk podcast earlier this week. “He had a string of games where he was playing really, really well. That’s a testament to the hard work he was putting in.”
Due to an ankle injury that was suffered in the first half of Week 16’s game against the New York Giants, Haskins was forced to sit out for the final six quarters of the 2019 season, but it would have been interesting to see what more he could have done with that time on the clock. What was even more encouraging than the performance on the field is the drive that the rookie QB showed off of it. Even after going down with an ankle injury against the Giants, reports show that Haskins was vehemently trying to convince the medical and coaching staff to let him back in the game. The Redskins were now his team, and he didn’t want to let anyone sideline him any longer.
“At quarterback, I feel like it’s very important to have that as one of your leaders of the team,” McLaurin said. “But the biggest thing I’ve noticed in the NFL is it’s all about action. He showed that action towards the end of the season. He really started to gain the respect from a lot of our vets and a lot of our coaches as well.”
While it may not have resulted in many wins or accolades, Haskins’ growth down the stretch at the very least has a lot of people excited for what he can do down the road. The coaching staff may not officially say it yet, but it’s No. 7’s team going forward.
“I think he’s hungry and he has a chip on his shoulder,” McLaurin said. “He’s a guy we’re really excited about for the future.”
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