Doctson's Last Stand?

Former Washington Redskins first-round pick Josh Doctson is in the NFL again. On Saturday, the New York Jets announced they had signed the former Washington bust.

Doctson, who was a first-round pick back in 2016, was viewed as the future of the position for the Redskins. At that time, veterans Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson were entering the final year of their respective contracts with neither expected back. Obviously, the plan was for Doctson to be the No. 4 receiver as a rookie and then ease into the starting role in 2017.

That never materialized. Yes, Garcon and Jackson did depart and the Redskins made the right call in not giving either the big contracts they received on the open market. But Doctson, who only played in two games as a rookie making one catch, battled a mysterious Achilles’ injury in 2016.

He did become a starter in 2017, although an inconsistent one. Doctson played in all 16 games for the Redskins, making 14 starts. However, Doctson caught just 35 passes that season. The team still had high hopes for Doctson as the flashes were evident. He did score six touchdowns and had a beautiful game-winning catch at Seattle that season.

But the flashes never turned into consistency. Doctson again entered 2018 as a starter, playing in 15 games and making 12 starts. Yet, he caught just 44 passes and then-head coach Jay Gruden was clearly disappointed with Doctson.

Last summer, coaches were impressed with a trio of rookie receivers in Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon and Steven Sims. So, the Redskins made the decision to cut Doctson. It was the right decision as McLaurin proved to be everything Washington had hoped Doctson would evolve into.

After the Redskins cut him, Doctson reunited with Cousins in Minnesota, but only played in one game. If Doctson can’t make it with the receiver-starved Jets, this could be his last shot in the NFL. 

Bryan Manning has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and college basketball for almost 10 years for various outlets such as Bleacher Report, SB Nation, FanSided, USA Today SMG, and others. Bryan has covered the Washington Redskins for different outlets and currently co-hosts a podcast on the Virginia Tech Hokies for SB Nation. For his day job, Bryan works in engineering for a major communications company.