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Fitzpatrick to McLaurin

Veteran gunslinger a plus for Football Team star

Washington signed Ryan Fitzpatrick on Monday, and it's a move I really like. Fitzpatrick has his flaws -- that's why he never sticks anywhere for long -- but he's had some nice hot streaks along the way, and helped a lot of pass catchers. The next one should be Terry McLaurin.

Fitzpatrick was having a nice half-season for Miami when he was unceremoniously benched, and so were his main receivers. DeVante Parker, as a for instance, had two of his three 100-yard games and 3 of his 4 touchdowns with Fitzpatrick at quarterback.

And McLaurin, as I pointed out here a couple of weeks back, has had one of the better starts to his career of any wideout this century. The 2019 third-rounder has totaled 2037 yards his first two season despite working with a handful of quarterbacks who won't be starting anywhere this season: Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Case Keenum, Kyle Allen, Colt McCoy.

Fitzpatrick has bounced around the league -- to say the least: Washington will be his 9th team, and 8th in the last 12 years -- but he's been wide-receiver friendly. Since 2008, he's been involved in offenses that have produced 13 top-25 wideouts (including a pair with the Jets in 2015, as noted in the Corey Davis writeup yesterday). Fitzpatrick split times with other quarterbacks (e.g., Jameis Winston) in a couple of those seasons and doesn't deserve all the credit. But his resume is decorated with getting the best out of a lot of wide receivers.

Table shows all the wideouts Fitzpatrick has worked with in his years as a starter, who wound up ranking in the top 50 at their position. Includes 10 1,000-yard seasons, and seven more with at least 800 yards. As noted, Fitzpatrick wasn't the only quarterback on a couple of those teams, but a nice track record.

FITZPATRICK WIDEOUTS, 2008-2020
YearPlayerTgtRecYdsAvgTDFFRk
2015Brandon Marshall, NYJ173109150213.8143
2018Mike Evans, T.B.13886152417.789
2010Stevie Johnson, Buff.14182107313.11010
2019DeVante Parker, Mia.12872120216.7911
2015Eric Decker, NYJ13280102712.81213
2014DeAndre Hopkins, Hou.12776121015.9614
2011Stevie Johnson, Buff.13476100413.2716
2017Mike Evans, T.B.13671100114.1517
2012Stevie Johnson, Buff.14879104613.2618
2013Kendall Wright, Ten.13994107911.5220
2008T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin.137929049.8421
2018Adam Humphries, T.B.1057681610.7524
2018Chris Godwin, T.B.955984214.3725
2009Terrell Owens, Buff.1095582915.1527
2014Andre Johnson, Hou.1468593611.0328
2013Nate Washington, Ten.1055891915.8335
2011David Nelson, Buff.976165810.8539
2020DeVante Parker, Mia.1036379312.6440
2009Lee Evans, Buff.964461213.9741
2018DeSean Jackson, T.B.744177418.9443
2017DeSean Jackson, T.B.905066813.4345
2016Quincy Enunwa, NYJ1055885714.8445
2008Chad Johnson, Cin.975354010.2447
2016Brandon Marshall, NYJ1285978813.4349
2017Adam Humphries, T.B.836163110.3150

Washington will add another wide receiver, with Curtis Samuel (who of course has a connection with Ron Rivera) mentioned frequently. But no one should be overly concerned about such an addition negatively affecting McLaurin; DJ Moore went over 1,100 yards each of the last two seasons.

Maybe Fitzpatrick struggles and gets benched at some point; that's been his history. At times Kyle Allen, and then Taylor Heinicke in the playoffs, flashed potential to get a shot. But it should primarily be Fitzpatrick. Good news for McLaurin.

--Andy Richardson

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