They didn't play a ton in Washington's exhibition opener Thursday night, but new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and star wideout Terry McLaurin got their feet wet the first couple of series. McLaurin caught 2 passes on 3 targets, including a 22-yard strike down the middle of the field. Foreshadowing production to come, I think.
McLaurin has had two strong seasons to start his career, totaling 2,037 yards 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 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 McLaurin.
Fitzpatrick was having a nice half-season for Miami when he was unceremoniously benched a year ago, 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.
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. Fitzpatrick split time 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Rk |
| 2015 | Brandon Marshall, NYJ | 173 | 109 | 1502 | 13.8 | 14 | 3 |
| 2018 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 138 | 86 | 1524 | 17.7 | 8 | 9 |
| 2010 | Stevie Johnson, Buff. | 141 | 82 | 1073 | 13.1 | 10 | 10 |
| 2019 | DeVante Parker, Mia. | 128 | 72 | 1202 | 16.7 | 9 | 11 |
| 2015 | Eric Decker, NYJ | 132 | 80 | 1027 | 12.8 | 12 | 13 |
| 2014 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 127 | 76 | 1210 | 15.9 | 6 | 14 |
| 2011 | Stevie Johnson, Buff. | 134 | 76 | 1004 | 13.2 | 7 | 16 |
| 2017 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 136 | 71 | 1001 | 14.1 | 5 | 17 |
| 2012 | Stevie Johnson, Buff. | 148 | 79 | 1046 | 13.2 | 6 | 18 |
| 2013 | Kendall Wright, Ten. | 139 | 94 | 1079 | 11.5 | 2 | 20 |
| 2008 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin. | 137 | 92 | 904 | 9.8 | 4 | 21 |
| 2018 | Adam Humphries, T.B. | 105 | 76 | 816 | 10.7 | 5 | 24 |
| 2018 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 95 | 59 | 842 | 14.3 | 7 | 25 |
| 2009 | Terrell Owens, Buff. | 109 | 55 | 829 | 15.1 | 5 | 27 |
| 2014 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 146 | 85 | 936 | 11.0 | 3 | 28 |
| 2013 | Nate Washington, Ten. | 105 | 58 | 919 | 15.8 | 3 | 35 |
| 2011 | David Nelson, Buff. | 97 | 61 | 658 | 10.8 | 5 | 39 |
| 2020 | DeVante Parker, Mia. | 103 | 63 | 793 | 12.6 | 4 | 40 |
| 2009 | Lee Evans, Buff. | 96 | 44 | 612 | 13.9 | 7 | 41 |
| 2018 | DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 74 | 41 | 774 | 18.9 | 4 | 43 |
| 2017 | DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 90 | 50 | 668 | 13.4 | 3 | 45 |
| 2016 | Quincy Enunwa, NYJ | 105 | 58 | 857 | 14.8 | 4 | 45 |
| 2008 | Chad Johnson, Cin. | 97 | 53 | 540 | 10.2 | 4 | 47 |
| 2016 | Brandon Marshall, NYJ | 128 | 59 | 788 | 13.4 | 3 | 49 |
| 2017 | Adam Humphries, T.B. | 83 | 61 | 631 | 10.3 | 1 | 50 |
Washington also has Curtis Samuel, currently sidelined with a groin injury. It also signed the guy on the bottom of that table, Adam Humphries, who got a pair of third-down targets in the exhibition opener (a catch, and another where he slipped before the ball reached him. But McLaurin is the No. 1 guy.
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