With The First Pick
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Washington Football Team: 2021 pre-draft primer as QB stability looms

By Stephen Seufert

Jan 3, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera before action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera before action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Football Team
Washington Football Team WR Curtis Samuel. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /

Curtis Samuel looks to ignite a porous offensive roster

William Jackson III is arguably the very best player Washington signed this offense, but Samuel was easily the most anticipated. Washington fans were able to link Samuel to this team a year ago after Rivera was the coaching hire. Terry McLaurin were best friends at Ohio State, and they were roommates, which has been pretty well documented.

The interesting part of the signing is that Scott Turner and his father Norv Turner used Samuel so much differently than Joe Brady did in 2020. Turner did his best to use Samuel vertically and off of play-action to try and tap into some of that playmaking ability. Samuel ranked 27th in the NFL in targets but ranked 11th in the NFL in targets distance, per Player Profiler.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1048990483693821953?s=20

The former Buckeye was able to put up solid numbers with the Turner’s despite having to navigate through some of the worst quarterback target accuracy metrics in the NFL. With Fitzpatrick at the helm, who is notorious for slinging it downfield, it will be interesting to watch Samuel tap into the vertical playmaking ability.

Out goes Ronald Darby and incomes Jackson, the dominant press cornerback. Bringing a press corner to the secondary allows Jack Del Rio to be a little more versatile with his playcalling on the backend. Jackson is widely considered as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL and one of the corners that will also compete in the D-gap to provide support vs. the run. Overall, Jackson is the best player to be added and will pair nicely with Kendall Fuller and Washington’s deadly pass rush.

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