Redskins Beat: Josh Doctson unlikely to beat out Pierre Garcon

Redskins beat writer Mike Jones on the prospect of Josh Doctson usurping Pierre Garcon by Week 1:

I really don’t understand fans’ eagerness to push Pierre Garcon out the door. He has done nothing but produce since he signed with Washington four offseasons ago. Whenever given the opportunity, Garcon makes something happen. He’s not used on a lot of deep routes, so he doesn’t often get to show off his speed, but he has no problem getting open on short or intermediate routes either. Last season, he recorded 72 catches on 110 targets. That means he caught 65 percent of the passes that came his way (second-highest clip behind Jordan Reed), and according to sportingcharts.com, Garcon had only one dropped pass in 2015. He averaged a solid 10.8 yards per catch and recorded six touchdown receptions, his most since joining Washington. He makes tough catches in traffic and brings a toughness to the position. Why get rid of that for an unproven rookie? Just because Doctson has great size and athleticism doesn’t mean he’s ready to step in as a starter. And even if Doctson does come in and light it up, given the lack of dependability from Jackson last season as he battled various nagging injuries (and his lack of versatility – he’s really not a threat unless running the deep route), it’s smart to have another veteran to turn to.

So, having said all that, no. I don’t see Doctson replacing Garcon. There could be plenty of times where they’re on the field together, or times when Garcon is on, and Doctson is off, or Doctson is on, and Garcon is off. There’s nothing wrong with having multiple threats.

Garcon finished as the #31 WR in PPR formats and should continue to play starter's snaps for the Redskins. Doctson is a threat to his targets and playing time, which is why Garcon is the 71st receiver off the board in early MFL10s. He appears to be a great value at that point in the draft, especially in PPR formats.