When you have talented and dynamic players on the offensive side of the ball, the last thing you want to do as a play-caller is to overthink things and try to scheme yourself to a victory. Sometimes, all you need to do is get the ball into your playmaker’s hands and let him go to work.
We saw that often last year when the Washington Redskins finally got an understanding of just what Steven Sims Jr. could do in open space. It started on the kick-return team and soon transitioned into the offense where OC Kevin O’Connell started to run quick swing- or screen-routes for him, sitting back and watching him make players miss. Now, for new OC Scott Turner, the plan is similar.
This plan was evident based on the Redskins offseason roster moves. We knew what Sims could do, but Washington also drafted Antonio Gibson, a do-it-all back who thrives on escaping the backfield and making people miss in the open field. J.D. McKissic is another player who can keep a defense guessing based on where he lines up in the backfield.
A great example of how Turner might use these players is to look at the Carolina Panthers offense in 2019, and how they used Curtis Samuel. The Panthers thrived on having Samuel catch the ball near the line of scrimmage and go from there, and he was able to rack up seven total touchdowns and over 40 first downs.
We don’t yet know who will serve primarily in this role for the Redskins, but we know that they plan on giving it to someone. In the new wave of NFL thinking, coaches want to find positionless offensive players and let them do what they do best — make people miss.
