Denver Broncos: 5 Players to watch at 2018 Senior Bowl
By Bruce Matson
3. James Washington, WR – Oklahoma State
James Washington is turning heads at the Senior Bowl and he’s easily the best wide receiver in Mobile. He’s not on the Broncos’ roster, but it’s going to be hard for them to ignore what Washington is doing on the practice field. He’s consistently blowing by defensive backs and making them look bad in one-on-one drills
At Oklahoma State, Washington caught 226 passes for 4,472 yards and 39 touchdowns during his four-year collegiate career. He has three straight seasons with over 1,000 yards receiving. Last season, which was his senior year, he led the nation with 1,549 yards receiving. He also reeled in 13 touchdowns. Being a mega producer at the college level is very encouraging and leading the nation in receiving is another box checked on his resume.
He’s a very physical receiver who has the “my-ball” mentality at the catch point. Washington knows how to use his body to create separation from the defender while in tight coverage. He’s the type of receiver who is always open, because even when he is covered, he can still figure out a a way to make a play on the football. Having a quick release off the line of scrimmage is essential when it comes to building momentum during the start of the receiver’s route. Washington does a tremendous job at utilizing his quick feet to get a step ahead of the defender while releasing from the line of scrimmage. He also have the speed to blow by defensive backs.
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There really isn’t many negatives to point out here, but he doesn’t have a diverse route tree. He’s not a “technical” route runner. However, he doesn’t need to be, because he’s very efficient at the routes that he does run. Many people will point out Oklahoma State’s high volume passing attack for the reason why he was so productive, but he has ways that he could win at the NFL level. Speed, quickness and aggressiveness play well into his favor and will help him develop into a solid wide receiver.
Like I said earlier, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Thomas aren’t getting any younger and the team will need to bring in talent at the wide receiver position. Unless Denver trades back in the draft, Washington will need to fall into the second round in order for the Broncos to draft him. There’s no way the Broncos will select him with the fifth pick in the draft and I highly doubt he will be there when the Broncos make their second round selection. They will need to either trade back in the first round or use their second-round pick coupled with a few other picks and assets to move up a few spots in order to select Washington.
Whether the Broncos will try to draft Washington or not in this draft. It’s still apparent that they have a keen eye on him, because he’s currently one of the top performers at the Senior Bowl practices, and it’s almost impossible to not notice him.