Washington Commanders: Taylor Heinicke brings more than electricity
By Hunter Noll
The Washington Commanders brought in Carson Wentz this offseason to take over at quarterback. Some fans seemed to confuse Wentz with Patrick Mahomes, but most of the fanbase understood this was simply a small upgrade.
Wentz was seen as an upgrade from Taylor Heinicke because of his arm strength. The new starter didn’t showcase that much through the first six games of the year, however. Instead, Washington got an inaccurate quarterback who held on to the ball too long and wasn’t nearly as mobile as his past self.
The biggest issue though? It was what seemed to be a desire not to throw to superstar wide receiver Terry McLaurin until late in the games.
Taylor Heinicke brings more than electricity to Commanders offense
Following a Week 6 win over the Chicago Bears (an ugly game that saw Wentz throw for under 99 yards), Washington moved to 2-4. Wentz would be shelved for a few weeks due to an injury though. This led to Heinicke getting pushed back into the starting spot.
In the first week with Heinicke, we got exactly what we all remembered from him. He looked really ugly for a while but then started firing off electric plays. That’s who he is. The offense will halt at times with Heinicke struggling to get into a rhythm. At some point, he’ll start using his legs and making impressive throws though.
It’s the electricity that excites fans, but it also destroys them too. Heinicke sometimes seems to get too caught up in it, and he’ll make some extremely ill-advised throws.
However, the QB has brought more than just electricity to the team. His legs have been great, he’s evading sacks and getting rid of the ball quickly. That’s led to Heinicke getting sacked just three times in two games.
The most important thing though, is Heinicke will get the ball to McLaurin. He doesn’t have the arm strength to throw deep balls often, but McLaurin isn’t just a deep ball guy. He’s an elite route runner who can go across the middle and is a weapon when he gets the ball in his hands.
In six games with Wentz at QB, McLaurin had 37 targets (6.167 targets per game). Through two games with Heinicke, he has 16 targets (eight per game). That might not seem like a huge difference, but Washington has also thrown less over the last two games (32 attempts per game compared to 38.67 with Wentz), so McLaurin is getting a much bigger share of the targets now.
When Washington needs a big play, they should be looking to McLaurin. That doesn’t mean he should always get the ball, but he should be option number one. Too often it felt like Wentz wasn’t even looking in his direction, with McLaurin wide open but not seeing the ball.
Both QBs are prone to stalling out the offense for stretches. With Wentz, it felt much more frustrating though. There are fewer sacks now, and more of attempting to get the ball to your best playmakers.
Despite his great arm strength, Wentz seemed to love the shortest pass options. Over the first six games, he’s averaging just 6.4 air yards per pass. That’s with his few deep bombs. Only three teams (New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans) are averaging worse than that this season. With the weapons that Washington has on offense, that’s unacceptable.
Heinicke is up to 7.5 air yards per pass. Only 10 teams have a higher AYPP this season.
Carson Wentz was brought in to be the quarterback of the Washington Commanders because of his arm strength. If he’s not going to use it, Taylor Heinicke is proving to be the much better option.