Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims Jr., And Kelvin Harmon Look To Defy Expectations In Sophomore Campaigns

The photo posted on Twitter by Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. on May 30th set the tone. Wearing a purple and gold Magic Johnson jersey, Haskins has his arms draped around wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims Jr. His right-hand holds two fingers up in a peace sign. Kelvin Harmon stands to Sims’ right, hands clasped in front of him. No one is smiling.

The caption of the photo is “Our turn.”

This group of underdog receivers represents the future of the Redskins organization. And they are all under 25 years old. McLaurin is the oldest at 24 years old, Sims follows at 23 and Harmon is just 22.

In the wake of injuries last season, McLaurin, Harmon, and Sims stepped up as the three top receivers on the Redskins. A former third-round pick, McLaurin shattered expectations with his breakout rookie performance. He finished with record-breaking rookie numbers for the Redskins, recording 919 receiving yards, averaging 15.8 yards per reception, and seven total touchdowns. Pro Football Focus listed McLaurin as one of its top 25 players under 25 years old. The list of rookies with receiving grades of 80.0 or higher on 250 or more routes over the past 10 years includes the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas, and Chris Godwin.

Meanwhile, Harmon finished second amongst Redskins receivers with 365 total yards and 30 receptions while Sims recorded 310 total yards on 34 receptions. He closed out the year with three or more receptions in five of Washington’s last seven games. Sims, an undrafted player from Kansas hauled in 20 receptions for 230 yards and four touchdowns in the final four games of the season. He also had an electric 91-yard kickoff return against the Detroit Lions in Week 10.

Despite the best efforts of these three rookies, the Redskins still posted some of the lowest receiving numbers in the league last season. Washington recorded the worst receiving yards per game of any team in the league, finishing dead last with 200.3 and last in total yards with 3,205. The Redskins were the third-worst team in the league in receptions with 298 and tied for third-worst in touchdowns scored with 18. Two of their NFC East competitors, the Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants, finished in the top 10 of the league with 30 total touchdowns – the same amount as the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. 

Washington set out to find players who can improve those numbers in the 2020 season. The Redskins brought in veteran Cody Latimer for leadership. Trey Quinn, who ended last season on injured reserve, will return to the field and the Redskins also drafted the dynamic Antonio Gandy-Golden out fo Liberty in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Washington signed undrafted free agents Jonathan Johnson and Isaiah Wright. Darvin Kidsy Jr., Jordan Veasy, Jester Weah, and Emanuel Hall to round out the position group.

In addition to adding players, the Redskins also hired a new wide receivers coach this offseason in Jim Hostler. He has 19 years of NFL experience and has jumped around with 11 teams throughout his career, including the Carolina Panthers in 2019. He is therefore reuniting with head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner. During his time in the NFL, Hostler has worked with star receivers such as D.J. Moore, Davante Adams, and T.Y. Hilton.

Amidst these changes, McLaurin, Sims, and Harmon remain the Redskins’ best hope for an improved receiving corps next season. McLaurin especially understands that he has higher expectations for his sophomore campaign, which is why he started working out just a month after the Super Bowl.

“I felt like I still had a lot of things that I was continuing to try and improve on,” McLaurin said to the media last week. “I felt like I didn’t have any time to waste. Really what was a contributing factor as well was just thinking of playing football for a full year and then getting right into training for my rookie year. I knew my body could handle it, but at the same time I just wanted to get some time off and then jump right into it.”

Though not much older, McLaurin has acted as a leader for Sims and Harmon as they prepare to enter their second year in the league. He said that he has tried to maintain a good pace in workouts and set an example when running routes. 

“I feel like when you go out to workout you should have a plan for what you want to get done, what you want to accomplish and you shouldn’t just be out there just doing things, so I try to visualize coverages, I try to visualize plays,” McLaurin said. “We have guys that are out there that are kind of shadowing, giving us looks…but Steven [Sims] and Kelvin [Harmon] look great.”

 Through training together in the offseason, McLaurin has seen both Sims and Harmon improve by focusing on the details of their play. 

 “Kelvin [Harmon] is moving really well,” McLaurin said. “He has a great burst in the way he’s running his routes. His feet are clean, he’s always had really good hands. When we’re connecting on deep balls, usually everybody kind of expects me being the fast guy I’m going to hit on them all and things like that, but Kelvin’s timing has been great and he and Dwayne [Haskins] are really building that chemistry.”

 On Sims: “I feel like he’s probably made one of the biggest jumps to me personally because of how clean his feet are,” McLaurin said. “He’s always been fast, he’s always been quick, but sometimes he possibly would slip, so whatever he’s been working on – I know he’s been working with the receivers coach – but you could really tell his feet are so clean and the way he’s running his route his stems looks the same. I’m really excited to see him flourish in an offense that can showcase his versatility inside or out.”

 Together, this Redskins receiving corps has nowhere to go but up next season. McLaurin, Sims, and Harmon defied expectations last season and now they must live up to them. 

 As Haskins said, it’s their turn.