What Should Washington Redskins Do About WR Situation This Offseason?

Jamison Crowder can be the blueprint for what the Washington Redskins should do to fix the wide receiver position during this offseason. The 24-year-old has to become the feature of the wideout corps, as well as the template for the other receivers the team targets.

The Crowder-centric landscape will have no room for Terrelle Pryor Sr., though. He joined Washington this offseason and looked ready to be the premier No. 1 target this offense needs.

Sadly, the apparent readiness was merely a mirage borne from OTAs and training camp. The Redskins would be wise to admit their mistake quickly and move on from Pryor. Josh Doctson's emergence this season will make the choice easier.

Doctson has shown the potential to do more in this offense. Similarly, Ryan Grant has made enough of his limited opportunities to prove he merits a bigger role.

Read on to find out what Washington can do to make wide receiver a position of strength again this offseason.

Make Jamison Crowder the No. 1 Target

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Let's face it, Crowder is no longer just a slot receiver. He's no longer the third-choice wideout the way he was when Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson were each topping 1,000 yards.

Instead, Crowder is now the most dynamic playmaker at his position on the roster. Proof of those skills was offered emphatically during the 20-10 win over the New York Giants in Week 12.

Crowder caught seven passes for a career-best 141 yards, including a touchdown. No. 80 also reeled in seven passes the week before against the New Orleans Saints to go with his nine-catch, 123-yard effort against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.

The pattern is a clear one. As the season has progressed, Crowder has steadily been assuming the role as the top wide receiver in Washington's offense.

It's a role he's making his own thanks to the multi-layered range of nifty moves out of his breaks. Crowder's quick cutting and turns within turns make him a difficult assignment in man or press coverage.

He's also tough to track for zone teams thanks to his deceptive vertical speed which can stretch zone shells to breaking point.

Head coach Jay Gruden is already anticipating Crowder taking on a more prominent role in the Redskins' passing game, per Liz Clarke of the Washington Post: "Sometimes he gets lost in the mix, but now he is becoming a feature-type guy and he is taking advantage of every ball that is coming his way."

Clarke saluted Crowder's improvisation skills and how they can turn any broken play into big or decisive gains. He and his ability to riff with it have to be the defining features of Washington's wide receiver rotation next season.

Find the Next Jamison Crowder

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This isn't a call for the Redskins to use their next fourth-round pick on a wide receiver and hope he offers the value Crowder did at the same stage in 2015, although the franchise should always aim to draft well.

Instead, this is a call for Washington to target the type of receiver Crowder is. Specifically, it means looking for another slot-style receiver with the crossover skills to be more.

Crowder fits this mold, one increasingly common for NFL offenses in the modern era. He is a pass-catcher akin to New England Patriots duo Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola or Kansas City Chiefs pair Tyreek Hill and Albert Wilson.

These are all receivers diminutive in stature but explosive and versatile enough to be more than just possession-style targets for their quarterbacks. Crowder belongs in the same bracket thanks to his ability to get open, both on inside routes and on the outside.

Not only can Crowder work the underneath and over the middle, he is also able to stretch coverage vertically.

Crowder's game is ideal for a quick-paced and so-called "chuck-and-duck" offense, one based on short throws turned into big gains after the catch. It is a quarterback-friendly way to travel and a style of passing game he and another receiver of similar skills and build can make the norm in Washington.

Such an offense would be an asset if the Redskins keep Kirk Cousins in the fold. The quarterback is playing his second season in a row under the franchise tag, but he could yet play his way into a new long-term contract.

If Cousins stays, he would benefit immensely from having a Crowder Mark II to aim for. He has always been a quarterback at his best when attacking defenses with short-range quick hitters.

Get Ryan Grant More Involved

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Few players have waited as patiently as Ryan Grant for more opportunities. It's taken him four seasons to earn a career-high 31 receptions.

Grant has made the most of the passes sent his way this season. His 31 catches have come off just 41 targets, according to ESPN.com.

This level of efficiency has been matched by a flair for delivering in the clutch. Grant has caught three touchdowns this season, including snatching the game-winning score to beat the Los Angeles Rams on the road in Week 2.

Grant's production has so far indicated nothing but good things about the flanker the Redskins used a fifth-round pick to select in the 2014 NFL draft. He has shown excellent hands, smart route-running skills and a willingness to make the tough catches.

Frankly, the Burgundy and Gold knew all this about Grant when they drafted him. Yet it's still taken this long to involve him more often.

Even so, Gruden has always been a fan of the 26-year-old's talents. The head coach should now do more than pay lip service to the idea of continuing to get Grant involved.

It's time for the Redskins to make Grant their third receiver and target him accordingly. The template comes from the 2016 season when Crowder caught 67 passes in the third-receiver role in support of Jackson and Garcon. Grant needs to be reaching similar levels of production in 2018.

The first priority will be to re-sign the pending free agent quickly before the market opens. Then the Redskins should spend the offseason adding Grant to more pages in the playbook.

Cut Terrelle Pryor Sr.

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When the Redskins signed Pryor to a one-year deal this year, they loaded his temporary contract with prove-it clauses dependent on his production this season.

Some of those clauses were detailed by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk back in March:

"Pryor gets $250,000 for 60 catches, a total of $600,000 for 70 catches, and a total of $1 million if he has 80 receptions or more. As to receiving yards, he gets $150,000 for 750 yards, a total of $300,000 for 1,000 yards, and a total of $500,000 for 1,250 yards. As to touchdowns, Pryor gets an extra $100,000 for six, a total of $300,000 for eight, and a total of $500,000 for 10.

To get the full $2 million (and to make the contract worth $8 million), Pryor needs to have 80 or more catches for 1,250 yards and 10 touchdowns. Based on his 2016 performance (77 catches, 1,007 yards, four touchdowns), Pryor would have made an extra $750,000."

Not only has Pryor not reached those targets up to now, it's probably safe to say he won't hit them by the time Washington's 2017 season is put into the books.

Pryor's lack of production is a major disappointment, but it does at least give the Redskins a credible reason to admit their mistake and call an end to the Pryor experiment ahead of schedule.

It may seem cold, but Pryor simply hasn't delivered the way he was expected to. What he was expected to do was replace the big plays on the perimeter Jackson provided for fun.

Pryor himself was something of a big-play specialist for the Cleveland Browns last season. However, he must have left those big plays in Ohio, because his brief stint with the Redskins has so far been defined more by what he hasn't done.

He hasn't run routes with the polish of a player doing the study to help get to grips with the nuances of the position. Nor has the former quarterback been able to hang on to passes on those rare occasions when he has managed to get open.

Pryor's inability to make the grade has seen him benched in recent weeks. It's also left the Redskins without a big body to work the middle or a burner to challenge coverage on the outside.

Doctson has tried to pick up the slack in the latter role and has shown some promise as a credible deep threat. Washington's first-round pick in 2016 has averaged 15.6 yards per reception and is primed to do what Pryor hasn't.

Target Experience in Free Agency

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One reason why it hasn't worked out with Pryor is his inexperience at the position. The Redskins signed a player with just one full season as a pro wide receiver with the Browns.

Lo and behold, the Burgundy and Gold got a wideout who has trouble running polished routes and hanging on to the football. Washington can avoid a repeat of the problem by pursuing an experienced receiver or two in next year's free-agency market.

Jarvis Landry of the Miami Dolphins would be a dream fit. He isn't the biggest at 5'11" and 208 pounds, but he is a sure-handed catch machine who boasts returner-type elusiveness and speed after the catch.

Back in October, ESPN NFL Nation's Kevin Seifert noted how "Landry has caught more passes since the start of the 2014 season (318) than all but three pass-catchers."

Despite his impressive numbers, Landry was reportedly on the trade block earlier this season, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

Landry is a good fit for what the Redskins should do to change their options at wide receiver this offseason. Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars playmaker Allen Robinson would also fit the bill.

Adding an experienced and refined natural receiver in support of Crowder and Grant, preferably one whose style is similar to the pair's possession skills, is the best way for the Redskins to get the position back to the strength it embodied before Jackson and Garcon left town.