Fantasy Football: Terrelle Pryor, Jamison Crowder can fill key losses in Redskins receiving corps

Redskins coach Jay Gruden is optimistic that Terrelle Pryor, Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson -- along with tight end Jordan Reed -- can replace the departed DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon.

PHOENIX -- It felt like doom and gloom for the Washington passing game when DeSean Jackson signed as a free agent in Tampa Bay, and Pierre Garcon ran off to San Francisco. That’s a lot of production for the Redskins to replace.

Jackson, who led the NFL at 17.9-yards per catch last year, had 56 catches for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns on 100 targets. And Garcon was the team’s leader in receptions (79), receiving yards (1,041) and targets (116), along with three touchdowns.

Even though Kirk Cousins was brought back on the franchise tag again, and the Redskins have a premier tight end in Jordan Reed, along with a quality third-year receiver in Jamison Crowder, it’s never fun to lose your top two targets.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden called the loss of Jackson and Garcon “a major impact.”

“Those two guys had 1,000 yards a piece,” Gruden said at the NFL’s annual meeting. “DeSean is the fastest receiver in the game and one of the biggest-play receivers of all time, quite frankly. And Pierre, the toughness that he has, the consistency he has with his work ethic and the balls that he catches and runs after catch will be hard to top.”

It would be easy for Gruden to be pessimistic about the situation, but the Redskins aren’t lacking for talent in their receiving corps. Losing Jackson and Garcon will hurt, but Washington’s passing game should be just fine. And they have some great Fantasy options this year.

The Redskins signed free agent receiver Terrelle Pryor from Cleveland, and his stats aren’t far off from Jackson with 77 catches for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns on 140 targets. Crowder can easily improve from his standout sophomore season to be a third-year breakout, and he had 67 catches for 847 yards and seven touchdowns on 97 targets.

Washington seemed to plan ahead for Jackson and Garcon leaving when the Redskins selected Josh Doctson at No. 22 overall in the first round of the NFL Draft last year, and he appears to be healthy after being limited to two games as a rookie because of an Achilles injury. He tweeted “100%” on Tuesday, which seemed to indicate he’s finally healthy.

Along with Brian Quick, Ryan Grant and Maurice Harris, Gruden has a positive feeling about this group. And then you factor in Reed and Vernon Davis, and this Redskins passing attack can remain explosive.

“I think we’ll be fine, but that’s the positive outlook,” Gruden said. “If you’re looking that DeSean and Pierre, those are significant blows to us, but looking at the guys we have, I think we’ll be good.”

This is good for Fantasy owners as well. Cousins, who was the No. 5 Fantasy quarterback last year with 4,917 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and 96 rushing yards and four touchdowns, should still be considered a starting option in all leagues, and he’s worth drafting with a late-round pick.

Reed was the No. 8 Fantasy tight end last year in standard leagues with 66 catches for 686 yards and six touchdowns on 88 targets in 12 games (he missed four games due to injury), and he’s worth drafting by Round 5 in all formats. Even though Jackson and Garcon were featured options in the offense, Gruden said Reed is, and will remain, the primary target for Cousins.

“People seem to forget that Jordan Reed, the offense runs through Jordan,” Gruden said.

Pryor finished as the No. 21 Fantasy receiver in standard leagues last year, and he did that with terrible quarterback play in Cleveland. But being paired with Cousins is a boost to his Fantasy value, and he’s a breakout receiver to target in all leagues by Round 4 or 5.

“The talent is there,” Gruden said of Pryor. “We just have to keep working with him.”

Crowder finished tied with Jackson and Allen Robinson as the No. 29 Fantasy receiver in standard leagues last year, and he’s also a potential breakout candidate to target with a mid-round pick. He should see more than 100 targets this season, and he could easily finish inside the Top 20 of Fantasy receivers in the majority of leagues.

And Doctson is a sleeper to target in all formats with a late-round pick. He was a big play receiver at Texas Christian with 78 catches for 1,326 yards (17.0-yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns in his last year at TCU -- and ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. 

Gruden just hopes he can stay healthy this season.

“We’re crossing our fingers,” Gruden said. “I think he’s in a good place now. Hopefully we get him at full speed in training camp and go from there.”

The Redskins receiving corps will look different with Jackson and Garcon gone. But if Pryor proves that last year was the start of him being a standout receiver, if Crowder continues to develop and if Doctson is healthy, along with Reed, things could potentially be better.

That would make Gruden and Cousins happy. And Fantasy owners would benefit as well.