Grade the Redskins Moves So Far

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Originally Posted by Chico23231

I think if it was a 4, 5 year 20+ million dollar deal i might agree, but his contract is really no risk. 2 year deal where we get to find out if he can become a stronger player. Shanny reallllly wanted this guy and there was a lot of interest from other teams. I think he could be an asset.

I think this is an incorrect characterization of Morgan's contract. It's short-term, big-money (so unlike Garcon, theres' no upside on the backend if the player becomes an integral part of the offense), and we've deferred some of the signing bonus to 2014 when we'll have more cap dollars.

I went back and watched every snap Morgan played last year and came away a bit disappointed because he had fantastic numbers and I expected to see an explosive downfield threat who could run away from corners. What I saw was a scheme that asked him to run routes underneath the corner. I saw a precise route runner who could separate from all but the top corner on the other team (Leon Hall, for example). Morgan has a nice, wide catching radius that gives the quarterback a lot of space to get the ball in, and he has a little bit of straight-line speed to run away from linebackers and safeties after the catch. You can send him over the middle, and he's comfortable there as he is on the edge. His best routes were the deep comeback and the slant. You can run a 'Z option' with him.

He had an obscenely high catch rate, so it's hard to argue that SF was using him improperly. He's probably a small upgrade over Gaffney, which means a 1,000 yard first season here is hardly out of the question (but it's unlikely because he'll be splitting snaps with Hankerson, who might even be better).

Morgan is essentially who Malcolm Kelly would have been if he could have gotten on the field. Outside of this ankle fracture he suffered, Morgan has been pretty healthy, I believe. I saw a better player on tape than the Redskins played with last year. What I did not see was a guy who offers something the Redskins haven't had in years. If he had played here in 2010, Morgan would have been perhaps the 2nd or 3rd receiver, splitting reps with the more versatile (but less reliable, IMO) Moss.