The Washington Commanders were crushed when No. 1 wide receiver Terry McLaurin suffered a knee injury in last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. From the moment it happened, you knew it was bad. His teammates were crushed. Coaches were crushed. So was the front office. And the fans, too. McLaurin has been a fan favorite since the day he arrived in 2019.
As sad as losing McLaurin was and is for Washington, the NFL stops for no one. McLaurin understands that, and so do the Commanders. Once it was revealed that McLaurin was officially lost for the season with a torn patellar tendon, talk turned to who would help replace his production.
The obvious answer is to give four-time Pro Bowl wideout Stefon Diggs a bigger role. Don’t count on that, says head coach Dan Quinn.
“Stef is doing well,” Quinn said on Monday. “Workload shouldn’t change as much. I think it’ll be others that would climb up more.”
Diggs, who suffered a hand injury early in last week’s game, remained in the lineup and caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season. He will remain a significant part of the offense moving forward. So, who are the other players who should see their production “climb up more?”
Quinn specifically named rookie Antonio Williams.
“Antonio is one that you’d see getting more targets to go,” Quinn said. “So, we’ll look through the week as we’re gonna go, but I like Stef, especially on the options, the third downs, the things that he can do. And so, I would say the natural progression is probably Antonio some more, not necessarily the same spot, but a higher volume.”
In six games this season, Williams has caught 18 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown. He caught an 87-yard touchdown in the Week 4 game against Indianapolis, which was called back. Williams has been outstanding when his number has been called. It will be called a lot more now. And that’s a good thing for the Commanders. They know Williams can play, but they are about to find out how significant a factor he could be for the next several years.
If healthy, Treylon Burks should also continue to see multiple targets per game. But the biggest change should be with Williams.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' rookie is about to become significant part of the offense