Dan Quinn knows those “moments” come for some rookies to deliver

On By Littum

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has gotten a lot out of a pair of his rookies ten weeks into the season. Of course, Jayden Daniels is Washington’s starting quarterback, but Johnny Newton, Mike Sainristil and Brandon Coleman are also making an impact. Alternatively, Luke McCaffrey and Ben Sinnott have been on fans’ minds. It’s not that they don’t play; McCaffrey sees 45 percent of the offensive snaps and Sinnott sees 31 percent. However, they have combined for 16 catches this season and have been targeted 19 times.

For McCaffrey, when you watch the film, you can appreciate how often his ability to beat tight coverage isn’t rewarded with a target. Granted, that’s the nature of the wide receiver position, and if a receiver isn’t high in the progression, they have to hope that everything goes well in the pocket to allow the quarterback to find them. For Sinnott, while he is most often used as an effective inline blocker in the run game, he is the perceived yards-after-catch weapon that Washington fans feel the team lacks.

“It’s all part of that development,” Quinn said of the development aspect of rookies in the passing game. “When the opportunities come, can you absolutely go for it? Whether it’s this week or two weeks or four or six weeks from now, all those opportunities when they come, be ready to deliver.” Quinn continued, saying he knows those moments will come and he believes his freshmen will be ready because of the work they’ve put in.

One aspect to consider for the younger players is through offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. In a short week against a division rival Philadelphia Eaglesbattling the injury bug heading into a ten-day rest period, could we see the offense under Kingsbury roll out some new wrinkles? I explored that possibility in the latest Trap or Dive podcast episode.

You can listen to the entire Trap or Dive episode below. We discussed:

  • Lessons learned from the Steelers loss
  • Marshon Lattimore’s return?
  • The bug has started hitting Commanders for key launchers
  • The run game needs Andrew Wylie back and more use of Chris Rodriguez (or Brian Robinson)
  • Eagles game preview

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