Scouting Report: Washington Ties Career High With 9 Catches, Shows off Ability to Extend Plays

Coming into Oklahoma State’s tilt with Texas Tech, James Washington had career touchdowns against the Red Raiders of 39, 75, 73 and 82 yards, yet his only score Saturday in the first quarter was from a mere 14 yards out.

It was indicative of the game he was going to have. The Cowboys were uncharacteristically methodical in their dissection of the Tech defense, which meant a lot of underneath throws and attacks toward the sticks rather than the end zone. By the end of OSU’s 44-31 win, Washington had snagged nine balls, which tied a career-high.

Here is a look at how that happened.

Diverse Route Tree

Washington showed Saturday why he might be a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft.

Major media outlets like FOX and ESPN pick up his deep ball, explosive ability in his connection with Mason Rudolph, but they rarely highlight plays like these.

Running a dig is one of the most underrated and underappreciated aspects of a receiver’s arsenal. Dez Bryant can go over the top better than most. Julian Edelman runs the pick and pivot routes better than anyone. But that route, on a vital third and seven no less, is harder to run than both of them, and Washington does it perfectly.

There is so much more to his tree that makes him such an attractive prospect. Obviously he has excellent ball skills and hands and uses his body well, but his route running is up there, too. His flashiest is the fade, but his best might be the out (which works because he’s such a deep threat). It looks so easy.

Against a Cover 3 or Quarters defense, Washington finds the pocket easier than Mike Gundy finds snakes with Wild Bill. First downs are automatic if the coverage is right.

A lot was made about the Cowboy offense’s inability to work the middle of the field and hit the intermediate routes against TCU, and that’s fair. It’s one of the main reasons OSU lost that game. But to say it was Washington’s fault is farfetched. The crispness in the routes was there, as it normally is.

Washington was targeted a dozen times and caught three quarters of those passes for 127 yards and a score against Tech, and even if you take away his longest completion, he would have been three yards away from 100.

Establishing a Tone

Washington had as many catches and touchdowns in the first quarter against Tech as he has had in the first quarters of OSU’s last four losses combined. Rudolph and Washington connected six times for 62 yards and a touchdown that looked entirely too easy in the first quarter Saturday.

You could tell it settled Rudolph and helped him throughout the game.

Too easy. Pokes up 7-0. pic.twitter.com/JNUChMN8c9

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 1, 2017

Rudolph went on to have a solid game. He finished with 376 passing yards, completing more than 70 percent of his passes, and accounted for five total touchdowns.

Washington was used less and less as the game wore on, but it was clear, like on that third down dig in the fourth quarter, if Rudolph needs a catch, he is going to No. 28. That pass was not open. Matter of fact, Washington was double covered, and Rudolph threw it anyway. And Washington caught it anyway.

Getting Washington involved early should be and likely is one of offense’s primary goals.

Extending Plays

Every time Rudolph got out of the pocket, my mom kept saying, “Oh no.”

His scrambling, or “getting out of his box,” as Gundy would call it, is definitely nail-biting. He throws interceptions, fumbles and gets sacked a lot when this happens. He throws the ball away most of the time, but sometimes he doesn’t need to. Just find two-eight. Washington is open if you watch until the end here.

And even on the Cowboys’ second touchdown, though Justice Hill caught it, Washington could and maybe even should have done so. He was open because he turned the curl into a delayed in-route.

Washington rarely gives up on a pattern. Rudolph isn’t great at hitting his receivers out of the pocket, but if he was, Washington’s numbers would definitely go up.

Take this scramble. Washington was credited with the target, but the ball wasn’t easily catchable. He had a defender on his back and Hill coming in from the front. Rudolph made the right throw selection; it was just a little inaccurate.

There is so much to admire about Washington. That’s why CBS put him No. 1 in their most recent NFL Mock Draft. His ability and willingness to come back to the ball on a busted play is just one more reason to gawk.