Washington Football Team: Can’t miss first-round 2021 NFL Draft targets

The 6-foot-2 wideout from Minnesota had a down year in 2020 but displayed enough his junior year to prove he is worth a first-round pick. Rashod Bateman was an interesting study when comparing his 2020 tape to his 2019 tape.

Statistically speaking, Bateman would have been on a similar pace to 2019 if the 2020 season went off with a hitch due to COVID-19. However, stylistically it seemed like there were two different players for the Golden Gophers.

In 2020, Bateman was having issues with balling hitting off his hands, and relying on his body too often to finish a catch. However, in 2019, Bateman was often making difficult high point catches over defenders. This shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but just something that seemed prominent.

Bateman’s positives include being a willing blocker, moves well in and out of his routes, attacks jump balls, and is fast with the ball in his hands. However, at times he struggles to create separation and seems slower when running his routes.

For the Washington Football Team, adding Bateman to an offense already containing Terry McLaurin, Antonio Gibson, Logan Thomas, and now Curtis Samuel with Fitzpatrick throwing the ball makes them highly explosive. Bateman and Samuel would take the pressure off of McLaurin, who was really the only meaningful wideout for the WFT over the past two seasons.

Improving the offense has been an important point for Ron Rivera and the Washington Football team front office. Targeting Bateman would, on paper, take the team’s offense to the next level.