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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Josh Doctson Focusing On Mental Preparation Before Return

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While Josh Doctson has been unable to compete on the field during recent OTAs, the rookie wide receiver is using his time to ensure he has a better mental grasp of the NFL game.

Patience is sometimes difficult to find.

For Washington Redskins rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson, the team's first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the waiting game to return from a recent Achilles injury hasn't been easy.

"Yeah it always is for everybody out here," Doctson said of getting back on the field after suffering the injury recently. "Nobody wants to sit out and watch, so yeah, I'm eager to get back out there, but I know I've got to get this back right."

Doctson says the injury has just been "wear over the long past year."

Between his incredibly productive senior season at TCU and all of the pre-draft work, including the NFL Combine and his pro day, he's been going nearly nonstop.

"Really just over time, it's just overuse," Doctson said. "I'm just trying to get that right. I just kind of got nicked here at minicamp, but I mean it wasn't nothing too bad, it just lingered for a while, and I tried to play on it and I should have got off it. But we're taking care of it right now."

Doctson is expected to play a larger role in his first season with the Redskins, as his 6-foot-2, 206-pound frame provides Washington a big-body target to complement the likes of Pierre Garçon, DeSean Jackson and others.

For now, though, he's only learning the offense through mental preparation, watching from the sidelines alongside wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard.

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With the 22nd pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins selected wide receiver Josh Doctson of TCU. Take a look at his collegiate career in photos.

The biggest thing he can do right now is make sure he stays up with what we are doing mentally from an installation standpoint so that when he does come out there he's able to hit it full-speed," Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay said. "He's done a great job in the meeting rooms. You can see he's a real conscientious guy. He was able to practice a couple days where you see the flashes of why he was such a special player at TCU and we're looking forward to getting him back on the grass."

Getting the mental side down first could actually help more in his transition to the NFL.

"[Hilliard] and [head coach Jay Gruden], everybody is telling me that this game is 85 percent mental, so I'm just getting back making sure I'm getting all the mental reps, hearing all the calls in the huddle and seeing myself do it in my head," Doctson said. "I'll be alright."

Doctson is also able to study how the rest of the wide receivers run their routes, whether that be how quickly they get out of their breaks or how they create separation, during meetings.

While Doctson dominated at TCU, earning first-team All-American honors in 2015, the offense's route tree was limited.

"In the film room I watch Garçon and Jackson all the time," Doctson said. "[Ryan] Grant all [the] guys, [Jamison] Crowder, they're running really good routes teaching me just by watching it how to get in and out of my breaks and what that actually means. So seeing it is definitely better than just hearing it."

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