ASHBURN — Josh Doctson had just one informal interview with the Washington Redskins at the NFL scouting combine in February, and the wide receiver from TCU walked away thinking the team wasn’t all that interested.
That’s why he was surprised when the Redskins called on Thursday night to let him know they had drafted him 22nd overall.
The Redskins initially held the 21st pick, but traded it to the Houston Texans to drop a spot and pick up sixth-round pick in 2017. The Texans selected Notre Dame wide receiver Will Fuller.
“I saw them flip-flop back and forth, didn’t really think anything of it,” Doctson said on Thursday night. “Phone gets to ringing, so it really was sudden. Really appreciative. Fortunate to be over there and be a Redskin.”
Although it appeared to Doctson that the Redskins weren’t interested after the meeting in February, coach Jay Gruden said the Redskins had already known a lot about the wide receiver, who caught 78 passes for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns in his senior season at TCU.
“Just because we didn’t interview him at the combine, the formal interview, that doesn’t mean anything,” Gruden said. “A lot of those interviews are trying to get guys we’re not sure about character-wise, find out more about. For Josh, we already knew what type of guy he was, what type of guy he is and what he will be.”
The Redskins liked Doctson’s production, his work ethic and his character — a quality general manager Scot McCloughan heavily emphasizes. Gruden said the organization selected what it felt was the best player available and that McCloughan strongly felt Doctson was that player.
The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Doctson played his freshman season at Wyoming before transferring to TCU. In three years with the Horned Frogs, Doctson caught 179 passes for 2,784 yards and 29 touchdowns.
“Josh is obviously a very productive receiver out of TCU, made a lot of big plays in his career,” Gruden said. “He’s got height. He’s got mad leaping skills, which are very appealing, especially in the red zone, obviously. He’s another guy that’s going to bring great athleticism to this offense and we’re excited to have him.
“When you’re sitting at 21, there’s a lot of scenarios you play out and Scot and the scouts did an excellent job. There’s a lot of guys taken before us, obviously we didn’t prepare for, and it’s about taking the best player on the board and Josh was clearly the best player on the board at that time for us.”
It was expected that the Redskins were going to address the defensive line or safety in the first round, making the Doctson selection somewhat of a surprise.
Two of the top safety prospects were taken earlier than projected. The Oakland Raiders selected West Virginia safety Karl Joseph at No. 14 overall and the Atlanta Falcons selected Florida safety Keanu Neal with the No. 17 pick. The Indianapolis Colts, at No. 18, selected Alabama center Ryan Kelly, who could have addressed the Redskins’ need on the inside of the offensive line.
When asked if the Redskins considered a defensive player, Gruden pointed to the addition of cornerback Josh Norman, who unexpectedly became a free agent last week and was signed to a five-year, $75 million deal. Because of that, Gruden said the Redskins gained additional flexibility to take who they deemed the best player available.
This draft is considered one of the deepest in recent years for defensive line prospects, which would give the Redskins another opportunity to bolster that position in a later round. The Redskins own the 22nd pick of the second round, which is No. 53 overall.
By adding Doctson, the Redskins could be positioning themselves for the future. Wide receivers Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson are each scheduled to become free agents after this season, with Garcon counting for $10.2 million against the salary cap — the third-highest hit on the team — and Jackson set to account for $9.25 million. When asked about the future of both Garcon and Jackson, Gruden brushed it aside.
Last November, Doctson broke one of his wrists and missed the final two regular-season games. Yet, he set TCU single-season records for catches, yards and touchdowns. Doctson said he was at full strength by the end of the combine and the injury isn’t an issue.
During his pro day, Doctson said that scouts asked him to run extra routes to show his versatility because the offense at TCU often relied on very few. Doctson said he doesn’t think he’ll have a hard time refining his route tree and thinks he should be a strong addition to the Redskins’ offense.
“My game starts with the most dominant trait a receiver should have and that’s catching the football,” Doctson said. “I want to make sure I catch the football in all situations the quarterback decides to throw it to me. He trusts me to catch it and I want to make sure I have all that trust and I showed that over my years at the collegiate level. I’m looking to build on it, learn from other guys and build more strengths and get better and better each day.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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