Jay Gruden knows Washington Redskins need to expand Josh Doctson’s role

Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Doctson caught the team’s first touchdown pass Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but then went quiet. He finished with just one catch for 11 yards in the Redskins’ 26-24 win.

Doctson, the Redskins’ 2016 first round pick, has seen limited snaps the entire season. After injuries cut short his rookie season, Redskins coach Jay Gruden has stressed the need for Doctson to earn more reps in practice.

On Monday, Gruden said they need to increase Doctson’s role.

“We are going to actively expand it, without a doubt,” Gruden said. “He didn’t get as many reps as I would like at the end of the day when you look at the numbers, but it’s our job. We have got to get him in there more and expand it.”

Doctson played just 19 snaps Sunday and just 25 percent of the offense’s total snaps. Percentage wise, it was Doctson’s lowest output of the season. He also played a season-low 17 snaps at Kansas City.

Doctson missed all but two games last year with an Achilles injury. This year, the wide receiver has been on the Redskins’ injury report with hamstring and shoulder injuries, but hasn’t missed a game.

He was a full participant in practice last week despite being listed with a shoulder injury.

Gruden said they have to do a better job of expanding the number of personnel groups to include Doctson.

So far, Doctson has primarily played at the “Z” position, which aligns on the strong side of the formation. But he’s seen some time at the “X,” or the weak side, too.

Doctson has just four catches for 90 yards in five games. However, two of them are for touchdowns.

“We still have to realize he’s in his second year and last year he didn’t practice a lot,” Gruden said. “Before we start throwing more on his plate, we’ve got to make sure he can handle the little bit that’s on his plate already, which I know he can. I know he can play some X and Z now. Now it’s a matter of getting him out there at practice, making sure he can handle the workload and the mental load of it.”