The Washington Commanders saw something in Luke McCaffrey that others didn’t, selecting him with the No. 100 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. His strong work ethic and sure hands saw him quickly rise up the wide receiver rankings. Fans approached his rookie year with cautious optimism, even if a pleasant preseason made that difficult for many.
McCaffrey made a pretty good impression in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, catching all three passes aimed at him for 18 receiving yards. He followed that up with a no-win performance against the New York Giants despite playing 56 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
The former Rice star ran 23 routes without a single target. McCaffrey deserves credit for his blocking heroics, which may have been a concern in pre-draft evaluations. While disappointing, a closer look at some overlooked stats offered a promising outlook on the wideout’s long-term ambitions.
According to Pro Football Focus, McCaffrey is consistently getting open space. In Week 2, he ranked 4th in separation percentage, which is measured by how often a wide receiver breaks coverage, ranking him 3rd in the league through the first two weeks of the season.
McCaffrey creates the space he needs to make plays. There’s a difference between being open in college and in the pros. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is discovering that during his impressive early transition. As he gets more comfortable in the pocket and progresses, his draft classmate will benefit as well.
It was clear from the start that this would be a gradual process for Washington’s offense. Many new pieces have to fit together and miracles don’t happen overnight. Kliff Kingsbury relies heavily on his running game to take the initial pressure off Daniels. That quickly became apparent against the Giants, but the promising signal-caller got additional opportunities to show his passing skills.
Even though McCaffrey didn’t take advantage of it this week, it’s not because he didn’t try. His route efficiency is developing faster than anyone expected. The stats prove it, and it comes across well on the game film.
Kingsbury won’t let that go unnoticed in his weekly planning. Zach Ertz is making good progress and Noah Brown looked encouraging in his debut. If players like McCaffrey and Terry McLarin get more chances, it will only help Washington’s cause.
The NFL is becoming increasingly reliant on analytics, and it’s also something that majority owner Josh Harris wants to implement throughout the Commanders’ football operations under his leadership – something that general manager Adam Peters approved during the lengthy discussions before confirming his appointment.
The fact that McCaffrey is so high up the separation percentage rankings without hitting targets is something to think about. It could be a question of confidence — that’s the case with most first-year pros — but at some point the shackles have to be removed.
What could be better than playing away against a potential playoff candidate on Monday Night Football? Either way, a breakthrough performance from McCaffrey might not be too far away given his remarkable separation numbers.
