Atlanta Falcons See ‘Bright Future’ for Rookie WR Casey Washington

When receiver Casey Washington was preparing for his pre-draft visit with the Atlanta Falcons, he looked up highlights of the team’s wideouts coach, Ike Hilliard.

A 12-year veteran who made over 500 receptions and eclipsed 6,000 receiving yards, Hilliard’s lengthy playing career featured no shortage of standout plays. And after watching some of them online, Washington had a newfound respect for his prospective position coach.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m playing for a dog,’” Washington said last week at the Falcons’ practice facility in Flowery Branch.

But at the time, Washington was merely a draft hopeful. His dreams became reality during the third day of April’s draft, as Hilliard and the Falcons selected him in the sixth round.

And in the three and a half months since Washington arrived for rookie minicamp May 9, he’s compiled quite the highlight reel of his own. Now, fandom has spread to Hilliard.

“I’m probably the biggest Casey fan ever,” Hilliard said last week.

As Washington has learned more about Hilliard, the more he’s grown to respect him. Hilliard is personble and genuine, someone who cares about who players are as people and what goes on in their lives.

Washington wants to be a coach once he’s done playing. Hilliard has been a positive influence on him. But for now, Hilliard is focused on helping Washington extend his playing career as long as possible.

“What we saw saw on tape is a guy that’s going to play full speed all the time,” Hilliard said. “He’s not afraid in any area of the field. He has outstanding hands. The hand-eye coordination.

“We’re working on putting him in positions where he can understand, within each play, how he fits what the progression is, the depth and timing of his route.”

Washington was born two months premature, tipping the scales at four pounds, six ounces. He now stands 6-foot, 200 pounds, but his mentality hasn’t changed. Since he was a child in Round Rock, Texas, Washington said he’s always thought he was bigger than he really was.

Always an underdog — from underrecruited to the University of Illinois, from no touchdowns entering his senior year to four in his final three games, from premature to the NFL — Washington has grown to embrace fearlessness.

“It’s a chip on my shoulder,” Washington said. “It’s not to prove anyone else wrong or do anything for anyone else, it’s just to prove myself right. And like I said, keep God first.”

Perhaps the biggest adjustment from college to the NFL for Washington is the complexity of the offense. At Illinois, Washington often stood on the same side of the field and ran a limited route tree, which consisted of five or six different concepts.

Rookies already deal with meeting room demands and schedule constraints. Life becomes all about football — and for Washington, that includes trying to grasp a playbook with much more variety in what it asks receivers to do.

“The learning curve is a little bit different,” Hilliard said. “Understanding how to run those routes within a scheme, within a combination in patterns during every changing look on defense is a little bit of a challenge.

“We’re asking him to do a lot more than he’s ever done. It will take a little bit of time, but he’s handled it well so far.”

Hilliard noted the Falcons have put more on Washington’s plate since receiver Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury Aug. 7 during joint practices with the Miami Dolphins.

Atlanta is closely monitoring Washington’s progress with hopes he will accelerate his learning curve in a manner where he can be counted on more frequently in the days to come.

But the Falcons won’t merely be gifting playing time to Washington. Hilliard said he has to find ways to learn the play book and earn reps and opportunities through tape, which is the resume for each player.

Washington put plenty of good things on tape in his preseason debut against the Dolphins on Aug. 9, catching three passes for 27 years. In his second exhibition contest, he was targeted six times but failed to make a reception.

The Falcons are still trying to decipher Washington’s role in the offense for this fall, but Hilliard knows this much: Washington can, if utilized correctly, be a contributor.

“He’s made plays,” Hilliard said. “We’re excited about that. We’re going to continue to challenge him and ask him for more. We’ll see where he fits in the grand scheme of what we’re trying to do.”

Washington noted there is not just a new playbook to learn, but also new verbiage. However, Hilliard and staff have been patient with him thus far. Washington acknowledged the existence of a learning curve but said he’s learning one step at a time — and he tries to keep a day-by-day mentality.

The 23-year-old Washington knows he has plenty to clean up. He also knows he has the resources at his disposal to do exactly that.

“Try not to get too high, too low, on the good and bad,” Washington said. “Just look at the film and take it for what it is — black and white. Just being cleaner with my proper route depths and being where I need to be at landmarks, and everything after that will take care of itself.”

While there’s much more to playing receiver than just catching the football, Washington has impressed the Falcons’ coaching staff in that element. Hilliard said he’s shown strong hands, caught the ball away from his frame, is comfortable at the catch point and can track the ball downfield.

As a blocker, Washington is physical, uses his hands and executes within his run fit.

He’s impressed not only Hilliard but also veteran receiver KhaDarel Hodge, who is entering his seventh year in the NFL, with his consistency and work ethic.

“Hard worker,” Hodge said. “Every day, Casey brings it. He’s been making some good plays. I can see a bright future for Casey. He’s a really good player and very hard worker.”

Opportunity exists for Washington to make his mark. He arrived in Atlanta as an ascending player, blooming late at Illinois while playing his best ball over the last month of his college career.

Washington’s arrow has continued pointing upward since he arrived in Flowery Branch, and while he’s still battling a difficult learning curve, internal optimism exists surrounding his upside.

“We’re excited about where he is,” Hilliard said. “We’ll see what he can retain, and hopefully it’ll be enough where he can help us with our playmaking going forward.”

As for Washington, the story itself is still one to take in. When he took the field for his preseason debut at Hard Rock Stadium, he did so with a wide smile on his face, realizing he’d fulfilled a life-long dream.

But there’s more for Washington to do. He has his sights set on making Atlanta’s active roster and carving out a role on gamedays.

Yet for now, Washington is focused only on the day ahead — and making sure he extends his stay on Cloud 9 for many years to come.

“I’m just living the dream, man,” Washington said after his first preseason game. “I’m just happy to be here, and I’m just blessed. It’s special to me, and I’m going to run with it. I’m going to get better, get back to work and become the best me I can be.”