National Football League

Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson switch wide receiver spots

Published Jun. 4, 2015 2:37 p.m. ET

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It appears that after just one season in head coach Jay Gruden's offensive scheme, the Washington Redskins will shake things up at wide receiver. Neither DeSean Jackson or Pierre Garcon will head to the bench, but they will be switching sides and playing different positions, according to how they have lined up thus far during the team's OTA practices.

In 2014, Jackson lined up as the "Z" wide receiver and Garcon lined up as the "X". In most offenses, including Gruden's, the X wide receiver is responsible for making big plays and occasionally operating clear out routes. The Z wide receiver tends to run more short and intermediate high-percentage routes. For the majority of repetitions thus far in practice, Garcon has lined up as the Z and Jackson has moved over to the X.

This change aligns with what Gruden had preached earlier this offseason when he said that he would like to spread the ball around more in the passing game. Moving Garcon to the Z should help him get more involved in the offense after he saw his production fall of a cliff in 2015. In 2014, Garcon finished with a 113/1,346/5 line, but he followed that up in 2015 with a 68/752/3 line. Don't expect Garcon to match his 2013 numbers, but his final stats should land somewhere in between his last two seasons.

(h/t Washington Post)

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports