The position, the highlight-reel catches, and overlooked and undrafted status have brought on the inevitable question: Is Corey Washington the next Victor Cruz?
And even if the Giants’ surprising wideout is a long way from that, he has been the early star of training camp.
After being cut following what he felt was a solid mini-camp with Arizona, the receiver from tiny Newberry College has used it as added motivation to make Big Blue’s roster.
“I really can’t tell you, you’d have to ask my agent. I can’t tell you why it ended so quickly. I had a great rookie mini-camp, so I don’t know,” said Washington, adding the Cardinals cut has put a chip on his shoulder. “Yeah, ‘You cut Corey Washington’ — I have a chip on my shoulder. I’m going to go out there every day and show them why they shouldn’t have cut me.”
Washington has done a good enough job of that so far. Veteran corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie admits he would be stunned if Washington didn’t make the Giants’ final cut.
“He’s a guy that came in as one of the small-school guys, and wasn’t getting reps at first, and then just exploded,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “Even in practice he was making some big catches against the 1s, 2s and 3s. It didn’t matter who was out there. He tends to find himself jumping over people. So he’s definitely a gifted young man.”
But not a little one, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and possessing a great vertical leap.
“Corey’s a big man that can run and go get the football. That’s a good place to start,” offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo said. “He’s a young guy who has a lot to learn, but he’s really done some special things over the last week. It’ll be exciting to see him grow.”
Asked if Washington had shown enough to be viewed as more of a trend than a fluke, McAdoo said, “He’s certainly trending up.”
The uptick started with a late, spectacular, acrobatic 73-yard catch-and-run TD against Bills in the preseason-opening Hall of Fame Game, then spiked upward after he caught a game-winning touchdown Saturday, a 3-yard fade from Curtis Painter with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter against the Steelers.
“He’s made plays. That’s obviously what you like to see from a receiver,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “Can they win those one-on-one matchups? He’s been able to do that on the fade last week, on the go-route the week before.
“He’s still got to improve on route-running and techniques and those things, but from a size matchup and playmaking ability, he’s done a good job making some plays.”
And he has made them in practice, like a nice catch on Monday from Painter, or breaking up linebacker Jameel McClain’s potential interception of a Manning pass.
And Washington — who ended up at Newberry because of his grades coming out of Georgia Military Junior College — is undaunted about facing first- and second-stringers.
“I’m not worrying about No. 1s and 2s. They play football just like me,” Washington said. “I just have to go out there and make plays and continue to do what I do.”