TCU Power Index: Could 2018 be Josh Doctson's breakout year in the pros?

Note: This is No. 7 in a series of 10 profiles on the top 10 former TCU athletes still working in professional sports. The rankings, while completely unscientific and definitely up for debate, are based, in part, on the players' current and recent success, their status on their team and in their league, and their career achievement. Please feel free to complain about the order or any omissions. Email me at sstevenson@star-telegram.com to make your argument and perhaps you'll convince me to add them to a best of the rest list after we count down the top 10.

No. 7 Josh Doctson, Washington Redskins

Much of the chatter around the Redskins' OTA's two weeks ago was about former TCU receiver Josh Doctson. A big season is expected for the third-year pro, who in reality, is coming off his rookie season after missing most of 2016 because of an Achilles injury.

Doctson, who was a the No. 22 overall pick by Washington in 2016 after arguably the greatest receiving career in TCU history, also had to battle through an August hamstring injury before last season but still finished with 35 receptions for 502 yards and six touchdowns. Has he earned a spot this high? Probably not. But consider his inclusion a strong bet that he'll become an NFL star this fall. New Redskins' quarterback Alex Smith could help Doctson's star rise.

The Mansfield Legacy High School alumnus finished with a TCU record 2,785 receiving yards and 29 touchdown receptions. Only one player (Kelly Blackwell) caught more passes at TCU than Doctson, who finished one shy of the record with 180.

"The biggest thing is [my] confidence level," Doctson told the Washington Post last week. “My first year was last year, actually playing on the field. So, with experience out there, with the good and bad, [it's] always going to help me. Hopefully I'm going to build on that this year. It's kind of surreal when you first get here … [Last year] kind of calmed it down and now I'm just back like I was at TCU."

This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 3:10 AM with the headline "TCU Power Index: Could 2018 be Josh Doctson's breakout year in the pros?."