It depends on whether you favor production or efficiency on who wins out. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. He has been targeted on 39 percent of routes when defenses send the heat, trailing only the next receiver on this list, CeeDee Lamb. There's one NFC East receiver on the list, and the problem . He recognizes the Cover 2 Zone defense and runs his route perfectly along the soft spots between zones the whole way. Well, they are often doing battle with excellent man coverage cornerbacks. As a result, Slay does not get fooled when Cooper stops and turns around to catch the ball on a comeback. McLaurin seems to try to fake outside, but Slay doesnt bite, instead following McLaurin as he releases inside. Slay held Cooper to 3 catches on 8 attempts for 38 yards (a 38% catch rate). 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. He got off to a strong start to the season thanks to his dominance in the short game, as his 457 receiving yards on passes of fewer than 10 air yards from Weeks 1 to 9 were 68 more than any other player recorded in that span. As was the case in his rookie season, Chases bread and butter has been passes thrown outside the numbers, where he ranks sixth in the NFL with 515 receiving yards this season. Sometimes he would make an incredible contested catch, then in the same game have the ball hit him in the hands and bounce into a nearby DB for an interception. Love is draped all over JJ, trying to muscle him even having the awareness to reach out when the ball is in the air to break up the pass. Tate then stares down safety Jeff Heath and fakes inside to set him up before cutting outside, breaking another tackle attempt as he accelerates quickly to the endzone. Opposing defenses either shadowed him with their best CB or shaded coverage in his direction to account for him. Los Angeles' running backs are in . The Cowboys 2018 season turned around completely when they traded for Amari Cooper, who, playing in his 5th year option season in 2019, is in a contract year and looking to get paid going forward. Last off-season, Hogs Haven published articles that focused on ranking position groups in an effort to identify what the division would look like in 2019. Kupp averaged nine receptions and 101.6 receiving yards per game in the eight contests he started and finished this season, providing a bright spot for a Rams offense that has struggled all year. The Cowboys receivers may have the most talent and productivity potential of any group in the NFC East, but, with the Cowboys run-centered offense, and Dak Prescotts limited pass production (he averages 3,625 yards and 25 TDs per season in his career), this group is unlikely to put up truly big numbers in 2019. This play showcases McLaurins acceleration, route running, hands-catching ability, and top-end speed. Will he ever duplicate that magical five-game stretch last year? He shows excellent ability to redirect himself, locate the ball in the air, and great leaping ability to go up to get the ball. The "Cheetah" has put up historic efficiency numbers this season, gaining 3.7 yards for every route run. Though hes only 511, Reagors leaping ability allows him to go up pretty high to make a catch. McLaurin shows good body control, contorting his body around in the air to make the catch despite his momentum. With very little separation, Slayton runs down the sideline on a fade route, looks back, sees the ball in the air and reaches for it, but Gilmore bats it out of his hands. He is a very good runner, his routes are crisp and he does a very good job breaking them deep enough to ensure a first down if he makes the reception on most plays. Jared Goffs comeback season has been a lot prettier when St. Brown has been on the field -- he averages +0.22 EPA on those dropbacks, a number that would only trail Patrick Mahomes in the category this season. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Here, the CB decides to take the flag on pass interference rather than risk Jeffery getting loose behind the secondary. Coopers ability to sell a fake will still get him open against younger DBs, which is why it really takes an experienced and fast DB playing press man to shut him down. This year, were going to do it again. Cowboys: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Cedric Wilson, Simi Fehoko That top three of Cooper, Gallup and Lamb might be the best trio in the NFL. But the problem is when the book is written that a wideout cant get off the jam, the opponent knows this as well. March 1, 2023 2:19 pm PT. [9:18] Tate lines up outside this time, fakes an out route, but then redirects to run deep and accelerate quickly while CB Anthony Browns head is turned to the QB, allowing him to get yards of separation and an easy catch that he turns into a TD. Overall, he is big, strong, has good hands, and is nuanced at many aspects of playing WR, but shows a lack of deep speed on film. NFC East receivers chart.The Best Receiver in the division is either Amari Cooper or Terry McLaurin. Jefferson makes the improbable look routine, with six more receptions (24) than any other player this season on passes with less than a 50 percent completion probability. Gilmore held Cooper to no catches on 2 attempts (one of which went for an interception). This play shows Slaytons deep speed, ball tracking ability, and ability to haul in long passes. But he hasn't spent more than three years with any team over the course of his career. Look how much cushion the CB opposite Reager (bottom of screen) gives him, clearly afraid of getting beat deep. McLaurin is an extremely willing and tough blocker, even if his technique could use some work, and is generally willing to do the dirty work necessary to help his team succeed. Id like to quote heavily from that series here. The Next Gen Stats analytics team reveals its ranking of the 10 best edge rushers entering Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season, with the Browns' Myles Garrett leading a list of star defenders. He finished the season with 48 receptions for 740 yards. First, notice that McLaurin recognizes Indiana 14 is matched up on him. Reagor again runs a good route, faking outside as if to run down the sideline and getting the CB to turn outside, but then breaking inside to take advantage of the cushion with nobody near him. Watching tape of McLaurins 2019 season, it became clear that other teams saw him as the number one threat in the Redskins passing game. This play shows good awareness by Richardson to read the defense and split the defenders, as well good speed (notice how quickly he runs by them) and good ability to locate the ball and adjust to it. Love was smart enough to avoid being fooled by the route, allowing little separation and having enough physicality to prevent getting boxed out. Also, Im not sure how much this will translate to the NFL, but I literally saw Reagor yelling at his QB after some plays where he expected a different read or better ball placement. The Raiders have faced Cover 6 at an outlier rate this season (17 percent, the only team over 13 percent), as defenses "cloud" Adams' side of the field, drawing a safety farther away from the ball. He even manages to keep his feet in bounds when he lands despite a shove by Darby, showing excellent body control and awareness. Good luck. He talked about position groups that Bills fans should look at here in In. Of course, no position group consists of just one or two players. In addition to showing Tates change-of-direction ability yet again, this play shows his improvisational ability and persistence. He has a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics and has spent several years doing research with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, and now does R&D work as a US government contractor. Slayton still just runs past them and gets several yards of separation, doing a great job looking back and tracking the ball in the air to get a long reception for a TD. Featured Promo: Get any full-season NFL Premium Pass for 50% off and win big in 2023. Best Wide Receiver Duo (Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports) There are many potential choices for the best receiver pair in the game today. When I reviewed McLaurins college tape for this ranking last year, I noted that he was a tremendous athlete, good route runner, and a willing and physical blocker. See where they land in the Next Gen Stats analytics team's ranking of the top 10 most explosive rushers right now. But that couldnt have just been a fluke. The 2018 version of this article focused on players like Odell . To put that in perspective, he is currently the only player in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) to average over 3.3 yards per route in a season (min. They have the No. Even still, Jefferson leads the NFL in yards (869) against single-high coverages for the second straight season. Dallas Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin was a sleeper candidate to take this award going into this season but has sadly been sidelined with Injuries. From the data above on average 96.1 wide receivers per year played in the NFL between the ages of 25-29. -- Mike Band, Keegan Abdoo and Cole Jacobson contributed to this piece. He committed to Auburn and was a big play threat throughout his college career, but didnt get to show much versatility in a simple offense with poor QB play for much of his college career. Hughes gives a generous initial cushion to prevent getting beat deep, which allows Cooper to get an easy reception for a first down and then some. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. In addition to football, in high school he was all-state in basketball and placed highly in track. Cooper can play every WR position: X, Z, and slot, and the Cowboys use him all over the field to exploit matchups and get him paired with slower DBs. The NFC East in 2020 has been described as the most atrocious division in NFL history. It also shows how much teams have to respect his deep-threat ability and how that opens up opportunities for short passes. Last off-season, Hogs Haven published articles that focused on ranking position groups and head coaches in an effort to identify what the division would look like in 2018. Its really impressive. It looks to me like hes supposed to run a corner route, but when he finishes the route and looks back to Russell Wilson he sees him scrambling. NFL Wide Receivers 2021 : For a division that is considered one of the weakest in the history of the NFL, the NFC East boasts one of the best receiving groups in the whole league. He does a great job turning on a dime to locate the ball in the air, then boxes out the deep safety Marcus Gilchrist to keep him out of the play (though Gilchrist isnt able to change direction in time anyway). Your login session has expired. What follows is the BBV discussion of what scouts look for in running back prospects. He doesnt do it often enough to be a big issue, but maybe because his cuts are so sharp, he seems to trip himself up and miss out on extra yards now and again. Many make the mistake that if a wide receiver is big and fast that he immediately becomes a top NFL prospect. Expect the QB play to dramatically improve next year as teams either move onto new starters or double down on weapons for their existing starters. Behind every great quarterback, there's an excellent wide receiver, or two, or three. The Redskins probably have the least recognizable names in the division, even though the squad features former first round pick Josh Doctson and last years relatively high-profile free agent signing, Paul Richardson. Unlike many other speedy WRs, McLaurin is tough and physical enough to support the run game. However, Richardson is also a good route runner and is quick and nuanced enough to operate well on all routes in the route tree. [7:59] McLaurin lines up opposite Jalen Mills at the top of the screen. Ball Skills is a combination of how a pass-catcher uses his body to shield defenders and put himself in the best position to haul in the football combined with showing soft, reliable hands to catch the ball away from his frame. Ranking the NFC East, 2020: Wide Receivers, Jeff Bezos and Josh Harris are the two finalists to buy the Washington Commanders; NFL owners will discuss Dan Snyder after new reports, Washington players call out Dan Snyders terrible facilities, staff in new NFLPA survey, Grade Ron Rivera After His First Three Seasons in Washington, ESPN has the details on the investigation of Dan Snyder for financial crimes, and its time for him to sell the team, News, links to articles, updates and more from DC area writers and national sports journalists and others, Looks Like Someone Has A Sixpack Of The Mondays, Yahoo Washington Football Team Depth Chart, Yahoo Washington Football Team Transactions, the BBV discussion of what scouts look for in running back prospects, TCU @ Oklahoma State, all Jalen Reagor plays, The Commanders Should Consider Jose Ramirez as a Developmental Edge Rusher, Martin Mayhew NFL Scouting Combine Presser, 2023 NFL Mock Draft Roundup: Mel Kiper Jr gives Washington a big offensive lineman. Here, well take a look at the top of the depth chart for each team the pool of players from which the ones on the final 53 seem likely to be chosen. NOTE: The composite score for each player is based on a series of advanced receiving metrics, courtesy of Next Gen Stats. Gambling problem? Not many teams can present such a matchup, but the NFCE faced two such DBs last year in Darius Slay and Stephon Gilmore, each shadowing Cooper in their respective games. By DJ Siddiqi. Note, however, that he didnt make the big play by simply running past everyone with deep speed, but, rather, by using his sudden acceleration and route running ability to get open, and then using his agility to break tackles until the defenders were left behind. That top three of Cooper, Gallup and Lamb might be the best trio in the NFL. Im not sure the skill level is lower now than it was before, but the marquee power seems to have fallen off a bit. He will put that analytical brain to work this off-season helping to analyze some of the top players in the NFC East. Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen could be a surprise cut this offseason with the Los Angeles Chargers sitting at $19.9 million over the salary cap.It was a luxury to have both Allen and Mike Williams on the same team, but the time might have finally arrived for the Chargers to settle in with one player being the No. Richardsons negatives almost entirely have to do with his strength and injury history. Washington: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Kelvin Harmon, Adam Humphries, Cam Sims. He grew in almost all of those areas as a WR in his first year, putting to bed my concerns about how he would translate to the NFL. 100 routes). This steep drop-off is no surprise, but it does influence the total number of age 30+ wide receivers who hit 100 targets in a season. 1 option. Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports Flowers is another potential first-round option depending on how his combine week goes. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! Not all the players listed will make the team, and I might easily miss especially for the Redskins division rivals players who will make the Week 1 roster, but this list should give some idea of the relative depth of the four positional groups. He also does a great job using fakes to misdirect opposing CBs and create lots of early separation at the release. Here are PFF's wide receiver rankings ahead of the 2022 season, starting with Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp at the top. [3:49] This time, Love wins the matchup, getting a hand in to break up the pass. 0 Comment. In addition to that, he is experienced running routes from any WR position, though he favors the slot. The New York Giants have a desperate need at the wide receiver position this offseason. It could happen, but it requires a lot of things to go right for Washington that didnt go right in 2018. Speaking of top-end receivers who switched teams in the offseason, Adams presents another great case study in positional value. [0:41] This is almost a mirror of the first play shown above against the Vikings. He is not just the first read on this play, hes the only read. The Philadelphia Eagles are ranked No. His only real weakness to me is that he depends on physicality to get open quickly, as he lacks the short area quickness to get open purely based on acceleration. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Every team has at least one . This ends up being a running play for Adrian Peterson, who breaks his run to McLaurins side of the field. 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