src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. The New York Giants have a desperate need at the wide receiver position this offseason. . The NFC East has three new head coaches and a young group of quarterbacks; its probably no surprise that it has more young and promising receivers than older established veteran receivers. [2:35] Richardson lines up outside (bottom of screen) behind the line of scrimmage. 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. [5:06] The Eagles had no answer for Slayton in this game and it may point to why they prioritized adding speed to their defense in the offseason. Again, Slayton does the basic job necessary to run his route and make a play, but doesnt employ any subtlety or counters to beat a CB as athletic as he is. Indeed, the only games where he had less than a 50% catch rate were against the Patriots and Lions, where he was shadowed by Stephon Gilmore and Darius Slay respectively. And Lamb came out of the gate with a 74-catch rookie season. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. This ability combined with the fact that less athletic DBs give him plenty of cushion to guard against deep routes makes Cooper very good at getting open on high-completion crossing, out, and curl routes. Very few players in NFL history have immediately dominated the way Jefferson has since entering the league in 2020. He does a good job of positioning his body to box out CBs and gives himself the leverage advantage in making plays on the ball. McLaurin keeps track of the play, and when he sees Peterson coming to his side of the field, does a great job blocking Mills out of the play. Terry McLaurin flashes elite traits, but has enough problems in his tape that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round. 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. [2:13] McLaurin takes off deep again, almost immediately beating the CB, and the CB knows it. 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). This play highlights Coopers ability to sell the deep route as well as his short area quickness to stop and turn on a dime to get open. This play shows excellent route running ability, strength, and effort, though it would be nice if he trusted his hands enough to make the catch without using his body to corral the ball. Although he is a bit undersized for a boundary WR at 60 and 208 lbs, he has good agility (7.01s 3-cone), good quickness (4.15s 20 yard shuttle), and elite deep speed (4.35s 40 yd dash), as well as impressive strength (18 BP reps). Overall, I think Reagor is a skilled, explosive playmaker who can stretch the field vertically while also taking short passes or handoffs for big gains, using his sudden cuts and quick acceleration to juke defenders and get yards after the catch. At the quarter mark of the 2022 NFL season, the Next Gen Stats analytics team ranks the top 10 defensive lines. He runs basic routes that get him where he needs to go, but show very little nuance (in terms of exploiting zones) or subtlety (in terms of using fakes and timing). You can see Reagors style with the ball in his hands is similar to a RB, with sharp cuts and good vision picking out running lanes to get 19 yards after the catch. The Next Gen Stats analytics team's top-10 ranking spotlights familiar names, breakout studs and instant-impact rookies. You could make a case for what the Dallas Cowboys are building in the NFC East, with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Sometimes we look around the NFL and see how a quarterback is only as good as his wideouts. Watching Reagor play, I would describe him as explosive, sudden, fast, smart (good at recognizing coverages and exploiting soft spots in zones), and a good route runner. In particular, Lamb has been lethal when going in a shift or motion, leading the NFL with both 337 receiving yards and 4 receiving TDs on such snaps this season. 300 routes run). The prospect with perhaps the best potential to become a true No. ApplePodcasts|Google Play|Spotify|Stitcher|Art19|Watch on YouTube. He will break down film from 6 NFC East wide receivers, in order: Amari Cooper was selected 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2015 draft. New York Giants tight end Evan Engram is a more talented overall player than both but the 3rd year TE is struggling with his catch percentage(it is sub 60%) as an offense safety blanket Engram has been a disappointment this year. Tate only has good speed, but has elite quickness, and plays like this highlight his ability to get separation quickly when in tight coverage if the DB doesnt maintain constant eyes and leverage on Tate. By DJ Siddiqi. He has surprising physicality for his size, often fighting through contact on a contested catch to get extra yards. Without missing a beat, Richardson sees the wide open endzone in front of him and runs across, accelerating so quickly that the safety cant keep up in order to get the easy TD. However, he fared better against those CBs than Amari Cooper. In addition to that, he had a bit of a college injury history, missing several games to injury his sophomore year, then redshirting his entire junior year due to a torn ACL. Lamb leads the way here and is also the youngest of the three, while . Brown recently said he feels like he "won" the trade that sent him from Tennessee to Philadelphia during the 2022 NFL Draft, and it's hard to argue with him, based on the results. He has enough deep speed that he can completely blow past most CBs given a few seconds to run in a straight line, though he doesnt have the lateral agility to juke a DB out of his shoes, nor does he utilize fakes to misdirect opponents and get free early. Alshon Jeffery was taken by the Bears in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft. Its difficult to overthrow Alshon Jeffery, he can often jump over a DB to make the catch. McLaurin gets a poor angle on the block because of the DBs speed, but nevertheless uses his strength to hold his man in place and eventually follow him to the ground, forcing the defender to reach out for an attempted shoestring tackle. As mentioned before, hes a bit small for a WR and can be pressed at the line. This time, instead of Mike Hughes, Cooper (top of screen) is facing off against Darius Slay. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. However, note that this play seems designed explicitly to get the ball to Cooper. Although not invited to the NFL combine, JJ had a good pro day, measuring 62 and 223 lbs, and running a 4.49s 40 yard dash. Running a sub-4.4 40 time himself, Slay isnt afraid of getting beat deep, and keeps his eyes moving between Cooper and Dak the entire time he runs with Cooper. Speed is great without question and true speedsters that know how to use it terrify defensive coordinators. Jose Joaquin (JJ) Arcega-Whiteside was born in Spain, the child of two professional basketball players. The New Orleans Saints have . He is not just the first read on this play, hes the only read. He has enough deep speed that opposing DBs have to respect the deep pass and will often sell out to defend it, giving Cooper a good amount of cushion. I expect him to have just as much utility in the screen game as he does stretching the field. This is almost a right of passage and wide receivers must show the ability to win at the line of scrimmage and make defensive coordinators pay for playing them in this manner. JJ has an extensive bag of tricks, using good fakes and foot quickness to get open at the release and good body positioning to make tough, contested catches. Despite the down year, Reagor had a pretty good Combine, measuring in at 511, 206 pounds, and running a 4.47 second 40 yard dash. Marshon Lattimore buys it at first, and gives enough cushion to allow Cooper to get open when he redirects outside. Justin Jefferson can lay claim to the title of being the best receiver in the NFL. Cooper again runs down the sideline and seems to get open by selling the deep route, but breaking it back to shake loose. Overall, it seems like he relies on out-athleting his opponents, beating them with deep speed or strength rather than using the nuances of the WR position to win, which wont be enough at the NFL level. Although he managed more than 1000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, most of those yards seemed to come in about 30% of his games. He makes a perfect hands catch, reaching out and securing the ball away from his body (and away from the DB), then tucking it under his outside arm to run. If you look at all the players at this position that have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you might be shocked that a good percentage of them are not elite speedsters. After the top three, Wilson flashed some big-play ability last year and Fehoko is a big-bodied rookie. 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. In the video I reviewed of Cooper (all after the trade to the Cowboys), he looked like a very good WR, just one step down from elite (not quite a Julio Jones or Antonio Brown). He looks like he has all the size, speed, acceleration, ball tracking, and sharp cutting ability to be great in the NFL. However, JJ has tremendous ability to stay open even when covered, using his big body, long arms, and good hands-catching ability to reach out and grab the ball out of the CBs reach, even with very little separation. . Justin Jefferson gained 190 of his 223 yards against press coverage in Week 14, the most in a game since Julio Jones in Week 4, 2016 (254 yards).Most Yards vs Press Coverage (since 2020): Jefferson: 1,889 Davante Adams: 1,416 Diontae Johnson: 1,168#MINvsDET | #Skol pic.twitter.com/YyD7Q94fIU. Dallas Goedert was likened to Zach Ertz even before the draft. Gilmore is on top of him the whole way and cuts back just as hard as Slayton, wrapping him up as the ball gets to him and knocking the ball away. Unless Eli Manning, who has averaged 3,800 yards, 20 TDs and 12 INTs over the past two seasons with OBJ on the field with him for 16 games, can find some magic in his 38-year-old arm, the Giants receivers are unlikely to make a big dent in the league receiving statistics. Jeffery plays with more speed than JJ, but JJ plays with more strength and has less of an injury history. [0:01] Reagor shifts from the left slot to right boundary, helping his QB to diagnose zone coverage because the slot CB doesnt travel with him. It depends on whether you favor production or . "Aaron Rodgers . 1. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Were ranking the division by position group. In his college tape, he almost always corralled balls into his body after getting several feet of separation from DBs. We are seeing more and more taller receivers that run well in a straight line, but arent great at changing directions, fall lower and lower in the draft. 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. Richardsons negatives almost entirely have to do with his strength and injury history. Hes not moving to the slot; the ball gets snapped while hes in the process of transitioning, allowing him to catch the ball in the backfield while the other two WRs act as blockers for him. The 2018 version of this article focused on players like Odell . Hes a high effort blocker, but his technique and power are below average. Also, the fact that the Lions had Slay shadow McLaurin all game, even traveling with him into the slot, shows the respect they had for him. The "Cheetah" has put up historic efficiency numbers this season, gaining 3.7 yards for every route run. But the ball is perfectly placed where only JJ can get it, and he again reaches out and uses his long arms and sure hands to secure the ball beyond the reach of the CB for a tough TD catch. He then changes direction uphill so suddenly that Lewis overshoots him on the tackle attempt. Here are the top 25 wide receiver prospects in this year's draft class according to the consensus big board. Tate freezes safety DJ Swearinger with a subtle fake inside before finally being brought down by HaHa Clinton-Dix, dragging him several yards before going down. To say a wide receiver is a great Route Runner means a lot of different things and there are a wide variety of routes that are run, some of which accentuate different skill sets. 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 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. The Packers' offense has faltered for most of the season without Adams to create explosive plays. As miserable as that 2020 season was for the Cowboys, he still had 92/1,114/5. Washington Football Team running back Antonio Gibson has emerged as a very efficient catcher out the backfield, if he can raise his yardage he can transform into an all round running back. Buy Seahawks Tickets 25. The Cowboys are 6-1 with an NFL-leading average of 35.7 points per game since Dak Prescott returned from injury in Week 7. Note that Reagor got injured earlier in this game and looked to be in a lot of pain, but came back and played through it very effectively (as shown here). 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. I respectfully disagree with one aspect of this otherwise fine gallery Jeff Chadiha has put together of the NFL's top 10 wide receivers. 4 in the division but have several talented pass-catchers. Up next in the divisional depth chart review is the NFC East wide receivers. He primarily uses a combination of route running, short-area quickness, and savvy (with fakes/misdirection and ability to find the soft spot in zones) to get open and make plays. You cant teach speed. Tate is rarely asked to block in the run game, but is a willing and physical blocker when put in that role. March 1, 2023 2:19 pm PT. Who's the Best Wide Receiver in the NFL? The Eagles belong at the bottom of this list but that doesnt mean there isnt potential. 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