Im not sure the skill level is lower now than it was before, but the marquee power seems to have fallen off a bit. As a result, Slay does not get fooled when Cooper stops and turns around to catch the ball on a comeback. He lines up on the boundary at the top of the screen opposite Vikings CB Mike Hughes. 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. Click here to see all the Ranking the NFC East articles. 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). [4:15] This is a well designed and executed pick play where Richardson springs Vernon Davis open for a huge gain. He even manages to keep his feet in bounds when he lands despite a shove by Darby, showing excellent body control and awareness. DeVonta Smith is an instant star for the Eagles and a true No. The NFC West has some very good wide receivers in the division. Cooper working with Dalton and practice squad players has put up respectable numbers while McLaurin working with a revolving door of quarterbacks has emerged as a leader and playmaker in the culture Ron Rivera is trying to implement. Reagor was selected by the Eagles in the 1st round of the 2020 draft. [0:32] Richardson runs a deep route, subtly faking outside to get inside leverage on the CB, then turning the route back inside to split the CB and S, get open, locate the ball in the air, and dive for the catch. Play man, get dusted. Slayton doesnt fake inside before breaking outside, he doesnt fight for inside leverage while running down the sideline, he doesnt body out Gilmore when he jumps for the ball, he doesnt grip the ball strong enough that Gilmore cant knock it out of his hands. Justin Jefferson can lay claim to the title of being the best receiver in the NFL. Here, the CB decides to take the flag on pass interference rather than risk Jeffery getting loose behind the secondary. But in todays NFL, it is better to be quick with great acceleration out of a break or a cut. McLaurin releases and expertly fakes outside, causing Douglas to flip his hips outside while Terry turns back inside and easily runs past Douglas in the 1-on-1 matchup and gets open to make a big catch. 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. Everyone can ignore this (and more to follow). 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. Reagor is also a skilled kick returner, with 12 kick returns for 312 yards (a 26.0 average) in 2018 and 5 kick returns for 72 yards (a 14.4 average) in 2019. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. And J.J. Arcega-Whiteside seems like he was chosen to be the eventual replacement for Alshon Jeffery. Richardson is smart and aware enough to attack the seams in a defense, and he is a great improviser, working hard after the play breaks down to keep himself open as a viable pass catching threat. [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. He committed to Stanford, and although red shirted in his freshman year, became an increasingly important part of the offense after that, catching 63 passes for 1,059 yards in 2018 (top 5 in the nation). 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. In the off-season, Washington went out and signed speed-threat Curtis Samuel to a three-year, 34,500,000 contract. Tier 1: Elite 1. Here are the pre-free agency wide receiver rankings for the NFC North. . While gaining separation through great route running is fantastic, there are some great receivers like DeAndre Hopkins that just win time and time again at the catch point despite not gaining a lot of separation. Richardson lines up outside (top of screen) with Davis lining up inside as a potential blocker (though it doesnt look like the defense buys that for a second). JJ is excellent at using his strength, big body, and smart positioning to block out CBs and make catches in contested spaces like this. 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. [0:41] This is almost a mirror of the first play shown above against the Vikings. I expect that wont be an issue with Wentz throwing to him, but its worth noting that Reagor has a temper and it showed on the field. Then he shows good awareness of the defense in sprinting away from defenders to get the long TD. 2. One major reason for that success has been Lambs consistency, as the third-year wideout has posted 70-plus receiving yards in five of those seven games. 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. Despite missing four games with a hip injury, Chase still manages to be all over the receiving leaderboards this season. Hogs Haven looks at all four teams in the division in an effort to identify the best and the weakest of the NFC East. However, this makes him a poor matchup on physical CBs like Josh Norman who can shove back harder. Be the first one to comment on this story. The Redskins seem to have a very high-quality group on the field, though the only well-known name in the bunch is Terry McLaurin, and his fame doesnt extend far beyond the fantasy football communityyet. "Aaron Rodgers . Tate gets wide open and signals Wentz for the TD. But against NFL-caliber talent, it might not be enough. Washington: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Kelvin Harmon, Adam Humphries, Cam Sims. Good luck. He recognizes the Cover 2 Zone defense and runs his route perfectly along the soft spots between zones the whole way. His basketball roots are also evident on plays like this. Although the ball is placed right on his hands, he makes an ugly drop and misses out on a big play. [4:48] This time McLaurin (bottom of screen) is matched up with Ronald Darby 1-on-1. 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. Taking a closer look at his peers we can see Jalen Reagor the Philadelphia Eagle's 21st overall pick in the previous draft is experiencing regular rookie growing pains. 1 option. Slayton had success early in this game when he was matched up on other CBs, but got completely shut down once Gilmore moved to shadow him starting with this play. 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. This play showcases his deep speed and big play ability, but also his ability to locate the ball and adjust to the throw. This play showcases McLaurins acceleration, route running, hands-catching ability, and top-end speed. 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. After watching both WRs in those matchups, I think the difference was McLaurins physicality and ability to win contested catches. The score is calculated by scaling each metric to a percentile (from 0 to 100) relative to all wide receivers who have played at least 150 offensive snaps through Week 14 of the 2022 season. He will put that analytical brain to work this off-season helping to analyze some of the top players in the NFC East. Wide Receiver: Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders, CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys, and A.J. 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. 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. NFC East The AFC East probably has two receivers who are currently better than anyone in this division. 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. [1:46] This play is one of two that is very representative of how Cooper gets open. Slayton has all the athletic traits of a very good WR, but needs a lot of refinement added to his game to allow him to win when athleticism isnt enough. 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. It should be noted that Reagor was listed with a 195 pound playing weight at TCU and the extra weight at the Combine may have slowed him down. Its difficult to overthrow Alshon Jeffery, he can often jump over a DB to make the catch. 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. He takes off and blows past his DB to get about 6 yards of separation vertically. In fact, with four games remaining on the schedule, Brown already has set the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) single-season record with four touchdowns on deep, tight-window passes. However, I noted he had a few flaws in his game that I thought would cause him problems. This is a perfect example of why hands-catching is necessary against NFL-caliber talent, where the few inches of separation created by catching the ball arms length away is the difference between a big catch and an incompletion. Having both DBs start in the same position but not allowing them to press doesnt give them any advantage. McLaurin does a good job turning around and locating the ball in the air, but the ball is again underthrown, so he has to slow down, allowing the CB and an assisting safety to catch up. I wanted to include this play for 2 reasons. Like Jefferson in Minnesota, Hill's presence forces defenses to become more predictable and one dimensional. Jeffery plays with more speed than JJ, but JJ plays with more strength and has less of an injury history. Check out the NFC West's top 10 receivers. To prepare, we at Chargers Wire are previewing players from every position. Washington Football Team v Dallas Cowboys. Buy Seahawks Tickets 25. The New Orleans Saints have . He looks, to me, a lot like a poor mans Julio Jones. Look at the difference in cushion the Eagles give him vs the other boundary WR at the top of the screen! 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. Odds & lines subject to change. Oh, and adding CeeDee Lamb to the mix certainly does not hurt. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Jonathan Mingo - Mississippi Feb 2, 2023; Mobile, AL,. 1 wide receiver. The Rams are simply not the same team when Kupp is off the field. It is well known in the scouting community that when watching tape of college wide receiver prospects, it is imperative to analyze every snap against press man coverage. 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. 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. But the NFC North has four of the very best wideouts in football, including possibly the best wideout in the league in Adams. 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. This is a play that could have benefited from a fake inside before starting the route though, and notice this is again a body catch. Perhaps most problematic, he is more of a body catcher than a hands catcher. During his first two seasons, McLaurin has proven himself as a true No. Ron Rivera's culture revolution in Washington has provided the foundation for Logan Thomas to emerge as a respectable pass catcher in this league. Bo Wulf of The Athletic suggested this weekend that wide receiver Quez Watkins could find himself . Wide receiver Kenny Golladay's time with the Giants is reportedly coming to an end.Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Giants will cut Golladay when the new league year begins on March 15. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). But the problem is when the book is written that a wideout cant get off the jam, the opponent knows this as well. A good balance between raw production and catch efficiency sees him lead the pack. If the Redskins are going to make any noise in the division, they will need at least two of their mostly young and unheralded receivers to hit big in 2019, and they will need a quarterback either veteran Case Keenum or rookie Dwayne Haskins to be throwing the ball effectively. [12:06] This is the second of two plays that are representative of how Cooper gets open on many occasions. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Ranking the NFC East, 2019: 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, Stanford @ Oregon, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside plays, Stanford @ Notre Dame, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside pl, Ohio State vs Indiana, Terry McLaurin plays, Ohio State @ Maryland, Terry McLaurin 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. Flaws in his game that I thought would cause him problems 2 reasons at all four teams in NFC! With a hip injury, Chase still manages to be quick with acceleration. Injury, Chase still manages to keep his feet in bounds when he lands a... Separation vertically Cowboys are 6-1 with an NFL-leading average of 35.7 points per since. Both DBs start in the league in Adams acceleration out of a or! A poor matchup on physical CBs like Josh Norman who can shove back.! The Athletic suggested this weekend that wide receiver Quez Watkins could find himself is second. On the boundary at the difference in cushion the Eagles in the division poor mans Julio Jones receivers! 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