Rookie Wide Receivers

[RI Patriots fan]

I thought I'd put up some Rookie Wide Receiver numbers to see how our Rookies compared to some "higher profile" Rookies. Not too shabby.


DeAndre Hopkins 340 yards 13.6 yards per catch 1 TD

Kenbrell Thompkins 318 yards 15.1 yards per catch 4 TDs

Robert Woods 274 yards 15.2 yards per catch 2 TDs

Aaron Dobson 230 yards 12.1 yards per catch 1 TD

Keenan Allen 225 yards 16.1 yards per catch 1 TD

Marlon Brown 221 yards 13.0 yards per catch 3 TDs

Kenny Stills 198 yards 19.8 yards per catch 1 TD

Tavon Austin 159 yards 6.6 yards per catch 2 TDs

Cordarrelle Patterson 85 yards 10.6 yards per catch 0 TDs

Ryan Broyles 61 yards 10.2 yards per catch 0 TDs

Justin Hunter 58 yards 19.3 yards per catch 2 TDs

Marquise Goodwin 51 yards 17.0 yards per catch 1 TD

Marcus Wheaton 26 yards 8.7 yards per catch 0 TD

Josh Boyce 24 yards 24.0 yards per catch 0 TDs

Stedman Bailey ------ ------ -----

Quinton Patton ------- -------- -------



NFL Stats: by Player Position

 

[dales804]

I'd say they're doing okay so far. Hope they continue to improve as the season wears on.

And I think Austin is the most disappointing on that list. 6.6 yards/catch? For a guy that's supposed to be a big play maker, STL needs to find better ways to get him the ball. Or maybe he's not that good? Or maybe STL just blows?

 

[VrabelJr]

I'd say they're doing okay so far. Hope they continue to improve as the season wears on.

And I think Austin is the most disappointing on that list. 6.6 yards/catch? For a guy that's supposed to be a big play maker, STL needs to find better ways to get him the ball. Or maybe he's not that good? Or maybe STL just blows?

The Rams are using him wrong.

 

[dannydyn]

It's also a QB function. You could be the best receiver this league has ever seen, but if you're playing with an ham and egg QB, your numbers will suffer.

 

[deters]

Pretty good stats, and that's with all their damn drops too. Thompkins is getting better but Dobson is still painful to watch.

 

[RIpats88]

Pretty good stats, and that's with all their damn drops too. Thompkins is getting better but Dobson is still painful to watch.

really? im surprised at some of the negativity towards dobson's last game

he caught 6-10 targets thrown his way, leading the team in yards for the game. there was a sequence in the first half where brady went to him 3-4 times in a row and he came up with the catch each time...he had a nice impressive catch on the sideline where he went in the air as well I believe

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Imagine if the 2013 NFL draft were redrafted this weekend. I wonder where all our Rookie Wide Receivers would be drafted.

 

[BelichickFan]

The Rams are using him wrong.

And he's not in the Big 12 anymore.

A really good comp for Austin is Dexter McCluster.

Austin:

Height: 5084
Weight: 174
40 Yrd Dash: 4.28
20 Yrd Dash: 2.49
10 Yrd Dash: 1.50
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 14
Vertical Jump: 32
Broad Jump: 10'00"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.01

McCluster:

Height: 5086
Weight: 172
40 Yrd Dash: 4.53
20 Yrd Dash: 2.50
10 Yrd Dash: 1.55
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 20
Vertical Jump: 37.5
Broad Jump: 9'10"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.06

Austin had the far better 40 time. Other than that they're fairly close. Austin was WAY overdrafted; top ten WR need to be guys like Jones, Green, Johnson, etc.

 

[ahmed]

Some saying about statistics I can't quite remember. Numbers without context are not much use. How many of those other rookies are getting the ball from a HF QB? How many of those are first or second or third receiver on their team?

 

[chasa]

grumble gumble grumble
Cant believe we passed on patterson
Grumble grumble grumble

Predraft patterson fans.

 

[BelichickFan]

Imagine if the 2013 NFL draft were redrafted this weekend. I wonder where all our Rookie Wide Receivers would be drafted.

Dobson and Boyce would probably go around where they did. KT would obviously go a lot higher; second round I would think.

 

[manxman2601]

And he's not in the Big 12 anymore.

A really good comp for Austin is Dexter McCluster.

Austin:

Height: 5084
Weight: 174
40 Yrd Dash: 4.28
20 Yrd Dash: 2.49
10 Yrd Dash: 1.50
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 14
Vertical Jump: 32
Broad Jump: 10'00"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.01

McCluster:

Height: 5086
Weight: 172
40 Yrd Dash: 4.53
20 Yrd Dash: 2.50
10 Yrd Dash: 1.55
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 20
Vertical Jump: 37.5
Broad Jump: 9'10"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.06

Austin had the far better 40 time. Other than that they're fairly close. Austin was WAY overdrafted; top ten WR need to be guys like Jones, Green, Johnson, etc.

It will be interesting to see whether De'Anthony Thomas gets the same type of love next year.

also:

According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, that was no smokescreen. Mehta reports the Jets would have taken Austin if he had been on the board with the ninth overall pick, but went with cornerback Dee Milliner instead after the Rams traded up to the eighth spot to nab the West Virginia product.

Jets would have taken Tavon Austin if he was available | ProFootballTalk

 

[the Patriot]

really? im surprised at some of the negativity towards dobson's last game

he caught 6-10 targets thrown his way, leading the team in yards for the game. there was a sequence in the first half where brady went to him 3-4 times in a row and he came up with the catch each time...he had a nice impressive catch on the sideline where he went in the air as well I believe

This.

Dobson gets open! He has a terrible problem with drops right now but that could easily change. I hope we don't run this guy out of town after one or two years, because another team will pick him up and make a play-maker out of him, and we'll regret it.

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Dobson and Boyce would probably go around where they did. KT would obviously go a lot higher; second round I would think.

I see potential in Boyce so I keep him in the 4th.

Dobson late 2nd...early 3rd.


KT.....who would you draft before KT? If you were Minnesota with that 29th pick would you still pick Patterson or would you give KT a look?

 

[patsfan-1982]

Pretty good stats, and that's with all their damn drops too. Thompkins is getting better but Dobson is still painful to watch.

I think Dobson is the one getting better and Thompkins is just being pretty much the same every game, I think they could both get better at catching the ball as well as Brady throwing it better but the last time the pats had a outside WR that could get open that often was Moss and now they have two

 

[Kid~Brady]

really? im surprised at some of the negativity towards dobson's last game

he caught 6-10 targets thrown his way, leading the team in yards for the game. there was a sequence in the first half where brady went to him 3-4 times in a row and he came up with the catch each time...he had a nice impressive catch on the sideline where he went in the air as well I believe

Albeit these facts are true, he needs to start making the big plays we need him for. That simple 6-yard slant was atrocious on a crucial 4th down. He's definitely talented, just a little rough around the edges but he'll improve. Just jitters.

 

[Ozymandias]

The Rams are using him wrong.

They tried too, but the results were underwhelming. He hasn't adjusted to the speed of the NFL. This isn't college where he was quicker and faster than everyone else.

Corners are being physical with him at the line and he can barely make any plays in space because of it. Until he learns how to beat press man/jams at the LOS, he'll continue to be a non-factor, situational gadget guy. He and his skillset actually transitioning to the NFL were vastly overrated.


For all the hoopla and derision the Patriots' rookie WRs are getting it's pretty damn good to have 2 of them in top 4 for receiving yardage while Cordarrelle Patterson, Markus Wheaton, and Justin Hunter are near the bottom. Once the kids work on correcting their issues and mental errors, they'll be even better.

 

[Hael]

I see potential in Boyce so I keep him in the 4th.

Dobson late 2nd...early 3rd.


KT.....who would you draft before KT? If you were Minnesota with that 29th pick would you still pick Patterson or would you give KT a look?

KT is a late first rounder for sure in a redo today, maybe higher. This draft has not been particularly deep in top echelon ready for prime time talent. Instead you are looking at a lot of projects. KT is a bonafide bottom tier starting NFL level WR2, which is really good already for a rookie. Of course his stock might drop over the years as other guys progress, but getting a starter from a first round pick is already average, given how many busts there are.

Dobson is a late 2nd rounder as it stands. The flip side is Collins would probably go in the third or fourth in a redo (hard to say, he's a project guy himself).

Buchanan and Vellano/Anderson would also be drafted (higher), so I think we can already say that our draft was pretty good given our pick situation.

 

[Deus Irae]

really? im surprised at some of the negativity towards dobson's last game

he caught 6-10 targets thrown his way, leading the team in yards for the game. there was a sequence in the first half where brady went to him 3-4 times in a row and he came up with the catch each time...he had a nice impressive catch on the sideline where he went in the air as well I believe

He caught 6 of 10 targets, but he should have had 3 of the 4 that he didn't catch, and 2 of them were terrible drops. Especially given the drop on 4th down, I'm not sure why you'd be surprised that some people aren't happy with that.

I think Dobson is showing better, and he seems to have passed Thompkins on the depth chart, but he's got to catch the ball better.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I thought I'd put up some Rookie Wide Receiver numbers to see how our Rookies compared to some "higher profile" Rookies. Not too shabby.


DeAndre Hopkins 340 yards 13.6 yards per catch 1 TD

Kenbrell Thompkins 318 yards 15.1 yards per catch 4 TDs

Robert Woods 274 yards 15.2 yards per catch 2 TDs

Aaron Dobson 230 yards 12.1 yards per catch 1 TD

Keenan Allen 225 yards 16.1 yards per catch 1 TD

Marlon Brown 221 yards 13.0 yards per catch 3 TDs

Kenny Stills 198 yards 19.8 yards per catch 1 TD

Tavon Austin 159 yards 6.6 yards per catch 2 TDs

Cordarrelle Patterson 85 yards 10.6 yards per catch 0 TDs

Ryan Broyles 61 yards 10.2 yards per catch 0 TDs

Justin Hunter 58 yards 19.3 yards per catch 2 TDs

Marquise Goodwin 51 yards 17.0 yards per catch 1 TD

Marcus Wheaton 26 yards 8.7 yards per catch 0 TD

Josh Boyce 24 yards 24.0 yards per catch 0 TDs

Stedman Bailey ------ ------ -----

Quinton Patton ------- -------- -------



NFL Stats: by Player Position

Broyles isn't a rookie, btw.

That said, Thompkins has absolutely put up the best stat line of the rookies so far. Granted, at this point it's in part a statement of the WR depth ahead of these guys. It's no coincidence that Hopkins, Thompkins, Brown and Woods are the guys putting up the yardage stats. The first three all fit a similar profile of being asked to step in as a #2 receiver due to injury in a prolific 2012 offense. They deserve credit for stepping up, but it also must be noted that they've stepped into opportunities that the other guys haven't had yet. Similarly, it's no coincidence that Keenan Allen is suddenly shooting up this chart after Floyd's injury. Within another week or 2, I expect to see him right near the top of this list.

This isn't to discredit them, but more to warn against judging the other guys too early. You can chart a lot of these guys' stats pretty directly through some weird equation of "talent at quarterback + injuries to receivers ahead of them on the depth chart". On that basis, I expect that Thompkins and Allen are here to stay, Hopkins and Woods will only go as far as their QB situations allow, Brown is likely to tail off with Jones' return, and Stills' production depends largely on the health outlook for Graham (for now) and Colston's inevitable injury in the next few weeks.