Rookie Wide Receivers

[BradyFTW!]

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.

Hunter and Patterson currently have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Cassel quarterbacking their offenses. I'm not saying that they're awesome, but rather that there's really no way to know yet. Those offenses haven't been able to support one receiver putting up good stats, let alone multiple.

 

[Deus Irae]

Broyles isn't a rookie, btw....

Just to add a note here, Wheaton missed a lot of the offseason because he's one of those late school guys. Last night was the first game that he had any catches in.

I expect his numbers will start to pick up a lot as the season goes along, and for him to supplant Cotchery as the team's WR3. I could be wrong, of course, but that's what I'm seeing.

 

[BelichickFan]

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

Austin just rode one of those waves last year. I doubt it will happen with Thomas due to "

1) He's missed a few games already this year and durability is always a concern with smaller players.

2) Stronger first round this year.

3) Tavon Austin's (lack of) production.

 

[BradyFTW!]

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.

The good thing is that drops are often correctable, and if they are then he'll be a good receiver. But until they're corrected, we have a guy who catches far, far to few of what should be pretty routine, and that's an absolute killer.

In an ideal world, you'd have enough depth at WR that you could afford not to play a guy like that until he demonstrates that he can catch the ball. But the Pats don't have enough weapons on the offense for that to happen, so instead we've got to live with the drops and hope he outgrows them.

 

[manxman2601]

Austin just rode one of those waves last year. I doubt it will happen with Thomas due to "

1) He's missed a few games already this year and durability is always a concern with smaller players.

2) Stronger first round this year.

3) Tavon Austin's (lack of) production.

Maybe. I don't disagree with anything you said there but for the NFL, it's all about scoring points. Tony Pauline is at least reporting that NFL decision makers look at Thomas and Austin similarly:

Staying on the topic of University of Oregon, I’ve stated my concerns over where De’Anthony Thomas will line up at the next level due to his size. That’s not an issue for NFL scouts based on conversations last week. I’m told they view Thomas in the mold of Tavon Austin; a game change and offensive weapon. They love the fact Thomas can score from any point on the field when the ball’s in his hands. Where will he line up at the next level? Several people tell me there will be no defined position rather creative offensive coordinators will design plays for Thomas as a running back, slot receiver and reverse runner.

Risers-Sliders: Week 7

That doesn't mean he'll be drafted in the first, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Sciz]

Hunter and Patterson currently have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Cassel quarterbacking their offenses. I'm not saying that they're awesome, but rather that there's really no way to know yet. Those offenses haven't been able to support one receiver putting up good stats, let alone multiple.

Patterson can't even get on the field. He had 43 offensive snaps through 4 games.

 

[BelichickFan]

Maybe. I don't disagree with anything you said there but for the NFL, it's all about scoring points. Tony Pauline is at least reporting that NFL decision makers look at Thomas and Austin similarly:

Risers-Sliders: Week 7

That doesn't mean he'll be drafted in the first, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I'm a Duck fan so I hope he gets drafted high. And he may be a #1 pick but I would be stunned if he goes in the top half of the first round. Second half of the first or, more likely, second, IMO.

 

[dales804]

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.

I think you're correct about Dobson moving up the depth chart. Yesterday he played 80 of 88 snaps while Thompkins played 59 of 88. Might have just been a matchup thing but for one week at least, Dobson was ahead of Thompkins.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4751039/snaps-more-work-for-wr-aaron-dobson

 

[Ozymandias]

Hunter and Patterson currently have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Cassel quarterbacking their offenses. I'm not saying that they're awesome, but rather that there's really no way to know yet. Those offenses haven't been able to support one receiver putting up good stats, let alone multiple.

Patterson stinks. The issues he had coming out are clear as day now. The guy has trouble grasping NFL concepts that's why he's barely been on the field.

 

[brdmaverick]

I'm not sure we should be comforted by these stats.

Having a receiving tandem that inclues three rookies, first off they are bound to get more opportunities than other rookies JUST BY DEFAULT.

Secondly, we are a perennial Super Bowl contender. As such we need the rookies to play well PERIOD, not just play well compared to other rookies.

While Thompkins has impressed at times, some newspaper through out a stat that his drop rate is 18%. Think about that, for all the balls in which Brady gives him a good pass....he's still dropping one out of five.

I don't want to be the hater, I just think we need to keep things in perspective before we get carried away.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Patterson stinks. The issues he had coming out are clear as day now. The guy has trouble grasping NFL concepts that's why he's barely been on the field.

It's possible that he's too dumb to learn an NFL playbook. It's more likely, IMO, that he's taking longer than most to get up to game speed, plus he has two healthy veteran WRs ahead of him, plus the Vikings operate almost entirely out of 2WR sets, plus their quarterbacks are awful and have established no continuity, plus they're poorly coached. If you talk to Vikings fans, they're pretty happy/intrigued with him, and tend to think that even if he takes a bit longer than most, he should eventually become a good WR. He's certainly made an impression on the rare occasions that he has seen the field. It just so happens that he's exactly the kind of player in exactly the kind of situation that will look the worst if you start evaluating rookie WRs 6 games into their career.

There's plenty of track record for dumb-as-a-rock WRs succeeding in the NFL. Most offenses don't mentally challenge WRs in the way that the Patriots' does. It's part of the reason why veteran WRs are so hit-or-miss here. A guy can have a pretty prolific career elsewhere, on par with Joey Galloway or Chad Ochocinco, while being too dumb to learn the Pats' offense.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm not sure we should be comforted by these stats.

Having a receiving tandem that inclues three rookies, first off they are bound to get more opportunities than other rookies JUST BY DEFAULT.

Secondly, we are a perennial Super Bowl contender. As such we need the rookies to play well PERIOD, not just play well compared to other rookies.

While Thompkins has impressed at times, some newspaper through out a stat that his drop rate is 18%. Think about that, for all the balls in which Brady gives him a good pass....he's still dropping one out of five.

I don't want to be the hater, I just think we need to keep things in perspective before we get carried away.

The numbers are misleading, and I think most people understand that. On a Patriots fan site, though, you're bound to find people who pimp them up.

 

[patfanken]

Just to add a little historical perspective to this topic, Years ago, the big complaint about Jerry vRice in his rookie year was the huge numbers of drops he had.

Obviously Rice worked hard to change that situation, because with a LOT of hard work, hands are one thing that can definitely be improved on. It just depends on how hard these kids are willing to work in the off season. In the meantime we will all have to live with the growing pains because its not like we have a plan C to go to.

On a positive note. The book on Dobson coming out of college was that he NEVER dropped anything that hit his huge hands, but had trouble getting off the LOS and creating separation on his routes.

Well to date this "book" is wrong on all three counts. Clearly he has had drops, but on the other hand he is better than we expected in getting off the LOS and better at getting separation while running his routes

Clearly both Thomkins and Dobson are works in progress, and Boyce is clearly in his redshirt year, although he too might see more action than expected as time goes on.

 

[manxman2601]

RT @jeffphowe: Kenbrell Thompkins' four touchdowns are already the most by a rookie WR who has ever played with Tom Brady.

https://twitter.com/OliverBThomas/status/389881337928491008

Good job KT.

 

[Kdo5]

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

Both are having their ups and downs, but consistently get better. I think Dobson's progression is starting to get more noticeable than KT. High hopes for both though.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Dobson had how many drops this game? 1 important I remember but I bet there were others. I think Dobson was noticeable better, and there was a reason why he started over KT. I love Dobson but I also like KT. I think maybe these 2 will take reps from edes when they get the mental game under control. Who would have thought we might have good receivers in Dobson, KT, Edelman and collie. That might be a good group, minus the unlucky amendola.

Dobson, amendola, vereen, thompkins and gronk could be the ultimate offense for Tom. 2 that are all over the field threats (KT and Dobson), vereen a dual threat, gronk being gronk and amendola, looks like it could be a monster with Tom. I have my hope high, but that would be a sweet offense come late November/December.

 

[CelticPatriot]

The only silver lining with the injuries is that Dobson and Thompkins are getting thrown in at the deep end. This experience will be invaluable once the playoffs comes around and in the future.

 

[Dagg]

My Binky was Hopkins now on Houston and I think on our team his stats would be greater than what they are. That said Keenan Allen has been impressive since a few guys went down and he got a shot to play.

 

[Hudson Pats Fan]

The one thing I've noticed about Dobson without going back and looking up stats is that he's improved every game that he's played so far. Yes, he has still dropped a few balls each game, but he's also getting open and making more plays. Seems like he's also getting more on the same page with Brady each game. I feel like the game is starting to slow down for him a bit as he's adjusting to the NFL more. KT has been consistent from the beginning. I'm fine with Boyce taking a "redshirt" year ala Vereen.

Going forward, what I'm going to be watching for is how they perform when they hit the road again. The Fox broadcast had the field audio turned up and you could easily hear Brady directing RBs and WRs to spots at the line and the audibles. This won't be as easy on the road in a loud environment so they'll need a little more of the silent communication/hand signaling.

 

[Snake Eyes]

My Binky was Hopkins now on Houston and I think on our team his stats would be greater than what they are. That said Keenan Allen has been impressive since a few guys went down and he got a shot to play.

Allen was a major binkie of mine, I nearly threw the remote through the TV when he was still available when we picked Dobson, I'd still prefer Allen.