With Amari Cooper off to Cleveland, and James Washington and Michael Gallup dealing with injuries this season, the window has been there for Lamb to step up, and hes done so with flying colors to help Dallas to its 10-3 start. This season, the division is up for grabs yet again. If there were a vote for the most anonymous group in the division, I suspect that it would be won by the Giants, whose WR corps is headlined by Golden Tate and was not supplemented in the April draft, in which Dave Gettleman selected three offensive linemen and three linebackers, while every other team in the division drafted at least one new receiver. It should be extremely worrying when Daniel Jones is the only guaranteed player who will start for their franchise next season. NFC East The AFC East probably has two receivers who are currently better than anyone in this division. Being able to abuse coverage with slants and out routes over and over is more valuable than a receiver that can occasionally win deep downfield. There are plenty of talented wideouts that call the division home, so let's take a look at the top eight heading . His basketball roots are also evident on plays like this. With Dak Prescott healthy, this offense could be fun to watch. Cooper suddenly breaks and reverses direction on a comeback route. He will put that analytical brain to work this off-season helping to analyze some of the top players in the NFC East. The NFC East is STACKED at receiver. Commanders Reacts Survey: Do you want to see the Washington Commanders on Hard Knocks in 2023. Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper edges out the competition to place as the NFC East's best receiver. [10:15] Richardson absolutely blows past his CB running deep. 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. Ron Rivera's culture revolution in Washington has provided the foundation for Logan Thomas to emerge as a respectable pass catcher in this league. 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. In this section, well offer a look at a few of the top players in the division, with an analysis of their styles, skills and limitations written by Andrew York, who has volunteered to co-author this series with me. In his rookie year in the NFL, he did an excellent job reaching out and catching the ball away from his body (hands-catching), which is critical to keep the ball safe from DBs that rarely allow as much separation as in college. He is also still an excellent route runner, running crisp routes with a tremendous sense of timing and anticipation of the balls arrival. Where do Eagles' receivers rank among NFC East. After watching both WRs in those matchups, I think the difference was McLaurins physicality and ability to win contested catches. Watching him play, Slayton seems like a great athletic prospect who still needs a lot of refinement. Reagor was selected by the Eagles in the 1st round of the 2020 draft. Here are the pre-free agency wide receiver rankings for the NFC North. He was also a competent kick returner, with 9 returns for 189 yards (21.0 Y/R). In addition to football, in high school he was all-state in basketball and placed highly in track. What would Hill's performance look like when he didn't have an out-of-this-world quarterback throwing to him? It depends on whether you favor production or . It also highlights his ability to get open on crossing and out routes because CBs have to guard against the deeper routes so diligently. He makes the catch (though its a body catch, not a hands catch) and shows great strength and body control breaking the initial tackle to run for several more yards. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah joined Chris Brown and Steve Tasker on One Bills Live from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Please logout and login again. The Next Gen Stats analytics team uses its newly launched Expected Return Yards model to identify the top 10 returners of the 2022 regular season. Opposing defenses either shadowed him with their best CB or shaded coverage in his direction to account for him. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Evan Engram is the best TE. 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. Except for those teams with the transcendent signal-callers like Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady. 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. At 61 and 211 lbs, he also has very good (though not elite) size for a WR. That good deep speed, with elite agility and acceleration shows up on tape as well. As miserable as that 2020 season was for the Cowboys, he still had 92/1,114/5. Sometimes we look around the NFL and see how a quarterback is only as good as his wideouts. In a sport that is as physically demanding as football, one in which player injuries are common, the unit depth is as important a factor as the skill of the star players. In 2018 tape I thought he was severely lacking as a run blocker, sometimes just phoning it in or getting brushed aside by a DB, but in 2019 he looked much improved in both effort and technique. Despite having plenty of separation, McLaurin extends his hands to catch away from his body, showing better form than the hands-catching I noted in his college tape. Darby is a much better (and faster) CB than Douglas and runs with McLaurin down the sideline, but Terry turns back at just the right time, quickly locates the ball in the air, tracks it, and reaches out to make a very tough contested catch. Cowboys: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Cedric Wilson, Simi Fehoko. Terry McLaurin flashes elite traits, but has enough problems in his tape that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round. The NFC West has some very good wide receivers in the division. 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. Carolina Panthers. 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. 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. 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. To prepare, we at Chargers Wire are previewing players from every position. This shows how much the Cowboys trust Cooper to be a red zone weapon. Former Jacksonville Jaguar Allen Hurns, who hasnt been able to break 500 yards in a season since 2015, when he put up 1,031 yards and 10 TDs, is probably the headliner of the bottom half of the depth chart. Gallup had 59 for 843 and 5 as third option. 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. Good luck. Of course, no position group consists of just one or two players. Look how much cushion the CB opposite Reager (bottom of screen) gives him, clearly afraid of getting beat deep. 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. 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. The NFL's top 16 wide receivers Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC West Broncos Chargers Chiefs. Who tops the list? Although McLaurin isnt able to get much separation from Slay, he is able to body Slay out and break open just as the ball reaches him. 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. This time his QB delivers a well placed ball and Reagor makes an easy catch outside, with good separation from any defenders due to his good route running and ability to recognize and attack the weaknesses of the coverage. Despite lack of deep speed, JJ was often able to make big plays like this one using fakes, quick feet, and good hands-catching ability. Reagor is a bit more physical than you might expect from a playing weight under 200 pounds, though he still struggles a bit with press coverage. Since entering the league in 2021, Chase leads the NFL with +720 receiving yards over expected, as he has consistently been among the leagues best players at his position. 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! . Then Richardson makes a great leaping catch, highpointing the ball and securing it at maximum extension away from the DB. This play shows what happens when Slayton is matched up against a CB who is just as fast and quick as he is and allowed to play close. However, he has a limited route tree and doesnt show much subtlety in terms of using fakes, counters, leverage, body-positioning, or physicality to get open. 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. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. [1:46] This play is one of two that is very representative of how Cooper gets open. JJ is also a good route runner and solid (though not aggressive) blocker. Cooper does a good job after the catch of fighting hard and leaning forward for a few extra yards, despite having already made the first down. 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. 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. Playing like this opens up the risk of Cooper getting behind them if he wins the foot race on a deep route, which is why only equally fast DBs can play him this way. [5:16] Cooper lines up outside and fakes a break outside, causing Jalen Mills to bite hard on the fake, and leaving Cooper wide open when he redirects inside. Where does Jets rookie Sauce Gardner land? 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. 1. Reagor dealt with some poorly thrown balls and did an amazing job adjusting to them as shown earlier, but he also had too many easy misses and drops like the one shown here. Buy Seahawks Tickets 25. He is also a much tougher and higher-effort player than I had previously realized, able to hang on to make contested catches, and often reaching forward after contact to gain a few extra yards. Slay is in position to easily break the pass up instead. The team is left with newly-signed the veteran free agent, 30-year-old Golden Tate (who, for the record, I wanted the Redskins to sign in free agency this year) as the apparent top receiver on the roster. Darius Slayton was not only an All-Region receiver out of high school, but also a state sprint champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Not only did he gain an impressive number of yards after catch with his explosiveness and quick cuts, but this play seems designed around getting the ball to Reagor, whom the coaches clearly see as their teams number 1 weapon. Will he ever duplicate that magical five-game stretch last year? [4:48] This time McLaurin (bottom of screen) is matched up with Ronald Darby 1-on-1. He is a nuanced route runner, so he excels at running his routes in such a way that he has leverage over DBs and can get quick separation after his break. But against NFL-caliber talent, it might not be enough. He ran an unofficial 4.28 second 40 time at a private Pro Day after dropping some of that weight. He has been targeted on 39 percent of routes when defenses send the heat, trailing only the next receiver on this list, CeeDee Lamb. You could make a case for what the Dallas Cowboys are building in the NFC East, with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. His only obvious weakness is as a blocker in run support, where he doesnt quite have the strength and physicality to excel. 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. Tier 1: Elite 1. Golden Tate has consistently been one of the NFLs most underrated WRs. The 2018 version of this article focused on players like Odell Beckham Jr., Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson, Jamison Crowder, Terrance Williams, Allen Hurns, Cole Beasley, Nelson Agholor and Mike Wallace - none of whom will be discussed in this article, just two years later. 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. 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). Speed is great without question and true speedsters that know how to use it terrify defensive coordinators. This time, instead of Mike Hughes, Cooper (top of screen) is facing off against Darius Slay. Gambling problem? Will Jaguars prevail over Cowboys. 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. The CB starts to close the distance, but cant stop JJ, who does a great job locating and tracking the ball in the air and catching it. However, he also ended this play with a mistake I saw him make a few other times too by slipping and falling without contact. Despite being one of just four players at the position with a $100 million tag, Brown is just fifth on the list of highest-paid wide receivers. 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. In addition to that, he is experienced running routes from any WR position, though he favors the slot. Its really impressive. One minor difference in his game from last year is that I think Cooper has visibly improved in run blocking. East Carolina: R: NAME: TEAM: COLLEGE: He does a good job locating the ball, but realizes hes been a bit underthrown and slows his route down to adjust to the ball and make the catch (another body catch). He talked about position groups that Bills fans should look at here in In. McLaurin is a very willing blocker in the run game and has the physicality to do it well, though his technique (body positioning and angles) need work. Once hes caught the ball, this play is over, as McLaurin is too fast for any Eagles defenders to catch him. Los Angeles' running backs are in . But in todays NFL, it is better to be quick with great acceleration out of a break or a cut. And then to grab Brown in the third round might end up being a steal. A: NAME: TEAM: COLLEGE: . 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. He doesnt need a lot of subtlety here though, his athletic traits are what allow him to win. Alshon Jeffery was taken by the Bears in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft. Washington: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Kelvin Harmon, Adam Humphries, Cam Sims. In 2020, he caught 87 passes for 1,118 yards and 4 touchdowns and now Washington has gotten him even more help. He shows enough effort and skill in route running that I think he will develop into a capable NFL starter under good coaching, but I think his immediate value will be on special teams, where he already has the ability to make an impact. Playing on a loaded Ohio State offense, McLaurin only caught 35 passes in 2018, but did a lot with his opportunities (20.0 YPR average). The additions of Golladay and Toney should actually help Slayton and Shepard take some of the focus off them. Tate is a good route runner, an extremely reliable catcher (2nd fewest drops among WRs in 2018), and most importantly is one of the NFLs best WRs at getting yards after catch (YAC). East the AFC East probably has two receivers who are currently better than in. Support, where he doesnt quite have the strength and physicality to.... 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