[1:32] This is an example of being open when covered. I respectfully disagree with one aspect of this otherwise fine gallery Jeff Chadiha has put together of the NFL's top 10 wide receivers. Last off-season, Hogs Haven published articles that focused on ranking position groups in an effort to identify what the division would look like in 2019. Since joining Josh Allen and the Bills, Diggs leads the NFL with 2,953 receiving yards when aligned wide, and his 1,077 yards on hitch routes over that span are 370 more than the next-closest player (Tyler Lockett, 707). PFF's George Chahrouri said on a July episode of the "PFF Forecast" podcast that McLaurin was the most valuable receiver in the division based on his 0.6 Win Above Replacement (WAR), which is the best among all NFC East receivers. Despite pass interference from the CB (and what looks like an uncalled facemask penalty), McLaurin fights through the contact to make a tough catch and get the first down. Although its an offense that deflates WR stats by distributing the ball a lot, its a cleverly designed offense that gets WRs open. -- Mike Band, Keegan Abdoo and Cole Jacobson contributed to this piece. 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. He shows excellent ability to redirect himself, locate the ball in the air, and great leaping ability to go up to get the ball. The NFC West has some very good wide receivers in the division. 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. 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. This play shows Slaytons deep speed, ball tracking ability, and ability to haul in long passes. Hard to tell. In the off-season, Washington went out and signed speed-threat Curtis Samuel to a three-year, 34,500,000 contract. Cooper can play every WR position: X, Z, and slot, and the Cowboys use him all over the field to exploit matchups and get him paired with slower DBs. As an aside, I think this play also highlights problems with how the Eagles scheme up their secondary. Washington Commanders. This year, were going to look at the division again, but were gonna try to ramp things up a bit by adding some film review to some of the position group reviews. The NFC East was a historically bad division in 2020, which is why all four teams were in the race deep into the season. [2:13] McLaurin takes off deep again, almost immediately beating the CB, and the CB knows it. However, note that this play seems designed explicitly to get the ball to Cooper. However, he also ended this play with a mistake I saw him make a few other times too by slipping and falling without contact. In 2020, he caught 87 passes for 1,118 yards and 4 touchdowns and now Washington has gotten him even more help. The Commanders are interviewing former UCLA receiver and head coach Karl Dorrell for their WRs coaching vacancy, per source. Who's the Best Wide Receiver in the NFL? Commanders Reacts Survey: Do you want to see the Washington Commanders on Hard Knocks in 2023. This play shows Tates nuanced route running, elite change-of-direction ability, elite quickness, and ability to shake tackles to get YAC. Like Jefferson in Minnesota, Hill's presence forces defenses to become more predictable and one dimensional. If they want to plug him into the slot, theyre getting a sure-handed guy who can move the chains. Gambling problem? Very few players in NFL history have immediately dominated the way Jefferson has since entering the league in 2020. NOTE: The composite score for each player is based on a series of advanced receiving metrics, courtesy of Next Gen Stats. Not all the players listed will make the team, and I might easily miss especially for the Redskins division rivals players who will make the Week 1 roster, but this list should give some idea of the relative depth of the four positional groups. St. Brown has also provided a safety blanket for Goff when teams blitz (which they often do). At the Combine, he had posted a very good 4.42s 40-yard dash (showing good deep speed), but also produced an elite 6.71s 3-cone drill (agility), and 3.98s 20 yard shuttle (acceleration). He doesnt need a lot of subtlety here though, his athletic traits are what allow him to win. The Cowboys receivers may have the most talent and productivity potential of any group in the NFC East, but, with the Cowboys run-centered offense, and Dak Prescotts limited pass production (he averages 3,625 yards and 25 TDs per season in his career), this group is unlikely to put up truly big numbers in 2019. Look how much cushion the CB opposite Reager (bottom of screen) gives him, clearly afraid of getting beat deep. They bring two DBs down to bracket Slayton (bottom of screen). QB-pass catcher duos Undrafted players Wide receivers Players in 2022 Top 5: Brother duos NFL Network's "Top 100 Players of 2022" -- voted on by the players themselves -- concludes on. Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper edges out the competition to place as the NFC East's best receiver. Who tops the list? Washington Football Team v Dallas Cowboys. Goedert like the rest of the Eagles offense has been up and down but with rookie QB Jalen Hurts finally being ushered in as the starter expect the young QB to look for Goedert as a safety blanket when things are not going his way. This was a poorly placed ball it should have been lower and inside to make it harder to intercept and easier to catch but Reagor did a great job tracking the ball and adjusting (leaping) to the high throw to bail out his QB. This steep drop-off is no surprise, but it does influence the total number of age 30+ wide receivers who hit 100 targets in a season. And Humphries comes over from Tennessee, where he was once a very productive player. [1:24] Great job by McLaurin turning a simple out route into a first down with yards to spare. They respect his deep speed and he takes advantage by breaking inside on a crossing route with nobody around him. Please logout and login again. Where does Jets rookie Sauce Gardner land? Terry McLaurin flashes elite traits, but has enough problems in his tape that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round. He has NFL bloodlines as his father, Paul Richardson, played several years as an NFL wide receiver as well. Douglas is not the fastest of CBs and is playing a few yards off, so he cant jam McLaurin at the line to disrupt his route. Lastly, no discussion of Terry McLaurin is complete without discussing his blocking and special teams value. March 1, 2023 6:03 am SBNation TomahawkNation. 1 wide receiver. 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. The one guy you dont have to worry about is Ward. 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. Try and press Jefferson to disrupt his route? Then Richardson makes a great leaping catch, highpointing the ball and securing it at maximum extension away from the DB. 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. Richardsons negatives almost entirely have to do with his strength and injury history. 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. On the plus side, defenses respect his deep threat ability so much that opposing CBs often backed up away from the line themselves, where they were not in a position to jam him. NFC North. The breakout quarterbacks are among the Next Gen Stats analytics team's 10 players most likely to earn all-star accolades for the first time this season. He is also still an excellent route runner, running crisp routes with a tremendous sense of timing and anticipation of the balls arrival. He talked about position groups that Bills fans should look at here in In. Cornerbacks and safeties are smart in the NFL and can read route tells extremely well. 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. Though hes only 511, Reagors leaping ability allows him to go up pretty high to make a catch. 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! Ceedee Lamb is the best performing rookie by some distance. [2:21] Cooper (bottom of screen) runs forward to act as a blocker, but whiffs on his initial attempted block and cant really get push on anyone. This is one of those plays that shows even when Jeffery is covered, hes open. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. 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. Ranking the NFC East, 2020: 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, the BBV discussion of what scouts look for in running back prospects, TCU @ Oklahoma State, all Jalen Reagor 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. However, I noted he had a few flaws in his game that I thought would cause him problems. The Next Gen Stats analytics team provides a ranking of the top 10 shutdown cornerbacks right now. [7:19] Slayton lines up on the boundary top of screen opposite Stephon Gilmore. 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). That might not sound like a compliment, but it is intended as such, as I consider Julio the best WR in the NFL. Buy Seahawks Tickets 25. 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. Reagor also looks a bit like a running back with the ball in his hands, juking and finding running lanes to get yards after catch. DAVANTE ADAMS, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS The former Green Bay Packer is at the top of his game as he makes the move to the Las Vegas Raiders. Everyone can ignore this (and more to follow). At 61 and 211 lbs, he also has very good (though not elite) size for a WR. Unfortunately, Kupps season was cut short by injury. The Washington Football Team stands at 72.6 inches, or 6'1". Having both DBs start in the same position but not allowing them to press doesnt give them any advantage. [7:30] This time, McLaurin lines up in the slot. Tate gets wide open and signals Wentz for the TD. Dorrell was most recently the head coach at the University of Colorado. This year, were going to do it again. Richardson also has good hands, and I think his somewhat low career catch percentage (58.7%) is more a function of running deep routes than any lack of pass catching ability. 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. 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