He recognizes the Cover 2 Zone defense and runs his route perfectly along the soft spots between zones the whole way. This play also shows off his acceleration and route running. Richardson is very much a team player, and will always do his part in a play, even if the ball isnt going his way. 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. Right now Slayton is relying almost entirely on his athletic traits to find success, which is enough to get him pretty far against some teams, but limits his versatility and allows him to be shut down by the more athletic CBs in the NFL. He loses close to the line of scrimmage to CBs like Josh Norman who are even more physical than he is. Washington Commanders. 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. See where he lands in the Next Gen Stats analytics team's ranking of the top 10 slot receivers right now. Hard to tell. He has good deep speed, but is more of a home run threat due to his ability to get open and break tackles, rather than just because he just runs past everyone. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Who's the more explosive ball-carrier, Justin Fields or Lamar Jackson? The addition of Brown has helped Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' offense reach new heights, as Hurts has a league-high nine TD passes on go routes this season with Brown being responsible for an NFL-best five of them. Ron Rivera's culture revolution in Washington has provided the foundation for Logan Thomas to emerge as a respectable pass catcher in this league. [0:41] This is almost a mirror of the first play shown above against the Vikings. Schoen may need to get creative in order to land a true No. 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. [0:38] McLaurin does a good job blocking on this play, eventually blocking his guy to the ground. 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. NOTE: The composite score for each player is based on a series of advanced receiving metrics, courtesy of Next Gen Stats. Despite not getting much separation, Reagors use of inside leverage keeps him open and he does a great job highpointing the ball, bodying the CB out of the play and catching it away from him, so theres no chance for the CB to make a play on the ball. Terry McLaurin flashes elite traits, but has enough problems in his tape that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. Non-Redskin fans could be forgiven if they were unfamiliar with Cam Sims, Trey Quinn, Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon, though the latter two, taken in the 3rd & 6th rounds of Aprils draft, got a lot of good press during the pre-draft buildup this year. He is an excellent route-runner, excellent (and prolific) at selling fakes, and has elite change-of-direction ability to shake DBs loose in order to get open or break tackles. Odds & lines subject to change. Eagles: DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Travis Fulgham, Quez Watkins, John Hightower. Who are the most impactful tight ends in the NFL right now? Unless Eli Manning, who has averaged 3,800 yards, 20 TDs and 12 INTs over the past two seasons with OBJ on the field with him for 16 games, can find some magic in his 38-year-old arm, the Giants receivers are unlikely to make a big dent in the league receiving statistics. This ends up being a running play for Adrian Peterson, who breaks his run to McLaurins side of the field. His routes are smooth and fluid, and once he turned on his jets near the endzone, the safety couldnt keep up. The Dallas Cowboys could sign their division rival's top wide . "Aaron Rodgers . [1:46] This play is one of two that is very representative of how Cooper gets open. In addition to football, in high school he was all-state in basketball and placed highly in track. 1 option. Drafted by the Seahawks in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL draft, Tate signed with the Lions in FA in 2014, was traded to the Eagles in 2018, and signed with the Giants in free agency this offseason. When St. Brown has been missing, Goffs EPA per dropback becomes negative (-0.10). His only real weakness to me is that he depends on physicality to get open quickly, as he lacks the short area quickness to get open purely based on acceleration. Once hes free, nobody in the secondary can catch him. By DJ Siddiqi. As it pertains to this season specifically, Diggs has not slowed down, leading the league with 10 receiving TDs when aligned wide. Despite this, Jeffery turns on a dime and immediately locates the ball in the air, leaping up to get the catch and first down. 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. But he is good in all of these areas, and is a very reliable WR - one a quarterback can throw to in almost any situation, particularly in the red zone. Cooper again lines up opposite Hughes, this time at the bottom of the screen. They have the No. As miserable as that 2020 season was for the Cowboys, he still had 92/1,114/5. Tate also does a good job maintaining awareness of the QB and tracking the ball almost the entire time its in the air. 1 receiver. It's really impressive. 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). The Raiders have faced Cover 6 at an outlier rate this season (17 percent, the only team over 13 percent), as defenses "cloud" Adams' side of the field, drawing a safety farther away from the ball. Which game-wrecking unit reigns supreme right now? Also, Coopers ability to keep both feet inbounds as he secures a catch right on the edge of the sideline showcases his body positioning and control. Metcalf also recorded five touchdowns on vertical routes against man coverage, tying for the most in the league. They respect his deep speed and he takes advantage by breaking inside on a crossing route with nobody around him. Last month, the former LSU star surpassed another legendary Vikings receiver -- none other than Hall of Famer Randy Moss -- for the most receiving yards in a player's first three seasons, and he has only added to that total over the last couple weeks. Without missing a beat, Richardson sees the wide open endzone in front of him and runs across, accelerating so quickly that the safety cant keep up in order to get the easy TD. The additions of Golladay and Toney should actually help Slayton and Shepard take some of the focus off them. Cooper releases as if hes running deep down the sideline. The NFC East was a historically bad division in 2020, which is why all four teams were in the race deep into the season. Brandin Cooks was a first-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in the 2014 NFL Draft. And then to grab Brown in the third round might end up being a steal. 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. The Washington Football Team stands at 72.6 inches, or 6'1". 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. This play showcases McLaurins sense of timing (looks back just as the ball should be arriving, making it tough for Darby to react in time), toughness, contested catch ability, body control, and situational awareness (to stay in bounds). Gallup had 59 for 843 and 5 as third option. That is a difficult habit to unlearn at this point in his development, though I saw enough hands catches to think he can develop. Where does he land in the Next Gen Stats analytics team's ranking of the top 10 off-ball linebackers right now? The Next Gen Stats analytics team's top-10 ranking spotlights familiar names, breakout studs and instant-impact rookies. He will break down film from 6 NFC East wide receivers, in order: Amari Cooper was selected 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2015 draft. Once hes caught the ball, this play is over, as McLaurin is too fast for any Eagles defenders to catch him. 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. I expect him to have just as much utility in the screen game as he does stretching the field. This year, were going to do it again. This play highlights Richardsons deep threat ability, change-of-direction, ball tracking, body positioning, leaping ability, and strong hands at the catch point. East Carolina: R: NAME: TEAM: COLLEGE: [7:59] McLaurin lines up opposite Jalen Mills at the top of the screen. In the end, if a wide receiver has everything else you want at the position but cant consistently bring the ball in and gain yardage, he isnt much good to his team. Note, however, that he didnt make the big play by simply running past everyone with deep speed, but, rather, by using his sudden acceleration and route running ability to get open, and then using his agility to break tackles until the defenders were left behind. If you look at all the players at this position that have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you might be shocked that a good percentage of them are not elite speedsters. We are seeing more and more taller receivers that run well in a straight line, but arent great at changing directions, fall lower and lower in the draft. As we enter 2019, the Eagles may feature the most recognizable names with fans across the NFL with 32-year-old Desean Jackson, coming back for a second run in Philly, Alshon Jeffrey, who first built his reputation in Chicago, and Nelson Aghlor, who experienced a breakout season a year ago being joined by 2nd round pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Wayne announced that he will return to the Colts as their wide receivers coach for the 2023 season on Tuesday night and head coach Shane Steichen confirmed it on Wednesday. This play highlights Coopers ability to sell the deep route as well as his short area quickness to stop and turn on a dime to get open. Gambling problem? Commanders Reacts Survey: Do you want to see the Washington Commanders on Hard Knocks in 2023. HONORABLE MENTION: Terry McLaurin, Commanders; Tee Higgins, Bengals; Garrett Wilson, Jets; Chris Olave, Saints. An argument can be made he is the third best receiver in the NFC East. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. He is a capable deep threat, not quite as fast as DeSean Jackson or Terry McLaurin, but fast enough to break big plays and force defenses to respect the deep pass. It could happen, but it requires a lot of things to go right for Washington that didnt go right in 2018. [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. 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. The New Orleans Saints have . NFC East receivers chart.The Best Receiver in the division is either Amari Cooper or Terry McLaurin. The Packers' offense has faltered for most of the season without Adams to create explosive plays. In addition to that, he is experienced running routes from any WR position, though he favors the slot. This is an example of the trouble Cooper has when facing off against top CBs who are as athletically gifted as he is and arent afraid of getting beat deep. This play showcases his deep speed and big play ability, but also his ability to locate the ball and adjust to the throw. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah joined Chris Brown and Steve Tasker on One Bills Live from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. After the Chiefs traded Hill in the offseason, he presented an ideal case study for how important an elite receiver can be to an offense. Except for those teams with the transcendent signal-callers like Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles. Odds & lines subject to change. Please logout and login again. Once Reagor has passed the CB he shows great acceleration getting down the field quickly and showing good use of inside leverage, keeping himself between the CB and the QB so the QB has a clear path to throw to him inside. [2:09] Jeffery runs right at his CB (Eli Apple), using his long arms to shove him back, then breaking inside to get open and get the catch and first down. After the top three, Wilson flashed some big-play ability last year and Fehoko is a big-bodied rookie. McLaurin again does a good job catching the ball away from his body (and away from Slay), keeping it safe. [1:45] Cooper does a great job seeming to run deep and selling a slant route inside. Look how much cushion the CB opposite Reager (bottom of screen) gives him, clearly afraid of getting beat deep. 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). Justin Jefferson is arguably the best wide receiver in the league. Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) February 28, 2023. Gilmore held Cooper to no catches on 2 attempts (one of which went for an interception). Amari Cooper was selected 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2015 draft. [6:10] Tate lines up outside and runs an out route, changing direction uphill immediately after the catch so quickly that Stroman whiffs on his tackle and Tate gets tons of YAC. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Jefferson caught 128 passes for . Commanders Reacts Survey: Do you want to see the Washington Commanders on Hard Knocks in 2023. Jhabvala didn't specify when the interview was taking place, but the team was expected to . 1. But forcing him to start so far off essentially gives Slayton a running start as he passes Darby. However, he fared better against those CBs than Amari Cooper. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Again, Adams' impact is felt beyond just the box score. As Slayton makes the reception, he stops on a dime and cuts so hard back outside that the CB whiffs on the tackle. 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. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. At 61 and 211 lbs, he also has very good (though not elite) size for a WR. You can see Reagors style with the ball in his hands is similar to a RB, with sharp cuts and good vision picking out running lanes to get 19 yards after the catch. Speaking of top-end receivers who switched teams in the offseason, Adams presents another great case study in positional value. This was a 37 yard play. St. Brown has been a revelation for the Lions -- and his impact has played a big role in the teams opportunity to end its five-year playoff drought. With defenses afraid to leave a corner on an island, the Vikings have faced the lowest rate of single-high coverages this season (45 percent). NFC East receivers chart.The Best Receiver in the division is either Amari Cooper or Terry McLaurin. Ceedee Lamb is the best performing rookie by some distance. Diggs went from good to great following his trade from Minnesota to Buffalo in 2020. I still think New York should target the position, even if the team has to reach a . CD Lamb is the best Wide Receiver in the NFC East . He will put that analytical brain to work this off-season helping to analyze some of the top players in the NFC East. The Redskins highest profile receiver from 2018, Jamison Crowder, is now a New York Jet. Lattimore is so fast that he closes in for a tackle as soon as the ball arrives, but Cooper does a great job making the catch through contact and keeping his feet in bounds for the reception. I just needed a place to publish some GIFs that I want to embed elsewhere. Dallas Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin was a sleeper candidate to take this award going into this season but has sadly been sidelined with Injuries. Hogs Haven looks at all four teams in the division in an effort to identify the best and the weakest of the NFC East. Good luck. Sometimes he would make an incredible contested catch, then in the same game have the ball hit him in the hands and bounce into a nearby DB for an interception. He can still run past many opponents, is more physical than many DBs (hes surprisingly strong for his size), and shows a lot of effort in run blocking. Be the first one to comment on this story. 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. Just a few years ago, the NFC East was chock-full of high profile wide receivers. Behind every great quarterback, there's an excellent wide receiver, or two, or three. 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