Cowboys: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Cedric Wilson, Simi Fehoko. At the quarter mark of the 2022 NFL season, the Next Gen Stats analytics team ranks the top 10 defensive lines. They have the No. Best Wide Receiver Duo (Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports) There are many potential choices for the best receiver pair in the game today. 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. We will lean on this formula to inform our rankings when applicable. He does a good job of positioning his body to box out CBs and gives himself the leverage advantage in making plays on the ball. Hes a high effort blocker, but his technique and power are below average. Hughes gives a generous initial cushion to prevent getting beat deep, which allows Cooper to get an easy reception for a first down and then some. Diggs went from good to great following his trade from Minnesota to Buffalo in 2020. In addition to showing Tates change-of-direction ability yet again, this play shows his improvisational ability and persistence. 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. The Hill-Waddle duo has been a handful for defenses all season long, and as a result, Miami has a chance to earn its first playoff berth since 2016. 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. 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. Again, Slayton does the basic job necessary to run his route and make a play, but doesnt employ any subtlety or counters to beat a CB as athletic as he is. It's difficult to separate the top two receivers in 2022, but when taking into account career production and capability, Jefferson just barely gets the top spot. It should be extremely worrying when Daniel Jones is the only guaranteed player who will start for their franchise next season. 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). Jeffery rewarded Cutlers trust with two 1000-yard seasons in his first 3 years in the NFL, though he hasnt been able to replicate that production since, due to repeated nagging injuries he seems to suffer every year. 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. #NFL pic.twitter.com/Nuw7mbf7gC. . His only obvious weakness is as a blocker in run support, where he doesnt quite have the strength and physicality to excel. Lastly, no discussion of Terry McLaurin is complete without discussing his blocking and special teams value. Perhaps most problematic, he is more of a body catcher than a hands catcher. This is a play that could have benefited from a fake inside before starting the route though, and notice this is again a body catch. NFC North. 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. However, Cooks is a. Jeffery is just a bit less gifted in each of these areas than an elite player like Julio Jones, and isnt really elite in any area. Although he suffered from poor QB play in 2019 (40.2% of passes thrown his way were uncatchable, 3rd worst in this years draft class), he also had a terrible 9.8% drop rate, one of the highest in this years draft class. 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 2018 version of this article focused on players like Odell . He has NFL bloodlines as his father, Paul Richardson, played several years as an NFL wide receiver as well. Dorrell was most recently the head coach at the University of Colorado. 28 Feb 2023 13:06:39 Ron Rivera's culture revolution in Washington has provided the foundation for Logan Thomas to emerge as a respectable pass catcher in this league. It's really impressive. [3:05] This was the play that introduced McLaurin to a lot of us. I suspect the best-known group of receivers in the division is the Cowboys receiving corps, headlined by Amari Cooper and featuring the just-drafted CeeDee Lamb. Here are the pre-free agency wide receiver rankings for the NFC North. 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. In fact, with four games remaining on the schedule, Brown already has set the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) single-season record with four touchdowns on deep, tight-window passes. 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. He has a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics and has spent several years doing research with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, and now does R&D work as a US government contractor. The New York Giants have a desperate need at the wide receiver position this offseason. 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. Just a few years ago, the NFC East was chock-full of high profile wide receivers. And then to grab Brown in the third round might end up being a steal. That is a difficult habit to unlearn at this point in his development, though I saw enough hands catches to think he can develop. ApplePodcasts|Google Play|Spotify|Stitcher|Art19|Watch on YouTube. The Dallas Cowboys are the only team that has all the same faces. In an unusual season that, due to global pandemic, may turn out to be unlike any other, the wide receiver position seems to offer an interesting and potentially exciting year to fans of the NFC East. 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. The more I learn about certain recent Eagles draft picks, the more it seems like they are perfect long-term replacements for some of the star players on the Eagles roster. Many of the recent early-round busts at this position came from wide-open spread attacks that only asked the wide receivers to run a few routes and when these young receivers adjusted to the league, they were just not close to being well-rounded enough in all aspects of running an NFL route tree. The Philadelphia Eagles have been active in the trade market under general manager Howie Roseman. Hogs Haven looks at all four teams in the division in an effort to identify the best and the weakest of the NFC East. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. The starting QB for the 2019 season was inexperienced freshman Max Duggan, causing Reagor to statistically regress to 43 receptions for 611 yards, which still lead the team. Building on his success earlier in the game, Cooper fakes another deep route down the sideline, then stutter-steps inside on a slant route. 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. [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. The NFC East was a historically bad division in 2020, which is why all four teams were in the race deep into the season. Jhabvala didn't specify when the interview was taking place, but the team was expected to . Jeffery is the closest thing to a WR1 on the Eagles offense. Who are the most impactful tight ends in the NFL right now? 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. Slayton has all the athletic traits of a very good WR, but needs a lot of refinement added to his game to allow him to win when athleticism isnt enough. It also shows how much teams have to respect his deep-threat ability and how that opens up opportunities for short passes. The score is calculated by scaling each metric to a percentile (from 0 to 100) relative to all wide receivers who have played at least 150 offensive snaps through Week 14 of the 2022 season. March 1, 2023 2:19 pm PT. So, who are the top dogs at the position in the early goings of the 2022 season? This was a 37 yard play. Will he ever duplicate that magical five-game stretch last year? Except for those teams with the transcendent signal-callers like Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady. Known as a jump ball and contested catch specialist, he was a favorite target of Jay Cutler, who often didnt care about throwing into double and triple coverage so long as he trusted his WR. CBS Sports Draft Analyst Chris Trapasso joined One Bills Live from the NFL Combine. 4. 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. A touch under $40 million was fully guaranteed at signing, with another $17.221 million becoming guaranteed at the start of the 2023 league year. The NFC East in 2020 has been described as the most atrocious division in NFL history. Derek Barnett has a very similar skillset to Brandon Graham. Richardson is very much a team player, and will always do his part in a play, even if the ball isnt going his way. 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. 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. Although his deep speed is only good (not great), he has elite quickness/acceleration and change-of-direction ability. The Vikings pulled off the biggest comeback in NFL history last week, but the Next Gen Stats analytics team says it wasn't the most improbable comeback of the season. Tight ends. HONORABLE MENTION: Terry McLaurin, Commanders; Tee Higgins, Bengals; Garrett Wilson, Jets; Chris Olave, Saints. Vikings top "player team report card," and . When you pair those two together with Slayton, Shepard and another former first-rounder in Ross, all of a sudden, this is a great receiving corps. 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. But the problem is when the book is written that a wideout cant get off the jam, the opponent knows this as well. 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. McLaurin runs to the DBs outside shoulder, knowing that this will give him outside leverage when he eventually breaks out on his route. By releasing Golladay, the Giants save $6.7 million against their salary cap. Lamb leads the way here and is also the youngest of the three, while . Cooper is one of the best in the NFL at building up speed on the route stem as if hes going to go deep, then stopping on a dime and cutting in a different direction so suddenly that the DB is backing up several feet away before he realizes hes out of position. NFL Week 15 underdogs: Can Dolphins halt slide against Bills? He ranked top three in both receiving grade (91.7) and yards per route run (3.64) versus such looks. The addition of Samuel in the offseason gives the team another dynamic option who can take it to the house anytime he touches the ball. This was the TD that tied Walter Paytons career rushing TD record, and Adrian Peterson gave Terry the ball after the play because he knew the TD wouldnt have been possible without his blocking. Cooper releases as if hes running deep down the sideline. He will put that analytical brain to work this off-season helping to analyze some of the top players in the NFC East. Hes not moving to the slot; the ball gets snapped while hes in the process of transitioning, allowing him to catch the ball in the backfield while the other two WRs act as blockers for him. Gilmore starts close to the line and runs with Slayton, looking back to see when Slayton cuts back for a curl route. Then he makes a tremendous leaping catch, using his long arms and sure hands to highpoint the ball and secure it away from the CB for a TD. He built on that success his sophomore year in 2018, with 72 receptions for 1,061 yards. SB Nation CFB. 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. Former Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall made a plea to the Packers star via Instagram on Tuesday, during which he implored Rodgers to drift on into retirement. Watching him play, Slayton seems like a great athletic prospect who still needs a lot of refinement. [1:32] This is an example of being open when covered. It depends on whether you favor production or . Which game is featured at the top of NGS's unlikeliest victory rankings? See where he lands in the Next Gen Stats analytics team's ranking of the top 10 slot receivers right now. Up next in the divisional depth chart review is the NFC East wide receivers. And Humphries comes over from Tennessee, where he was once a very productive player. This play highlights Richardsons deep threat ability, change-of-direction, ball tracking, body positioning, leaping ability, and strong hands at the catch point. Where do Eagles' receivers rank among NFC East. As miserable as that 2020 season was for the Cowboys, he still had 92/1,114/5. Washington: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Kelvin Harmon, Adam Humphries, Cam Sims. Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper edges out the competition to place as the NFC East's best receiver. Speaking of top-end receivers who switched teams in the offseason, Adams presents another great case study in positional value. 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. NOTE: The composite score for each player is based on a series of advanced receiving metrics, courtesy of Next Gen Stats. He takes off and blows past his DB to get about 6 yards of separation vertically. Eagles: DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Travis Fulgham, Quez Watkins, John Hightower. In the off-season, Washington went out and signed speed-threat Curtis Samuel to a three-year, 34,500,000 contract. It also highlights his ability to get open on crossing and out routes because CBs have to guard against the deeper routes so diligently. 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). Washington Football Team running back Antonio Gibson has emerged as a very efficient catcher out the backfield, if he can raise his yardage he can transform into an all round running back. Click here to see all the Ranking the NFC East articles. 1. Tate is rarely asked to block in the run game, but is a willing and physical blocker when put in that role. Who's the Best Wide Receiver in the NFL? Many make the mistake that if a wide receiver is big and fast that he immediately becomes a top NFL prospect. 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. Neither WR got consistent separation against those CBs, but McLaurin was harder to jam and had stronger hands wrestling away 50/50 balls. Commanders Reacts Survey: Do you want to see the Washington Commanders on Hard Knocks in 2023. 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. However, he also ended this play with a mistake I saw him make a few other times too by slipping and falling without contact. Cooper did a poor job on the few plays I saw him used as a blocker, and seemed to get pulled from the field by the coaching staff on many running plays. 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. 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. Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports Flowers is another potential first-round option depending on how his combine week goes. [1:05] Tate lines up in the slot on a crossing route, but sees the play break down as Wentz breaks the pocket and changes directions so quickly that CB Greg Stroman slips on the grass trying to cover him. However, I think Slayton has a very high ceiling and could be really good if he continues to develop. The wide receiver landscape in the NFC East has changed dramatically over the past couple of seasons. Dallas Cowboys. Although he is a bit undersized for a boundary WR at 60 and 208 lbs, he has good agility (7.01s 3-cone), good quickness (4.15s 20 yard shuttle), and elite deep speed (4.35s 40 yd dash), as well as impressive strength (18 BP reps). Well, they are often doing battle with excellent man coverage cornerbacks. 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