Training camp reports around the league seem to have one thing in common - rookie WRs are performing above and beyond expectations. Look no further than our own Jarvis Landry, who is quickly becoming a fan favorite. But just how good is this class? NFL.com didn't even include Jarvis in its initial top ten prediction for yardage by a rookie WRs - (heck, he's not even mentioned as one of their four honorable mentions): http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...kie-receiver-will-gain-the-most-yards-in-2014 Sammy Watkins is the star of Bills training camp. Mike Evans is getting rave reviews across from Vincent Jackson. (OBJ was injured.) Brandin Cooks was the highlight of the Saints' scrimmage. Marquise Lee is having a great camp (while Robinson is out a while with an injury). Cody Latimer is "turning heads". Kelvin Benjamin "hasn't dropped a pass yet in camp." Jordan Matthews is killing it for the Eagles. Moncrief has been "very impressive." Paul Richardson is startling his team with his speed. The only 1st/2nd round WR I haven't heard effusive praise about is Davonte Adams, but I haven't read anything bad about him either. And surely there are some WRs later on in the draft like Ryan Grant and Montavius Bryant that are rising to the top. Yes it's offseason and everyone is optimistic, especially when it comes to rookies, but this amount of acclaim feels unusual. So while it is the season for conjecture, we all knew this was a special class at the position, but can we predict this as the greatest season ever for Rookie WRs?
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...s-mike-evans-among-rookies-impressing-in-camp http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...din-cooks-everything-saints-expected-and-more http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/02/5082648/sorensen-first-rounder-kelvin.html http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2014/08/lesean_mccoy_says_jordan_matthews_might.html http://www.xnsports.com/2014/07/31/...arqise-lee-devonta-freeman-teddy-bridgewater/ http://www.stampedeblue.com/2014/8/2/5962287/donte-moncrief-impressing-at-colts-camp
Pretty sure we're going to look foolish and be kicking ourselves for taking a right tackle over Brandin Cooks.
I think with the way is moving in terms of WR rules and offensive system, you will see more rookies successful out of the gate at the position.
Good on Gus. That's Marqise Lee's biggest demon from his USC days, the thing I pointed out to people all the time. Very talented player, and I like him to succeed, but effort is all over the place on him. Gus Bradley will have to break him of that.
For all people been dogging Morgan Moses, he looked OK against NE. I guess that's the real question though...Brandin Cooks and Morgan Moses versus JaWuan James and Jarvis Landry.
Rookie WRs Preseason Week 01 (first four rounds only): BUF Sammy Watkins, Clemson: 3 rec, 21 yds, 0 TD TAM Mike Evans, Texas A&M: 0 rec, 0 yds, 0 TD NYG Odell Beckham, LSU: DNP NOR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State: 5 rec, 50 yds, 1 TD CAR Kelvin Benjamin, FSU: 1 rec, 29 yds, 1 TD JAC Marqise Lee, USC: 0 rec, 0 yds, 0 TD KAN Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt: 4 rec, 14 yds, 0 TD SEA Paul Richardson, Colorado: 4 rec, 37 yds, 0 TD GNB Davante Adams, Fresno State: 2 rec, 22 yds, 0 TD STL Coty Latimer, Indiana: 0 rec, 0 yds, 0 TD JAC Allen Robinson, Penn State: DNP MIA Jarvis Landry, LSU: 1 rec, -1 yds, 0 TD PHI Josh Huff, Oregon: 1 rec, 4 yds, 0 TD IND Donte Moncrief: 1 rec, 16 yds, 0 TD ARI John Brown, Pittsburgh State: 5 rec, 87 yds, 0 TD NYJ Jalen Saunders, Oklahoma: 1 rec, 1 yds, 0 TD SFO Bruce Ellington, South Carolina: 3 rec, 35 yds, 0 TD NYJ Shaq Evans, UCLA: DNP PIT Martavis Bryant, Clemson: 1 rec, 19 yds, 0 TD SEA Kevin Norwood, Alabama: DNP Other standout rookies: NYG Cory Washington, Newberry: 4 rec, 96 yds, 2 TD ATL Bernard Reedy, Toledo: 2 rec, 61 yds, 0 TD DET Andrew Peacock, Appalachian State - 4 rec, 43 yds, 0 TD DAL Devin Street, Pittsburgh: 4 rec, 40 yds, 0 TD JAC Allen Hurns, Miami (FL) - 2 rec, 43 yds, 0 TD WAS Ryan Grant, Tulane - 3 rec, 37 yds, 0 TD Jarvis Landry for the moment gets the distinct honor of being last among all wide receivers because his catch actually went for a one yard loss, lol. Auspicious start...
It does lead to the question, is it better to have zero catches and zero yards or one catch and negative one yard. Answer that question and you are one step closer to enlightenment.
Jordan Matthews is tearing it up tonight 9 catches 100+ yards, with 10+ minutes left in the game! On the flip side, Cooks is comparatively quiet. This is exciting!
In hindsight. He slipped further than anyone anticipated. The bigger question is, why did we decide not to address RT in F.A.? Our tackle positions gave up 25 total sacks alone, almost half of Tannehill's sacks. At one point, Tyson Clabo was so bad, Miami was willing to let Martin replace him, who was equally as horrible in his natural position of LT. I like James. Could be a solid player for a long time. It's still an awfully big gamble to let a rookie protect the most abused QB in the NFL. Not to mention it crippled draft flexibility. For an embattled HC like Philbin (who is probably be coaching for his job), I can't say that was the smartest play.
I like Brandin Cooks a lot. He's going to be awesome for the Saints. They'll use him perfectly. But I could live without drafting him. With the WR class this deep, passing on a 5'10" 190lbs slot receiver wasn't a an outright terrible decision. I want a bigger receiving core. Given Tannehill's accuracy issues, I think he would too. I'm siding w/Brady, no pygmies. I think people are really sleeping on Moncrief. He's going to have a nice career with Andrew Luck. It's going to be hard to get playing time early with Reggie, Hakeem, and T.Y. Not to mention Luck has to feed Allen/Fleener. But he's going to be a stud for them one day. Having said all that, I'm still on the Allen Robinson bandwagon. He might redshirt a bit with that hamstring, but he's going to be nasty for Jacksonville. I'm also a fan of Jordan Matthews, who will be a star. As for the late round guys, I'm very interested to see what Devin Street does w/Dallas.
Rookie WRs Preseason Week 02 (first four rounds only): BUF Sammy Watkins, Clemson: (INJ Q1) TAM Mike Evans, Texas A&M: 2 rec, 52 yards, 0 TD (2 targets) (huge fumble) NYG Odell Beckham, LSU: DNP NOR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State: 1 rec, 16 yards, 0 td (4 targets) CAR Kelvin Benjamin, FSU: JAC Marqise Lee, USC: 4 rec, 27 yards, 1 td (4 targets) KAN Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt: 9 rec, 104 yards, 0 td (9 targets) SEA Paul Richardson, Colorado: 0 rec, 0 yards, 0 td (1 target) GNB Davante Adams, Fresno State: 2 rec, 28 yards, 0 TD (3 targets) DEN Cody Latimer, Indiana: JAC Allen Robinson, Penn State: DNP MIA Jarvis Landry, LSU: 1 rec, 26 yards, 0 TD (1target) PHI Josh Huff, Oregon: (INJ in Q1) IND Donte Moncrief: 1 rec, 9 yards, 0 TD (1 target) ARI John Brown, Pittsburgh State: 2 rec, 86 yards, 0 TD (4 targets) NYJ Jalen Saunders, Oklahoma: DNP SFO Bruce Ellington, South Carolina: NYJ Shaq Evans, UCLA: DNP PIT Martavis Bryant, Clemson: 2 rec, 18 yards, 0 TD (5 targets) SEA Kevin Norwood, Alabama: DNP Other standout rookies: PIT Dri Archer: 2 rec, 44 yards, 0 TD (2 targets) NYG Cory Washington, Newberry: 3 rec, 20 yards, 1td (3 targets) ATL Bernard Reedy, Toledo: DET Andrew Peacock, Appalachian State - 2 rec, 14 yards, 0 td (2 targets) DAL Devin Street, Pittsburgh: 0 rec, 0 yards, 0 TD (1 target) JAC Allen Hurns, Miami (FL): 4 rec, 74 yards, 0 TD (6 targets) WAS Ryan Grant, Tulane -
[video]http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/Press-Pass-Jordan-Matthews/dbb5f4d8-0e75-4837-bb7b-a5f236fbe6f7[/video] Here's the highlights from Jordan Matthews superstar game.
I said it then and I'll continue to say it now along with others suggesting it- it was stupid to pass on Cooks. I haven't crunched the numbers, but I think it's safe to say that playmakers of Cooks' caliber are significantly rarer than right tackles you can win with. It's really a matter of finding yourself in the right place at the right time, which you realistically could go years without being in. Hickey looked a gift horse in the mouth; meanwhile New Orleans traded up 7 spots to become the benefactor. I wouldn't have desperately let a right tackle dictate my draft, especially when their rookie form is frequently unreliable or inconsistent. Over the next 4 years, Cooks will probably play at a level 4-5 times greater than that of his rookie $8.4M contract. We were like 7 picks too late for Calvin Johnson; 3 picks too late for Harvin; 4 & 6 picks too late for Demaryius Thomas & Dez Bryant; 9 & 11 picks too late for Julio Jones & AJ Green; couldn't take Michael Floyd b/c of Tannehill; weren't in the right draft positions for Tavon Austin, Cord Patterson, or DeAndre Hopkins. That's 7 years of not being in the right place at the right time in the 1st round to draft a difference maker [or potential difference maker] at wide receiver. Don't think right tackles get talked about like that.
I loved Cooks and his speed and am sure he will do well in NO, but not sure he would be the same here and he's not tall.
Is Cooks better than Austin? If we really want that kind of impact, you'd think we'd utilize thigpen and miller in the underneath passing game more. Ultimately I'd guess Philbin doesn't prioritize that type of WR. Of the two types of WR we lack, I'd probably go for the big body guy like Robinson or Benjamin over Cooks. However, Philbin wanted a possession WR, hence his focus on Landry (and Marqise Lee, rumored). With Gibson and Matthews both having questionable offseasons, and both being moved to the slot from their natural positions, I don't exactly fault him. Also, WR is the highest paid unit our team - the highest paid in the whole league by a wide margin! In he second round, draft him, but it wouldn't want to use another valuable (1st round) resource on the position. Plus, I think James will prove to be a top three tackle from this draft. That said, Cooks went to the best possible situation for him with Bree's in NO, so I expect a lot of 'we should've drafted him' threads.
So far the best WR from from this draft is Alex Hurns who has blown up all three of his preseason game so far for the Jags, most recently going 7 for 113; I believe he was undrafted. He's also gone 4/74 and 2/43. Blake Bortles look good, giving hope that all ho-him guys can be the sexiest.
Mike Evans will be banned for the year for throwing fists in public before he was drafted.... unless it turns out he punched a woman... yesterday... then itll only be 2 games.