It's easy to look at last year and be disappointed with our WRs. But context is everything when looking at production.
Compared to other teams in the league, we hardly threw the ball. So in order to put the production into context, I extrapolated the numbers of we hypothetically had attempted the league average number of attempts, as well as the most in the league. Here's what I got:
Corey Davis:
Actual Yardage:
891 Yards
Yardage with league average # of attempts:
1,136 Yards
Yardage with Most Attempts (PITTSBURGH) In NFL:
1,406 Yards
Taywan Taylor:
Actual Yardage (13 games):
466 Yards
Yardage with league average # of attempts:
587 Yards (723 if available all 16 game)
Yardage with Most Attempts (PITTSBURGH) In NFL:
727 Yard (896 Yards if available all 16 games)
Obviously some extreme hypotheticals. But these are year 2 players, and were thrust into some pretty crappy circumstances, so we could throw them a bone or two.
So I'll give a reason to be positive about each going forward:
Corey Davis:
Key stat:
Had the 9th largest target share in the league. Despite the elite players in front of him (M. Thomas, J. Jones, A. Brown, K. Allen, Hopkins, OBJ, ex's), only one player had more separation per target- J. Landry, who surrenders half a foot in length to him. Most players didn't come close in this regard.
Key plays:
This is him vs. Stephon Gilmore, an elite corner with 4.40 speed , and has shut down many elite WRs. Davis gained nearly 100 yards on him exclusively, and blew right past him with finesse and athleticism here:
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He even had an angle and head start on him. Davis may be a legit 4.3 guy.
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This is a testament to his athleticism and hand/eye coordination. Try this catch at home, and you'll end up at the ER or YouTube for looking like a complete fool. He needs more balls in his area, because his catch radius is off the chain
Taywan Taylor:
Key stat:
#22 in yards per route run
Received 3rd most cushion of all receivers in the league
I'll show you exactly why that last figure is key
Keep in mind, this isn't some bum. This is Jalen Ramsey, an All Pro CB who owned the combine. Taylor apparently didn't get that memo when he blew past him here, though it does highlight the weakness to his game (excuse the first tweet):
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Bad throw, but he could have had that. But here's some more illustrations of the separation that he gets:
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He has an innate understanding of separation, as well as great play speed to get it regularly. Just has to clean up the drops.
These guys are two years removed from playing against a low level of competition at college, yet have shown ability to play at a high level. Everyone wants a new shiny receiver who is very likely to suck at the NFL level, but I think that we have a lot to be Excited about regarding both of these guys.
Compared to other teams in the league, we hardly threw the ball. So in order to put the production into context, I extrapolated the numbers of we hypothetically had attempted the league average number of attempts, as well as the most in the league. Here's what I got:
Corey Davis:
Actual Yardage:
891 Yards
Yardage with league average # of attempts:
1,136 Yards
Yardage with Most Attempts (PITTSBURGH) In NFL:
1,406 Yards
Taywan Taylor:
Actual Yardage (13 games):
466 Yards
Yardage with league average # of attempts:
587 Yards (723 if available all 16 game)
Yardage with Most Attempts (PITTSBURGH) In NFL:
727 Yard (896 Yards if available all 16 games)
Obviously some extreme hypotheticals. But these are year 2 players, and were thrust into some pretty crappy circumstances, so we could throw them a bone or two.
So I'll give a reason to be positive about each going forward:
Corey Davis:
Key stat:
Had the 9th largest target share in the league. Despite the elite players in front of him (M. Thomas, J. Jones, A. Brown, K. Allen, Hopkins, OBJ, ex's), only one player had more separation per target- J. Landry, who surrenders half a foot in length to him. Most players didn't come close in this regard.
Key plays:
This is him vs. Stephon Gilmore, an elite corner with 4.40 speed , and has shut down many elite WRs. Davis gained nearly 100 yards on him exclusively, and blew right past him with finesse and athleticism here:
< "
He even had an angle and head start on him. Davis may be a legit 4.3 guy.
">
This is a testament to his athleticism and hand/eye coordination. Try this catch at home, and you'll end up at the ER or YouTube for looking like a complete fool. He needs more balls in his area, because his catch radius is off the chain
Taywan Taylor:
Key stat:
#22 in yards per route run
Received 3rd most cushion of all receivers in the league
I'll show you exactly why that last figure is key
Keep in mind, this isn't some bum. This is Jalen Ramsey, an All Pro CB who owned the combine. Taylor apparently didn't get that memo when he blew past him here, though it does highlight the weakness to his game (excuse the first tweet):
">
Bad throw, but he could have had that. But here's some more illustrations of the separation that he gets:
< ">
">
He has an innate understanding of separation, as well as great play speed to get it regularly. Just has to clean up the drops.
These guys are two years removed from playing against a low level of competition at college, yet have shown ability to play at a high level. Everyone wants a new shiny receiver who is very likely to suck at the NFL level, but I think that we have a lot to be Excited about regarding both of these guys.
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