2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. Overall, it seems like he relies on out-athleting his opponents, beating them with deep speed or strength rather than using the nuances of the WR position to win, which wont be enough at the NFL level. [2:13] McLaurin takes off deep again, almost immediately beating the CB, and the CB knows it. Ranking the NFC East, 2019: 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, Stanford @ Oregon, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside plays, Stanford @ Notre Dame, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside pl, Ohio State vs Indiana, Terry McLaurin plays, Ohio State @ Maryland, Terry McLaurin 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. His time with the Raiders was productive, but wildly inconsistent. So far we have looked at: 1. 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. Ceedee Lamb is the best performing rookie by some distance. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Speaking of needing things to go right, Dave Gettleman shocked the NFL world (or didnt, based on which Twitter reports you were reading and believing) by trading Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland. CeeDee Lamb is running away with this award. Then Reagor explodes off that planted left leg to go outside and uses a bit of a shove to knock the CB off balance and shoot past him. Dorrell was most recently the head coach at the University of Colorado. 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. Well, they are often doing battle with excellent man coverage cornerbacks. 4. Alshon Jeffery doesnt have elite quickness, but uses his physicality to get open on short routes like this instead of relying on quickness and change-of-direction ability. Except for those teams with the transcendent signal-callers like Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady. NFC East The AFC East probably has two receivers who are currently better than anyone in this division. [7:19] Slayton lines up on the boundary top of screen opposite Stephon Gilmore. March 1, 2023 6:03 am USAToday PanthersWire. He still doesnt have the short-area-quickness or suddenness to juke DBs out of their shoes, but he showed better ability to get open in tight spaces using fakes and body positioning. Hes still only an average run blocker, but thats a step up from what he was and traditionally means a lot to the Cowboys offense. 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. 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. 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. St. Brown has also provided a safety blanket for Goff when teams blitz (which they often do). This week, we've assembled a list of the top 10 wide receivers heading into Week 15. Who tops the list? Tate is rarely asked to block in the run game, but is a willing and physical blocker when put in that role. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. McLaurin is an ideal Z receiver, though not quite big enough to play X and not able to consistently beat the best CBs in the NFL. Speed is great without question and true speedsters that know how to use it terrify defensive coordinators. Brown has been dominant on tight-window throws this season, with a career-high 273 yards on such targets (second in the NFL behind George Pickens). Doug Pederson trusts Alshon more than any other WR to be his TD threat in the red zone. 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. Hogs Haven looks at all four teams in the division in an effort to identify the best and the weakest of the NFC East. This play also shows off his acceleration and route running. Gilmore is on top of him the whole way and cuts back just as hard as Slayton, wrapping him up as the ball gets to him and knocking the ball away. The NFC East is STACKED at receiver. 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. Despite lack of deep speed, JJ was often able to make big plays like this one using fakes, quick feet, and good hands-catching ability. As it pertains to this season specifically, Diggs has not slowed down, leading the league with 10 receiving TDs when aligned wide. NFC East . AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Cooper again lines up opposite Hughes, this time at the bottom of the screen. Featured Promo: Get any full-season NFL Premium Pass for 50% off and win big in 2023. His basketball roots are also evident on plays like this. Tate gets wide open and signals Wentz for the TD. This play really shows off Slaytons physical traits; hes got speed, acceleration, and quick change-of-direction ability for days. Terry McLaurin flashes elite traits, but has enough problems in his tape that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round. Is the Jaguars' decision to make a big investment in Christian Kirk paying off so far? In his college tape, he almost always corralled balls into his body after getting several feet of separation from DBs. It depends on whether you favor production or . If Carson Wentz can return to his 2017 form and stay healthy for 16 games, this Eagles receiving crew could lead the division in statistical production. Love is draped all over JJ, trying to muscle him even having the awareness to reach out when the ball is in the air to break up the pass. Waddle has reached 20+ mph on four offensive touches this season, tied for the third-most among all wide receivers (behind Christian Watson and teammate Tyreek Hill). 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. Minnesota Vikings. [1:43] This is why the Redskins drafted Terry McLaurin. [1:46] This play is one of two that is very representative of how Cooper gets open. 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. In 2017, the Bears let Jeffery leave in free agency, and he signed with the Eagles. This was a 37 yard play. The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Ole Miss product was one of the best wide receivers in the league against man coverage. You cant teach speed. One minor difference in his game from last year is that I think Cooper has visibly improved in run blocking. Although the ball is placed right on his hands, he makes an ugly drop and misses out on a big play. He is not just the first read on this play, hes the only read. He has been targeted on 39 percent of routes when defenses send the heat, trailing only the next receiver on this list, CeeDee Lamb. So, who are the top dogs at the position in the early goings of the 2022 season? This time, instead of Mike Hughes, Cooper (top of screen) is facing off against Darius Slay. Richardson is prone to being jammed at the line of scrimmage, and I often saw him positioned behind the line to avoid getting jammed. 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). Hes a high effort blocker, but his technique and power are below average. Tier 1: Elite 1. And Humphries comes over from Tennessee, where he was once a very productive player. Whenever defenses left him 1-on-1 against non-elite CBs, he was able to get open for a big play, though he was often missed by inaccurate Redskins QBs early in the season. After the top three, Wilson flashed some big-play ability last year and Fehoko is a big-bodied rookie. Of course, no position group consists of just one star player. CD Lamb is the best Wide Receiver in the NFC East . McLaurin shows good body control, contorting his body around in the air to make the catch despite his momentum. He really emerged after that though, acting primarily as a deep threat early in the season, but leveraging his early success to get more snaps, run a few more routes, and demand more attention from opposing defenses. One of the first things a receiver needs to do at the NFL level is to win against outstanding press man coverage. 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. McLaurin gets a poor angle on the block because of the DBs speed, but nevertheless uses his strength to hold his man in place and eventually follow him to the ground, forcing the defender to reach out for an attempted shoestring tackle. Try and press Jefferson to disrupt his route? Once hes free, nobody in the secondary can catch him. But the problem is when the book is written that a wideout cant get off the jam, the opponent knows this as well. While gaining separation through great route running is fantastic, there are some great receivers like DeAndre Hopkins that just win time and time again at the catch point despite not gaining a lot of separation. McLaurin seems to try to fake outside, but Slay doesnt bite, instead following McLaurin as he releases inside. And, sure, Reagor had a disappointing rookie season in 2020 but its way to early to write him off, especially with a new offensive scheme coming to town. Tate also does a good job maintaining awareness of the QB and tracking the ball almost the entire time its in the air. He was also a competent kick returner, with 9 returns for 189 yards (21.0 Y/R). On the short end of the NFC East receivers, the Giants and Eagles have an average height of 72.2 inches, or 6 feet. Lets get a closer look at some of the wide receivers of the NFC East. NFC East receivers chart.The Best Receiver in the division is either Amari Cooper or Terry McLaurin. The additions of Golladay and Toney should actually help Slayton and Shepard take some of the focus off them. He also doesnt use deception and fakes as aggressively as he could in his routes, possibly because he is accustomed to simply running past opponents. Former Jacksonville Jaguar Allen Hurns, who hasnt been able to break 500 yards in a season since 2015, when he put up 1,031 yards and 10 TDs, is probably the headliner of the bottom half of the depth chart. 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 is a nuanced route runner, so he excels at running his routes in such a way that he has leverage over DBs and can get quick separation after his break. 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