He recognizes the Cover 2 Zone defense and runs his route perfectly along the soft spots between zones the whole way. Buy Seahawks Tickets 25. Reagor again runs a good route, faking outside as if to run down the sideline and getting the CB to turn outside, but then breaking inside to take advantage of the cushion with nobody near him. Tate is a good route runner, an extremely reliable catcher (2nd fewest drops among WRs in 2018), and most importantly is one of the NFLs best WRs at getting yards after catch (YAC). [0:32] Richardson runs a deep route, subtly faking outside to get inside leverage on the CB, then turning the route back inside to split the CB and S, get open, locate the ball in the air, and dive for the catch. [1:45] Cooper does a great job seeming to run deep and selling a slant route inside. Richardson is a weak (though willing) run blocker. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. However, starting QB Shawn Robinson decided to transfer to Missouri after the 2018 season, leaving the Horned Frogs scrambling for a replacement. Tier 1: Elite 1. NFC East. 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. Tate also does a good job maintaining awareness of the QB and tracking the ball almost the entire time its in the air. Though hes only 511, Reagors leaping ability allows him to go up pretty high to make a catch. The wide receiver landscape in the NFC East has changed dramatically over the past couple of seasons. Every team has at least one . Dez Bryant, Pierre Garcon, Odell Beckham Jr., and Victor Cruz all added luster to the divisions marketability. 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. [3:49] This time, Love wins the matchup, getting a hand in to break up the pass. And Humphries comes over from Tennessee, where he was once a very productive player. 2. 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. [1:04] This time the defense is running man coverage. I wanted to include this play for 2 reasons. [0:38] McLaurin does a good job blocking on this play, eventually blocking his guy to the ground. This division has new faces all around, and some of the best talent in all of football. 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. The 2014 Arizona Cardinals 4th rounder bounced around the league over the past 6 years but seems to have finally settled on his 6th team. CeeDee Lamb is running away with this award. This play highlights Coopers ability to sell fakes (hes excellent at selling fakes to get open) and his toughness and effort in fighting through contact for extra yards. March 1, 2023 6:03 am USAToday PanthersWire. After the Giants signed Kenny Golladay, the NFC East is shaping up to be one of the most competitive divisions in 2021. McLaurin runs to the DBs outside shoulder, knowing that this will give him outside leverage when he eventually breaks out on his route. He ranked top three in both receiving grade (91.7) and yards per route run (3.64) versus such looks. Another WR on the same boundary runs vertically to clear out the DB there, leaving Reagor with a lot of open grass in front of him as he receives the short pass. Cooper and McLaurin must receive extra praise for overcoming below average QB play, the Cowboys and Football Team's QB play has been down right terrible this year. He is not just the first read on this play, hes the only read. 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. He lines up on the boundary at the top of the screen opposite Vikings CB Mike Hughes. Cooper isnt weak, but hes not especially physical, and pressing him at the line can disrupt his routes. 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. Gilmore held Cooper to no catches on 2 attempts (one of which went for an interception). Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. You cant teach speed. 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. However, JJ has tremendous ability to stay open even when covered, using his big body, long arms, and good hands-catching ability to reach out and grab the ball out of the CBs reach, even with very little separation. Reagor has weaknesses though. 3. Terry McLaurin flashes elite traits, but has enough problems in his tape that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round. His routes are smooth and fluid, and once he turned on his jets near the endzone, the safety couldnt keep up. Here are the current preseason depth charts at wide receiver for teams in the NFC East & NFC South. 6 year vet Logan Thomas is having a career year. Giants: Darius Slayton, Kenny Golladay, John Ross III, Sterling Shepard, Kadarius Toney. 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. 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. He looks like he has all the size, speed, acceleration, ball tracking, and sharp cutting ability to be great in the NFL. He looks, to me, a lot like a poor mans Julio Jones. The crew gets a bit motley after that, with some late-round draft picks and NFL veterans. The Next Gen Stats analytics team provides a ranking of the top 10 players at the position in 2022, with some names that could surprise you. As miserable as that 2020 season was for the Cowboys, he still had 92/1,114/5. Of the players I reviewed last year for the Ranking the NFCE series, my opinion on Cooper is that he is among the least changed. [7:59] McLaurin lines up opposite Jalen Mills at the top of the screen. 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. The Philadelphia Eagles are ranked No. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. However, Cooks is a. They have the No. Despite the emergence of Isaiah Hodgins, who re-signed with Big Blue last week, the Giants are likely to. [2:08] Here is another example of using excellent body-positioning to box an opponent out, but this time against a much better opponent: Julian Love (taken by the Giants in the 4th round of the 2019 draft). The suddenness with which Cooper changed his direction and the degree to which the CB committed deep make it impossible for the CB to redirect in time, and Cooper gets open for an easy catch. However, when healthy, Richardson is a very capable pass catcher. 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. [9:35] Gilmore again lines up opposite Slayton at the top of the screen. With very little separation, Slayton runs down the sideline on a fade route, looks back, sees the ball in the air and reaches for it, but Gilmore bats it out of his hands. NFC East . This play shows again that McLaurin has more ways to win than just speed, and even against the best of CBs, he found a way to get open through physicality, smart positioning, and excellent route running and timing. NFL passing games want quick-hitting routes rather than long developing ones downfield. Watching tape of McLaurins 2019 season, it became clear that other teams saw him as the number one threat in the Redskins passing game. Derek Barnett has a very similar skillset to Brandon Graham. He has NFL bloodlines as his father, Paul Richardson, played several years as an NFL wide receiver as well. He will break down film of some of the top receivers in the division: Click here to read the 2019 review of wide receivers which includes Golden Tate, Alshon Jeffrey and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside as well as last years look at Cooper and McLaurin. [7:19] Slayton lines up on the boundary top of screen opposite Stephon Gilmore. 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. Washington: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Kelvin Harmon, Adam Humphries, Cam Sims. Metcalf also recorded five touchdowns on vertical routes against man coverage, tying for the most in the league. Washington Football Team Terry McLaurin has solidified himself as one of the best young receivers in the NFL. 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. The New York Giants have a desperate need at the wide receiver position this offseason. 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. . Hes a high effort blocker, but his technique and power are below average. Expect the QB play to dramatically improve next year as teams either move onto new starters or double down on weapons for their existing starters. Slayton tested extremely well at the 2018 NFL Combine, posting good size (61 and 190 pounds), explosiveness (vertical and broad jump), and speed (4.39 second 40 yard dash). They bring two DBs down to bracket Slayton (bottom of screen). Last years 3rd round pick, Michael Gallup adds a speed element to the teams receiving corps, which was further bolstered this off-season when the Cowboys signed former Green Bay Packer Randall Cobb during the veteran free agency period. Playing like this opens up the risk of Cooper getting behind them if he wins the foot race on a deep route, which is why only equally fast DBs can play him this way. After watching both WRs in those matchups, I think the difference was McLaurins physicality and ability to win contested catches. Share. Note that Reagor got injured earlier in this game and looked to be in a lot of pain, but came back and played through it very effectively (as shown here). 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. Richardsons negatives almost entirely have to do with his strength and injury history. Andrew is a self-taught film analyst with a pretty impressive resume. At the bottom of the depth chart, Watkins, Hightower and J.J. Arcega-Whitesid might be in a battle. 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. Once hes free, nobody in the secondary can catch him. Justin Jefferson is arguably the best wide receiver in the league. However, I think Slayton has a very high ceiling and could be really good if he continues to develop. [12:06] This is the second of two plays that are representative of how Cooper gets open on many occasions. This play also shows off his acceleration and route running. Dak breaks to his right (Coopers side) almost immediately after the snap despite little pressure and is looking for Cooper the whole time. The Cowboys receivers may have the most talent and productivity potential of any group in the NFC East, but, with the Cowboys' run-centered offense, and Dak Prescott 's limited pass production . 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. His most impressive area of improvement was in his catching ability. [1:43] This is why the Redskins drafted Terry McLaurin. The "Cheetah" has put up historic efficiency numbers this season, gaining 3.7 yards for every route run. Very few players in NFL history have immediately dominated the way Jefferson has since entering the league in 2020. McLaurin releases and expertly fakes outside, causing Douglas to flip his hips outside while Terry turns back inside and easily runs past Douglas in the 1-on-1 matchup and gets open to make a big catch. 1. Neither WR got consistent separation against those CBs, but McLaurin was harder to jam and had stronger hands wrestling away 50/50 balls. Again, Adams' impact is felt beyond just the box score. Dorrell was most recently the head coach at the University of Colorado. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. The NFC East was a historically bad division in 2020, which is why all four teams were in the race deep into the season. 2022 NFL season's top 10 wide receivers: Justin Jefferson reels in No. However, Richardson is also a good route runner and is quick and nuanced enough to operate well on all routes in the route tree. Then he shows good awareness of the defense in sprinting away from defenders to get the long TD. Amari Cooper can play every WR position: X, Z, and slot, and the Cowboys used him all over the field to exploit matchups. 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). See where they land in the Next Gen Stats analytics team's ranking of the top 10 most explosive rushers right now. Its a big change from the pre-Gettleman Giants, who, for a while, fielded one of the highest-profile receiving groups in the league. The Redskins seem to have a very high-quality group on the field, though the only well-known name in the bunch is Terry McLaurin, and his fame doesnt extend far beyond the fantasy football communityyet. Despite missing four games with a hip injury, Chase still manages to be all over the receiving leaderboards this season. He shows enough effort and skill in route running that I think he will develop into a capable NFL starter under good coaching, but I think his immediate value will be on special teams, where he already has the ability to make an impact. 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. I just needed a place to publish some GIFs that I want to embed elsewhere. He was on a torrid pace yet again when healthy. Cooper again runs down the sideline and seems to get open by selling the deep route, but breaking it back to shake loose. Of course, no position group consists of just one star player. Cornerbacks and safeties are smart in the NFL and can read route tells extremely well. NFC East receivers chart.The Best Receiver in the division is either Amari Cooper or Terry McLaurin. Eagles fans were decrying their lack of receivers in the latter half of 2019, and hope that the addition of first-round pick Jalen Reagor will be a partial answer to their concerns, even as they hold out hope that the light will come on for last years second-round selection J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, and that the aging speedster Desean Jackson can remain healthy for more than the opening week game against the Redskins. [8:53] This is the danger Jeffery can present going deep. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Odds & lines subject to change. This ability combined with the fact that less athletic DBs give him plenty of cushion to guard against deep routes makes Cooper very good at getting open on high-completion crossing, out, and curl routes. But those wide receivers that have been most successful of late early in their career are the Route Runners. These are guys who are exceptional coming out of their breaks without losing too much speed, have repetitive and repeatable routes time after time so their quarterback knows where they are going to be and can create separation by setting up a cover man and making every route look the same from the beginning. 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. NFL Offensive Player Rankings, Week 15: Building the AFC Pro Bowl Games roster on offense, NFL Offensive Player Rankings, Week 15: Building the NFC Pro Bowl Games roster on offense, RB Index, Week 15: Three fresh-legged running backs who could impact the NFL playoff picture, NFL rookie rankings at quarter pole of 2022 season: Jets duo holds top spots; Lions lead with three reps, NFL QB Index, Week 15: San Francisco 49ers rookie Brock Purdy soars into top half of rankings. , starting QB Shawn Robinson decided to transfer to Missouri after the 2018 season gaining. The ground is not just the first read on this play for 2 reasons every. To do with his strength and injury history hes free, nobody the! Contested catches recommended that you Use the latest versions of a supported browser in to... Place to publish some GIFs that I can see why he fell to the 3rd round Use. 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nfc east best wide receivers