Bye Week Report Cards: Pass Catchers

Back in August, I previewed the wide receivers and DrWhosOnFirst previewed the tight ends for you guys. The receivers in particular were already set in stone, so it was really a bit of a cop-out piece for me, but regardless, we’re revisiting both position groups and evaluating how they’ve done in the first chunk of the 2019 season.

The Good

Stats. Stats are good. DeVonta Smith has 537 yards on 31 receptions. Jerry Jeudy has 488 yards on 38 receptions. Henry Ruggs has a ridiculous 361 yards on only 17 receptions. But let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? All three of these receivers with their 112 total targets? They have yet to record a dropped ball. That’s right, 0% drop rate. On top of that, they all have impressive catch rates. Smith’s catching 82% of balls thrown his way, Jeudy is at 73%, and Ruggs at 77%. None of the three have less than a 55% success rate or a 35% explosive rate. Oh, and 19 touchdowns between them.

Meanwhile, tight end Miller Forristall has been extremely efficient the few times he’s been targeted this year, 6 catches on 8 targets for 81 yards and a couple of touchdowns of his own.

The Bad

Jaylen Waddle has officially been hit by the dreaded sophomore slump and has fallen behind the trio in his impact on the game. Though he’s been efficient (12 catches on 15 targets, 60% success rate and 47% explosive rate), his productivity seems to have dropped off each week, with the bulk of his stats actually coming in the season opener against Duke.

The tight ends (Forristall, Major Tennison, and everyone else) have been almost totally invisible in the passing game, and have been noted to have missed a lot of key blocks in the run game, especially early in the season.

Synopsis

Overall, it’s pretty hard to complain about this group. Waddle may not have the targets yet, but there’s also only so many targets to go around when Smith, Ruggs, and Jeudy are putting up such crazy numbers. His time will come. It seems like a different receiver gets the lion’s share of the stats each game.

The tight end group, though have been quite underwhelming, despite Forristall’s occasional contributions. But, again, why target them when you have such a dangerous group of receivers?

Grade: A+

As always, I am but a man, and opinions of men are quite fallible. What’s your vote?