Battle of the NFC East: Wide Receiver

Today we continue our annual Battle of the NFC East articles, comparing all four NFC East division rivals — the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins —  against each other, position by position. I will rank the teams in order of strongest to weakest at each position and will also choose the best player in the division at each particular position. We will start on offense and proceed to defense over the course of this week. Evaluations will be based not only on the strength of starters, but also reserves and may be influenced by current injuries.

Previous entries:
Quarterback
Tight End
Running Back

We continue today with the wide receiver position.

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1. Philadelphia Eagles

Starters: Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin
Reserves: Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, Riley Cooper, Jordan Norwood, Chad Hall, Kelley Washington, Dobson Collins

Eagles WR Desean Jackson

Desean Jackson is a small, super-quick wideout who is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. He became a big-time playmaker last year, catching 62 passes for 1156 yards, 9 TD and a sparkling 18. 6 yards per catch. He also ran the ball 11 times for 137 yards and another TD. He will drop some easy passes, but his improvement as a route-runner has made his speed and athleticism all the more dangerous. Of all the wideouts in the division, Jackson is the most likely to make a big play for his team. Jeremy Maclin caught 56 passes for 773 yards [13.8] and 4 TD in his rookie season, a fine performance and reason for the Eagles to hope for more in the years to come. He’s not a speed-burner like Jackson, but he is very athletic and has good hands. With Jackson at 23 and Maclin at 22, the Eagles have two excellent young wideouts who should be starring for the team for years to come.

Jason Avant caught 41 passes for 587 yards [14.3] and 3 TD last year. He’s stronger than fast and uses his 212 pounds of weight to out-muscle cornerbacks for position. Avant is not a special wideout, but he is competent in just about all areas and does some of is best work on third downs. Riley Cooper [aka Tim Tebow's favorite target] exploded on to the national scene last year by racking up almost 1000 receiving yards and 9 TD in Florida’s Tebow-led offense. Despite not being abnormally fast, the strong Cooper averaged almost 19 yards a catch. He’s got good hands, is tough, will work over the middle and plays a lot faster in games than he times in shorts. However, he’s a rookie wideout and big things should not be expected of him soon. Hank Baskett is a journeyman wideout making his return to Philly, but he’s known more for his infamous wife than for his skills on the football field.

2. Dallas Cowboys

Starters: Miles Austin, Roy Williams
Reserves: Patrick Crayton, Dez Bryant, Sam Hurd, Kevin Ogletree, Jesse Holley, Manuel Johnson

Cowboys WR Miles Austin

Miles Austin wasn’t even a starter when the 2009 season began and few outside of Cowboys fans knew who he was. Then he caught over 200 yards worth of passes in an October victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and things were never the same. Austin soon had a starting job and finished 2009 with 81 catches for 1320 yards [16.3]  and 11 TD. Austin has the speed to get deep and stretch zones, he runs nice routes and is a demon after the catch, breaking tackles and leaving defensive backs eating his dust. KC Joyner wrote a famous column on ESPN.com in July, using various metrics, particularly YPA [yards per attempt] to demonstrate that Austin was the best wide receiver in 2009, superior even to Houston’s Andre Johnson. The argument is persuasive and even though I would not take Austin over Johnson, it’s clear Austin had a fantastic season last year and was able to dominate even the elite-level cornerbacks. At 26, Austin is just entering his prime as a receiver and should have several more superb seasons in him.

Roy Williams has had one good season in the NFL, with the Detroit Lions, and he used that to pry millions of dollars out of people who don’t know any better, like Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Williams isn’t awful — he caught 38 passes for 597 yards and 7 TD last year — but he’s just not nearly good enough for the money he earns or the price Jones paid to trade for him. He’s not a #1 wideout and it isn’t even clear if he’s a #2 wideout anymore. Even the Cowboys are facing up to this, which is why they traded up in the first round to take Dez Bryant, the former Oklahoma State wideout who was suspended after 3 games in the 2009 season for rules violations. Bryant caught almost 1500 yards and 19 TDs worth of passes in 2008 and was headed for another great season in 2009 before the suspension. Bryant is a big receiver, who uses his size and strength to make major gains down the field in the passing game. He can go up and out-muscle a cornerback for a deep ball and he can shed tackles to rack up yards after the catch. He’s not particularly fast, nor is he a polished route-runner, but he’s good at making himself an open target for quarterbacks. I see Bryant as a very good #2 receiver in the NFL, not an elite-level player. That should be fine for a Cowboys team with Miles Austin and plenty of other weapons.

Patrick Crayton caught 37 passes for 622 yards [16.8] and 5 TD in 2009. He’s a tough wideout who uses strength, size and sheer guts to make plays, often over the middle. He’s not a speed-burner and is best if used as a third wideout, which is the role he will play in Dallas until Dez Bryant is ready to assume a bigger role in the offense. Sam Hurd is a very good 4th or 5th wideout and a top special teams player.

3. New York Giants

Starters: Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith
Reserves: Mario Manningham, Ramses Barden, Tim Brown, Derek Hagan, Victor Cruz, Duke Calhoun

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks

Steve Smith turned into a top possession receiver for the Giants last year, catching 109 passes for 1220 yards [11.4] and 7 TD. He doesn’t have top speed or great size, but he plays tougher than he looks and faster than he times. He eats up zone defenses, runs great routes and isn’t afraid to make plays over the middle, despite his size. He’s a good run-after-catch receiver and has even become a halfway-decent blocker down field. Hakeem Nicks caught 47 passes for 790 yards [16.8] and 6 TD, a very respectable performance for a rookie first round pick. Nicks has the size and strength to muscle up cornerbacks and the big, soft hands to beat them to the ball in close quarters. He’s not terribly fast, but he makes plays and seemed to just improve almost every week during his rookie campaign. Don’t be surprised if Nicks makes a big jump this year towards becoming a Pro Bowl-caliber wideout; he’s got that kind of physical talent.

Mario Manningham caught 57 passes for 822 yards [14.4] and 5 TD last year. He’s not all that quick nor does he have special size, but Manningham seems to perform better than he should. He’s a better athlete than he looks and he’s good at using his hands to snatch the ball and ward off defenders. He’ll never be a top wideout, but he’s a very solid #2 behind Smith & Nicks. Ramses Barden is 6’6″ so the Giants are naturally intrigued with him, but he’s a project right now after catching only 1 pass in 2009. He’s battled injury issues in the 2010 training camp, but his rare size makes him someone to watch. Derek Hagan has very good size for the position, but he’s a marginal athlete who struggles to get separation from NFL defenses. Victor Cruz has played well against inferior competition during this preseason, but he’s someone to watch.

4. Washington Redskins

Starters: Santana Moss, Anthony Armstrong
Reserves: Joey Galloway, Bobby Wade, Roydell Williams, Devin Thomas, Terrence Austin, Brandon Banks, Shay Hodge

Redskins WR Santana Moss

Considering the level of offensive coaching on the Redskins in 2008 and 2009, it’s a wonder Santana Moss kept his numbers up as well as he did. Playing in a deeply dysfunctional offense, with a confused scheme and an offensive line so porous that deep passes were usually out of the question, Moss still managed to catch 70 passes for 902 yards. The offensive limitations held him to only 3 TD and 12.9 yards per catch. Moss is small, but he plays a lot stronger and tougher than he looks and he doesn’t mind going over the middle for a tough ball. He will drop a few easy ones, but he’s a dynamic playmaker after the catch and has the speed to get deep on almost any cornerbacks. His problem recently has been an utter lack of other talent at the wideout position, allowing defenses to double Moss deep, thus taking the long bomb away from him.

That may be a problem again, as it isn’t clear who will start opposite Moss or who, if anyone, will step up and become a second viable option at wideout. Joey Galloway is ancient and flamed out badly in New England. Bobby Wade is a journeyman possession receiver and Roydell Williams has missed two years with injuries. Devin Thomas continues to disappoint, can’t run routes and may not even make the team this year. Terrence Austin and Brandon Banks are super-fast rookies who will probably struggle to get open against cornerbacks who muscle up to them. Only Anthony Armstrong, a little-known player who has battled through semi-pro football and several bad injuries to become the MVP of Washington’s 2010 preseason. Armstrong is 27 and has never played this well at the NFL level before, but there’s no doubt he’s outplayed every Redskins receiver, apart from Moss, during this offseason. Here is how Redskins beat reporter John Keim recently described Armstrong:

What I liked about his effort the other night is how quick he came out of his breaks. Did a great job selling the fakes, too, in each case. He’s not a big guy at 5-foot-11 (a stretch), 185 pounds. He can get inside on slant routes thanks to his footwork and that ability to sell fakes. And he doesn’t waste a lot of movement on his fakes, either. Just good footwork. Once he cuts, too, he’s able to accelerate quickly. He’s not a budding star, but he is someone who has earned a spot on this roster.

Armstrong has good, but not great speed and average size. What he has going for him is a good work ethic, the knowledge that at 27 this is probably his last chance in the NFL and the fact that the Redskins are bad and desperate at the position he plays.

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THE BEST

Best starting WR in the NFC East: Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys
Best reserve WR in the NFC East: Jason Avant, Philadelphia Eagles
Best team at WR in the NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles

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