Tag: Nelson Agholor

One person every NFL team has to be thankful for this season

Reasons for all 32 NFL teams – and their fans – to be thankful this Thanksgiving.

We have reached Thanksgiving Week, that traditional time on the NFL calendar where some teams and their fans start thinking about the playoffs, while others start dreaming of a new future delivered via the draft and free agency.

Of course, 2020 has been a year unlike any other. It has been a year that recalibrated our expectations, our beliefs, and our thoughts about what truly matters. For many, this holiday will be marked in new and different ways. Trips to grandma’s house will be done virtually, the stuffing will be passed over Zoom, and the family games of football in the backyard might be done through Madden on a new XBox or Playstation.

And sadly, for some who gather there will be an empty chair at the table, a brutal reminder of the year we have lived through together.

But this year has also taught us some lessons. Lessons about the beauty that can be found in both the new and the mundane. Lessons about what does matter. Stolen glances while teaching the kids math that neither of you ever learned. Giggles as Grammie and Grampy figure out their first Zoom meeting. Smiles as Grandpa and Grandma come outside to see a distanced birthday party and a house decorated under cover of night. Smiles as the kids log in to school each morning and a chorus of voices ring out, calling their names.

For as hard as 2020 has been, there is still beauty and goodness to be found, and things to be thankful for this holiday season. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer to look for them.

The same can be said for all 32 NFL teams. Each organization and fan base has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. But for some, it takes a little longer to find it.

In that spirit, our weekly Overreactions piece is a bit different this holiday week. Here is something every team and fan base can be thankful for right now.

8 fantasy football waiver wire targets ahead of Week 10

Fantasy football wavier wire claims, targets, for Week 10.

Fantasy football has hit the middle point of the regular season and now, more than ever, a waiver wire pickup could make all the difference for your team. That’s especially the case with a couple of tough injuries that occurred in the NFL this past week.

With that, here are eight wavier wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 10:

Anatomy of a Play: Derek Carr works the deep ball to Nelson Agholor

Breaking down a vertical route touchdown from Raiders QB Derek Carr to receiver Nelson Agholor.

The 2020 iteration of the Las Vegas Raiders’ passing game has been a bit of a revelation. Given the influence of Jon Gruden, as well as the guiding hand of Derek Carr, most expected the Raiders to remain a conservative-based offense, with lots of throws near the line of scrimmage.

But these are – perhaps – your father’s Raiders, to turn a phrase. Remember the days of Al Davis and Daryle Lamonica, the “Mad Bomber?” Perhaps the Raiders are not those teams again, but they have become more vertical in the passing game through this point in the season. For example, last year Carr posted an average Intended Air Yards (IAY) of just 6.3, which was second-lowest in the NFL.

At this point in the season, Carr’s IAY checks in at 7.7, a marked improvement from his 2019 numbers. By contrast, 13 passers have an IAY lower than Carr’s mark. If you were hoping for the Raiders to get more aggressive in the downfield passing game, you are a happy camper.

The acquisition of Henry Ruggs III has certainly helped in this effort, but so too has the addition of Nelson Agholor. The much-maligned receiver – who became an internet meme last season – has become a downfield weapon for the Raiders. According to charting data from Pro Football Focus, Agholor has been targeted on only five throws of 20 yards or more. What has he done on those? Five receptions for 191 yards and four touchdowns.

That continued Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. In this video breakdown, we’ll see how those two players connected for one of those four touchdowns on the season:

Raiders coach Jon Gruden says WR Nelson Agholor ‘has a lot of speed and he knows how to use it’

Speed is great in the NFL, but speed and experience is even better. Raiders WR Nelson Agholor has both and it’s paying off for Las Vegas

The Raiders have a rich history of speed at wide receiver, dating back to franchise greats such as Art Powell, Warren Wells, Cliff Branch, Tim Brown and others.

In the offseason, Las Vegas made an effort to add to that tradition, most notably by drafting the lightning-fast Henry Ruggs III in the first round.

But Ruggs III wasn’t the only speedy WR added to the club in 2020. Las Vegas also signed free agent WR Nelson Agholor, himself a former first-round pick of the Eagles. While Ruggs III has started at WR when healthy and been a game-breaker in spots, most notably in the Raiders’ win against the Chiefs, it’s Agholor who’s been the more consistent deep threat.

According to coach Jon Gruden, Agholor’s penchant to catch bombs from quarterback Derek Carr isn’t much of a surprise.

“We said all along we think he’s a great receiver. He’s averaging over 20 yards per catch,” Gruden told reporters on Monday. “He had a big one against Buffalo called back, another touchdown. He runs great routes. He can play multiple positions. He’s a great down-to-down competitor and he’s a world champion.

“So he’s added leadership to us. He has a lot of speed, and he knows how to use it.”

Agholor, who ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash as a prospect from USC, not only averages 20.4 yards a catch, he carries an average of 13.9 yards per target. He’s making the most of his opportunities, with five touchdowns on 17 receptions.

An immediate contributor to the Eagles after being drafted in 2015, Agholor’s experience certainly helps him utilize his speed. With both he and Ruggs getting limited opportunities in Gruden’s versatile offense, the margin for error is slim. That makes NFL experience even more important.

Plus, he’s shaken his reputation for dropping passes, which only adds to his confidence. Thus far, Gruden and Carr clearly have plenty of confidence in him as well. That could help the Raiders rekindle another old tradition unseen in a bit, and that’s playing winning football for 16 games.

Derek Carr continues his deep-ball heroics with touchdown to Nelson Agholor

Derek Carr has been one of the NFL’s sneaky-best deep throwers this season. He’s continuing that against the Chargers.

Through the first eight weeks of the 2020 season, few quarterbacks had been more efficient with the deep ball than Derek Carr of the Raiders. But Jon Gruden has not yet let Carr cut it loose in a way that is commensurate with that efficiency. Per Pro Football Focus, Carr had attempted just 20 passes of 20 or more air yards in Las Vegas’ first seven games. To put that in perspective, Carson Wentz led the league with 45 deep attempts in the season’s first eight weeks, and Carr’s 20 attempts put him behind Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Philip Rivers.

Which, when you look at the numbers, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Carr has obviously worked on his deep-ball mechanics in the offseason — his upper and lower body mechanics are clearly better-integrated this season — and it’s paying off. On those 20 deep attempts, Carr had completed 11 passes for 438 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Again to put into perspective, Aaron Rodgers led the NFL with 626 passing yards on deep attempts, and he’d had 44 of them, completing just 17.

This is one of the primary reasons Carr was the quarterback of my mid-season All-Underrated Team.

The most underrated offensive players through the first half of the 2020 NFL season

On this week’s Touchdown Wire NFL Preview Podcast, Mark Schofield and I spent a bit of time talking about this, and hypothesizing that it was time for Gruden to take the training wheels off. We are not insinuating that Gruden listens to our podcast… but so far, the deep ball is working like a charm for the Raiders against the Chargers.

There was this 45-yard third-quarter touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor that was perfectly placed…

And then, Carr doubled down with this scramble-drill throw to Hunter Renfrow for 53 yards. When you have this level of communication with your receivers on broken plays, your offense is in good shape.

Last season, Carr completed just 18 of 48 deep passes for 568 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions, but this is clearly a different quarterback, and it’s good to see his coaches catching up.

Watch: Derek Carr and Nelson Agholor connect for long TD

Nelson Agholor caught a long TD pass from Raiders QB Derek Carr

Nelson Agholor had no problem holding on to the long pass Raiders’ QB Derek Carr threw his way in the second quarter Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

The grab was the second long one in two weeks for the former Philadelphia Eagle, whose hands came into question last year.

Anatomy of a Play: Derek Carr connects with Nelson Agholor for six

Derek Carr is often criticized for conservative play. But when he knows exactly where to go with the ball, he can be dangerous downfield.

Entering the 2020 NFL season questions lingered regarding Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Sure, the veteran quarterback turned in a quietly efficient season last year, posting an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 7.25 (ninth-best in the league) while completing 70.4% of his passes (second-best in the league), but that did little to silence the critics. The Raiders signed Marcus Mariota in the offseason, a pre-draft favorite of both general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden, adding to the chorus of doubters.

Perhaps an opening-week victory will quiet the critics.

Carr was efficient again on Sunday, completing 22 of 30 passes (a completion percentage of 73.3%) for 239 yards and a touchdown, without an interception. But that touchdown might go the longest way towards tamping down the criticism. One of the critiques of Carr has been his conservative nature. Sure, he completes a high percentage of passes, but when you look at either his average depth of target, or his intended air yards, Carr is one of the more conservative quarterbacks in the league. According to Next Gen Stats, Carr had an average Intended Air Yards (IAY) of just 6.3 last year, second-lowest in the league. 2018 was more of the same, when Carr’s average of 6.7 was third-lowest in the league, besting only Cody Kessler and Nick Foles.

On Sunday, Carr posted an average IAY of 5.5. Now that is again low, but that is a small sample size, and his number was higher than six other quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson. So hardly a definitive answer to this question, but perhaps a step in the right direction.

That average IAY was bouyed by his one touchdown throw of the game, a deep connection with Nelson Agholor.

Facing a 3rd and 2 with two minutes remaining in the first half, the Raiders put Carr in the shotgun using 11 offensive personnel. The Panthers respond with a 4-1-6 sub package, expecting the pass. Las Vegas has three receivers to the right, and a single receiver to the left:

Bring your eyes to the top of the screen, or the right of the offensive formation. The player flexed out towards the boundary for the Raiders is tight end Darren Waller. Now, as I mentioned the Panthers have six defensive backs in the game. But one of them is safety Juston Burris.

That is who is across from Waller.

So at this point, Carr can be pretty confident that the Panthers are in some kind of man coverage, as he sees a safety, and not a cornerback flexed out towards the boundary.

That is confirmed for Carr when this happens:

Carr sees the safety trail Waller as the tight end shifts into a bunch formation on the right. At this point, Carr can be supremely confident that the Panthers are in a Cover 1 scheme. Other than the deep free safety, the reset of the defenders are down near the box. He saw a safety first start outside with Waller, and then trail him when the tight end shifted. Even the alignments of the various defenders scream man coverage.

Here is what the Raiders run on the play:

This is a route concept that you often see on Saturday afternoons, more than Sundays. The Raiders run Mesh, an Air Raid staple with the pair of crossing routes working underneath from Bryan Edwards on the left and Hunter Renfrow coming from the right. Waller bends to the outside off the snap, then works the middle of the field over the top of the mesh. Finally there is Agholor, who runs the wheel route, working vertically after bending first to the outside.

With the Panthers in Cover 1 here, the only thing Carr needs to worry about is that safety lurking in the middle of the field. Waller’s route will help hold Tre Boston in place, but Carr can use his eyes to keep him there.

Which he does:

Carr keeps his eyes trained on the safety, before hitting his drop depth and immediately flipping his field of vision and his feet to the outside to throw to Agholor. As he drops he never looks at his target, because due to the information given to him presnap he knows the coverage. There is no reason to confirm that Agholor is going to be open because Carr has all the information necessary to make this throw. So he can spend his drop keeping Boston in the middle of the field, preventing him from breaking early on the vertical route.

Here’s how that looks from the end zone angle:

Eyes trained on the safety, until the last possible second. If you’re Boston, you can’t bail the middle of the field, given how the QB is staring right through you.

But Carr knows exactly where he is going with this ball. Decisive quarterbacking leads to good results for an offense.

And perhaps some big plays downfield to silence those critics.

Tunnel Vision of Week 1

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
Josh Allen 312-57 3
Russell Wilson 322-29 4
 Aaron Rodgers 364-2 4
 Matt Ryan 450 2
 Kyler Murray 230-91 2
Running Backs Yards TD
Josh Jacobs 139 3
Christian McCaffrey 134 2
Nyheim Hines 73 2
Raheem Mostert 151 1
Chris Carson 66 2
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Davante Adams 156 2
Calvin Ridley 130 2
DeAndre Hopkins 151 0
Adam Thielen 110 2
Julio Jones 157 0
Tight Ends Yards TD
Mark Andrews 58 2
Dallas Goedert 101 1
T.J. Hockenson 56 1
Travis Kelce 50 1
David Njoku 50 1
Placekickers XP FG
Daniel Carlson 3 3
Mason Crosby 5 2
Josh Lambo 3 2
Matt Prater 2 3
Joey Slye 1 3
Defense Sack-TO TD
Saints 3-3 1
Football Team 8-3 0
Ravens 3-2 0
Bills 3-2 0
Chargers 3-2 0

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

RB Le’Veon Bell – Hamstring
RB Marlon Mack – Achilles
WR  Devante Parker – Hamstring
RB Jordan Howard – Hamstring
RB Justin Jackson – Quad
TE David Njoku – Knee
TE Blake Jarwin – Knee (ACL?)

Chasing Ambulances

A light week is always great to see. But it also

RB Marlon Mack – Reported to have torn his Achilles and that clears up the Colts’ backfield. Jonathan Taylor becomes the primary rusher but he was snapped up in all fantasy leagues. Nyheim Hines is the free agent to note with seven carries for 28 yards and one touchdown as a rusher, and then eight receptions for 45 yards and a second touchdown. The next three opponents – Vikings, Jets, and Bears – all sport above-average defenses but that likely prompts more passes to Hines and Taylor.

RB Le’Veon Bell – While Bell left the Bills game after only six carries, the woeful Jets only totaled 14 runs in the game anyway. Frank Gore would start if Bell misses time but Josh Adams ran in the score against in Buffalo. The Jets face the 49ers next and that won’t be much better than what happened against the Bills. Gore and Adams come into play only in the biggest of leagues and even then, only for the Bell owners.

RB Jordan Howard – Left with a hamstring strain but like Bell, or even worse than Bell, the Dolphins offense is just not something to waste a free agent move on. Matt Breida wasn’t a factor and Myles Gaskin was the best back with just nine runs for 40 yards. He added four catches for 26 yards but Patrick Laird also had a couple of catches. They face the Bills next as well. Gaskin is worth a stash only in the deepest of leagues but keep all expectations from this backfield low.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

TE Jordan Akins – The Texans are searching for new receivers since DeAndre Hopkins left and while Will Fuller had another Week 1 explosion, that’s not going to happen often (or ever if last year serves). The third-year tight end Akins was a star in training camp and caught two passes for 39 yards that included a 19-yard touchdown. Not reliable yet, but at least Akins deserves to land as fantasy depth. The Texans have a bad stretch up next – Ravens, Steelers and Vikings – so Akins won’t be a starting option this month.

TE Greg Olsen – Like Akins, he surprised with four catches for 24 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons. There’s not enough left after D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett take their share, but Olsen is worth at least watching.

WR Russell Gage – The Falcons produced three wideouts with nine catches for over 100 yards in one game thanks to the 450 passing yards by Matt Ryan. It was a great game by Gage to be sure, but he’ll never be as reliable as either Julio Jones or Calvin Ridley. He’s worth rostering only if you own Ridley or Jones as insurance.

Browns running backs – Nick Chubb’s value took a hit with the Browns falling behind so badly since Kareem Hunt plays in more passing situations. Chubb ended with only ten carries for 60 yards and Hunt finished with 13 runs for 72 yards and four catches for nine yards. The good news is that the next two games are at home against the Bengals and Redskins so Chubb should improve.

RB Mark Ingram – The Ravens decimated the Browns and yet Ingram only ran ten times for 29 yards while the rookie J.K. Dobbins gained 22 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Gus Edwards had four carries as well so Ingram’s role appears to be shrinking.

RB Devin Singletary – Like Ingram, Singletary’s team had their way with the Jets but he only ran nine times for 30 yards while the rookie Zack Moss took nine carries for 11 yards.  Worse yet, Moss scored a touchdown on his three catches for 16 yards while Singletary went scoreless despite five receptions for 23 yards.  At least he did not fumble, but the expectations that Singletary’s role would get dialed back was correct.

WR Nelson Agholor – He only caught one pass for the Raiders but it was a 23-yard touchdown and the rookie starter Bryan Edwards settled for just one catch for nine yards. The Raiders are still throwing mostly to Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller, but Agholor is worth noting.

WR Robby Anderson – While No. 1 wideout DJ Moore was held to only four catches for 54 yards in the Panthers new offense, Anderson turned in 115 yards and one score on six catches thanks to a 75-yard touchdown. The scheme intends to be pass-heavy and Anderson has already made a splash as the No. 2 receiver.

RB Adrian Peterson – Kerryon Johnson only ran seven times for 14 yards against the Bears while Peterson accounted for 93 yards on 14 runs and even caught three passes for 21 yards. D’Andre Swift ran in a score but was only used on three rushes for eight yards. Peterson’s value is higher than expected but this will remain a committee.

TE T.J. Hockenson – He caught all five passes and gained 56 yards with the lone receiving touchdown. That’s a positive sign for the tight end that was drafted specifically to be a cog in the passing game.

RB James Robinson – The Jaguars game of musical chairs for their backfield ended with the undrafted Robinson getting the starting nod. He handled all the backfield carries with 16 for 62 yards and even caught a 28-yard pass. He’s worth owning if only for Week 3 when the Dolphins visit.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Davante Adams is simply a pass-sponge but MVS turned four catches into 96 yards and a score on the Vikings on Sunday. He’s had good showings in the past and then disappeared for almost all of 2019. But notable that he generated some buzz this summer and then delivered.

QB Cam Newton – What says Tom Brady is gone more than having the Patriot’s quarterback run 15 times for 75 yards and two scores?  Newton threw for 155 yards and even completed 15 of 19 passes. But a muddle committee backfield just got a lot worse with less scoring and runs to go around.

TE Dallas Goedert –  Carson Wentz was surprisingly less effective passing with only 24 of 42 passes completed and Goedert was the only one with notable production when he turned a team-high nine targets into eight catches for 101 yards and a score. That was the same number of catches by all wide receivers combined. The Eagles disappeared after leading 17-0 so hard to rely on any of the outcomes, but Wentz is still having trouble connecting with his wideouts even though they are all healthy now.

RB Peyton Barber – While Antonio Gibson (9-36) got all the hype this summer, Washington turned to Barber (17-29, 2 TD) to lead the backfield in carries. Touchdowns aside, the running backs only combined for 65 yards on 26 carries in a home game they controlled for the second half. Playing in Arizona next week doesn’t look like as much fun as it used to be so Barber is still no safe fantasy start.

RB Joshua Kelley – The Chargers lost Justin Jackson to a quad injury so Kelley hasn’t formally become the No. 2 running back. But the rookie gained 60 yards and a score on 12 carries. Austin Ekeler (19-84) also ran effectively though never more than 13 yards on any carry. But the offense only threw one pass to a running back all game. That’s a major shift from life with Philip Rivers under center.

RB Ronald Jones – The jury was still out on Jones and then once Leonard Fournette was acquired, the fantasy world figured that the third-year back wasn’t going to be a factor. Not so fast. Fournette ran five times to gain five yards while Jones handled 17 rushes for 66 yards and caught two passes for 16 yards. We should know a lot more after the Bucs host the Panthers this week, but Jones ran strong and Fournette isn’t effective, at least not yet.

TE George Kittle – Caught four passes for 44 yards in the first half but then had a shot to his left knee that looked bad and sent him to the sideline. He played in the second half but never caught a pass so fantasy owners need to pay attention to practices to see if Kittle will be healthy to play at the Jets this week. The 49ers ran out of starting wideouts already and finally started throwing to Raheem Mostert (4-95, TD).

RB Malcolm Brown – Cam Akers ran for 39 yards on 14 carries but Brown took the lead against the Cowboys with 18 runs for 79 yards and both rushing touchdowns, along with three receptions for 31 yards. Akers may eventually become the new Gurley, but so far Brown owns that role.

The Week 1 Chill Pill

Before you freak out that your players all suck or that we all whiffed on drafting the stars of 2020, the annual reality check is in order.

The top 3 wideouts from Week 1, 2019 were Sammy Watkins (9-198, 3 TD), DeSean Jackson (8-154, 2 TD), and John Ross (7-158, 2 TD). All three got you nowhere last year after Week 1.

T.J. Hockenson turned in six catches for 131 yards and one score. David Johnson totaled 137 yards, five receptions and one touchdown. Case Keenum ended with 380 passing yards and three touchdowns. It happens.

Joe Mixon opened 2019 with just 17 yards. Tyreek Hill had 21 yards. Mike Evans only managed 28 yards in a season where his team passed for over 5,000 yards.

It’s just one week. And usually very different than the rest of the season.

Huddle player of the week

Davante Adams  –  While Michael Thomas was turning in a head-scratching Week 1, Davante Adams richly rewarded the fantasy drafters that probably spent a first-round pick on him. Adams roasted the Vikings with 14 receptions for 156 yards and two scores as the best fantasy play on opening weekend. That tied the all-time Packer record for single-game receptions.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Cam Newton 230 2 QB Drew Brees 160 2
RB Peyton Barber 29 2 RB Devin Singletary 53 0
RB Nyheim Hines 73 2 RB Le’Veon Bell 46 0
WR Jamison Crowder 115 1 WR Michael Thomas 17 0
WR Robby Anderson 115 1 WR Odell Beckham 22 0
WR Russell Gage 114 0 WR Keenan Allen 37 0
TE Dallas Goedert 101 1 TE George Kittle 44 0
PK Matt Prater   2 XP   3 FG PK Ka’imi Fairbairn  2 XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 134 Huddle Fantasy Points = 39

Now get back to work…

The NFL’s 11 best slot receivers

With the three-receiver set the new default in the NFL, slot receivers are more important than ever. Here are the NFL’s 11 best.

In the 2019 regular and postseason, per Pro Football Focus data, slot receivers regardless of position (receivers, running backs, and tight ends) accounted for 32% of all targets, 31.6% of all receptions, 32.3% of all receiving yardage, and 34.3% of all receiving touchdowns. In a league where the three-receiver set is by far the default formation (it happened on 69% of all snaps last season, per Sports Info Solutions), having a versatile and productive slot receiver is an absolute necessity in the modern passing game.

Moreover, there is no one kind of slot receiver in the modern NFL. It used to be that you wanted the shorter, smaller guy inside, and your bigger, more physical receivers on the outside. Then, offensive coaches started to realize that by putting bigger receivers and tight ends in the slot, you could create mismatches with slower linebackers and smaller slot cornerbacks. Teams countered this by acquiring linebackers built like safeties, eager to do more than just chase after run fits, and also by moving their best cornerbacks into the slot in certain situations.

Now that offensive and defensive coaches have worked hard to create as many schematic and personnel ties in the slot as possible, the best slot receivers are the ones who consistently show the ideal characteristics for the position. These receivers know how to exploit defenders who don’t have a boundary to help them — they’ll create inside and outside position to move the defender where they want him to go. They understand the value and precision of the option route, and how you can hang a defender out to dry with a simple “if this/then that” equation based on coverage rules. They know how to work in concert with their outside receivers to create route combinations which create impossible math problems for defenses. And they know how to get open in quick spaces.

But don’t automatically assume that slot receivers are just taking the dink-and-dunk routes — they’re actually tasked to catch everything from quick slants to vertical stuff down the seam and up the numbers. Last season, per PFF data, the NFL average for yards per completion for outside receivers was 11.28. For slot receivers, it was 11.63. So, over time and based on the play design and the makeup of the receivers, teams could find just that many more yards by throwing to their slot targets.

The best slot receivers in the game bring unique and highly valuable traits to the game, and here are the best among them.

More Top 11 lists: Slot defenders | Outside cornerbacks | Safeties | Linebackers | Edge defenders | Interior defensive linemen | Offensive tackles | Offensive guards | Centers | Outside Receivers

Honorable Mentions

(Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports)

Had we dropped the qualifying floor to under 50% slot snaps, two guys would have easily made it — Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, and Baltimore’s Marquise Goodwin. Evans led all slot receivers with at least 25 targets with a passer rating when targeted of 151.3, and Brown was an absolute force against defenses in the slot — especially when he was using his speed in empty formations.

San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel, who was probably the MVP of the first half of Super Bowl LIV before things started to go backward for his team, would have received a mention as well — Samuel had just 33 targets, but caught 28 of them and helped his quarterback to a 135.3 rating when he was targeted in the slot. Kansas City speed receiver Mecole Hardman had just 23 a lot targets, but he was also highly efficient with them, helping his quarterbacks to a 133.9 rating. Though Danny Amendola was the only Lions receiver to make the 50% threshold, both Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay were highly efficient when tasked to move inside. Other former slot stars like Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs and Minnesota’s Adam Thielen saw their roles change more to the outside in 2019 from previous seasons.

Of the receivers who actually qualified, Nelson Agholor of the Eagles was quietly efficient and had just two drops in the slot last season — which would go against several memes on the subject. Buffalo’s Cole Beasley just missed the cut, through he was one of several receivers on the Bills’ roster who didn’t always get the accuracy and efficiency they deserved from quarterback Josh Allen. And though Randall Cobb was productive for the Cowboys last season and should be so for the Texans in 2020, his nine drops as a slot man… well, we can only have one guy with nine slot drops on this list. More on that in a minute.

Now, on to the top 11.

Willie Snead IV | Julian Edelman | Tyler Boyd | Jared Cook | Golden Tate | Keenan Allen | Larry Fitzgerald | Allen Robinson | Cooper Kupp | Chris Godwin | Tyler Lockett 

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Eagles Carson Wentz lands in the top-3 of QB’s impacted the most by dropped passes in 2019

Carson Wentz among the top-3 QB’s impacted the most by dropped passes in 2019

Carson Wentz had a career year for the Eagles in 2019 and if not for a boatload of drops by his receiving corps, the franchise signal-caller could have destroyed the single-season record books.

According to Anthony Reinhard via Sportsradar, Carson Wentz was among the top-3 quarterbacks in the NFL most impacted by dropped passes.

Expected Points Added (EPA) is the difference between the Expected Points (EP) at the start of a play and the EP at the end of the play. EPA is the measure of a play’s impact on the score of the game. An individual player’s EPA is the sum of the EPA of the plays in which that player was directly involved.

Even with all of the abuse Nelson Agholor took last season, star tight end, Zach Ertz, led the Eagles in dropped passes with five.