Tag: receiving yards

PFF: Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy tallied third-most receiving yards in FBS since 2021

According to Pro Football Focus, #Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy racked up the third-most receiving yards in the FBS since 2021.

The Kansas City Chiefs found their newest offensive weapon in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft by selecting Texas standout Xavier Worthy with the No. 28 pick.

Few players made more of an impact for their college team, and after Worthy set the 40-yard dash record at the NFL combine earlier this year, it is a wonder that he managed to drop within striking range for Kansas City.

According to Pro Football Focus, Worthy had the third-most receiving yards in the FBS since 2021 with 2,752, trailing top 10 picks Rome Odunze and Malik Nabers, who were taken by the Chicago Bears and New York Giants respectively.

While Worthy’s slight frame was a concern for some scouts, his blazing speed and outstanding productivity warranted a first-round selection and should translate well to his new career in the NFL.

Chiefs fans will have to wait a few months to see Worthy in action but have plenty of his highlights to watch to hold them over until training camp opens this summer.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce surpassed Tony Gonzalez on K.C.’s receiving yards leaderboard

Travis Kelce passed Tony Gonzalez for first place on the #Chiefs’ all-time receiving yards leaderboard with his performance vs. #Dolphins.

The Kansas City Chiefs have hosted two of the most prolific tight ends in NFL history over the last 25 years. First, Hall of Fame pass-catcher Tony Gonzalez took the league by storm from 1997 until his retirement after the 2013 season.

Gonzalez’s departure from Kansas City in 2009 was a controversial moment in Chiefs history, and coincidentally the team would go on to draft his spiritual successor, Travis Kelce, just before the 14-time Pro Bowler retired as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.

Nobody could have known that Kelce would go on to unseat Gonzalez on Kansas City’s all-time receiving yards leaderboard when the Chiefs drafted the University of Cincinnati product in Andy Reid’s first year as the team’s head coach.

Now years later, Kelce has managed to do the unthinkable by surpassing Gonzalez as Kansas City’s all-time leader in receiving yards after helping the Chiefs win their seventh game of the 2023 season against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Giants acquire TE Darren Waller: 5 things to know

Here are five key things to know about the New York Giants’ newly acquired tight end Darren Waller

The New York Giants acquired Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for a third-round selection in the upcoming draft.

Here are five things to know about the Giants’ newest tight end:

Chargers’ 2022 season in review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ tight ends

The Chargers only managed to get production out of Gerald Everett.

The tight end position is as important as it has ever been in the NFL, and the Chargers hosted five players at the spot in 2022. Led by veteran Gerald Everett, the group played a vital role in the team’s offense as a security blanket for Justin Herbert.

Though relatively modest compared to other tight ends around the league, Everett’s production this season wasn’t without merit. He tallied 555 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 58 catches, which was good for fifth place in the team leaderboard.

Behind Everett was third-year pass catcher Donald Parham Jr., whose enormous physical stature has proven to be a valuable asset for Herbert in the red zone and down the seams. However, he was limited to just ten catches for 130 yards and one touchdown in 2022 due to a hamstring injury and a concussion that kept him sidelined in all but six games.

The last three tight ends were non-factors. Tre’ McKitty, Stone Smartt, and Richard Rodgers combined for 93 yards on 15 catches over the year and were held out of the end zone for the 2022 campaign. McKitty started eight games for Los Angeles, while Smartt and Rodgers both made one start apiece.

With Parhamโ€™s injury concerns looming and the stagnant status of McKitty, the Chargers would benefit from a complete player at the position to complement Everett in 2023 and take over as the No. 1 when Everett hits the free agency market after the upcoming season.

Chargers’ 2022 season in review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ wide receivers

Justin Herbert may have some fresh faces to throw to in 2023 despite the great work put in by the Chargers’ receivers this season

Quarterback Justin Herbert has turned heads around the league with his exceptional play under center for the Los Angeles Chargers. His group of wide receivers headlined by veterans Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have served him well since he entered the league in 2020, and have contributed a great deal to the early success he has found in his career.

In 2022, Herbert relied heavily on his receivers for passing production, particularly Allen, who racked up more than 700 yards and four touchdowns in just 10 games. Williams was heavily involved in the Chargers’ game plans too and led Los Angeles in receiving with 895 yards and four touchdowns on the season. The two were productive despite dealing with their respective injuries.

Perhaps the most surprising high-end contributor on the team was second-year receiver Joshua Palmer, who came out of nowhere to lead his position in receptions with 72. His 769 receiving yards were good for second on the Chargers’ offense and should bode well for his future in Los Angeles ahead of the 2023 season as he enters his third season.

Similarly, veteran DeAndre Carter quietly put up the best numbers of his career, tallying 538 yards on 46 receptions, which was good for nearly 12 yards per touch on passing plays

Outside of their top four wide receivers, though, the Chargers struggled to find consistent production. Michael Bandy, Jalen Guyton, and Jason Moore combined for just 158 total yards and were each held scoreless on the season. Guyton tore his ACL in Week 3, ending his 2022 season after a promising start.

Los Angeles needs to add a speedy receiver in the offseason, likely through the draft. Additionally, Keenan Allen’s future with the team is uncertain given his massive salary, so the Chargers’ front office will need to get creative when finding another player to come close to matching his production if they choose to trade him, release him, or restructure him.

Chris Olave is closing in on the Saints rookie receiving record

Chris Olave is closing in on the Saints rookie receiving record. He’ll come out of the bye week needing about 63 yards per game to go the distance:

The New Orleans Saints haven’t been eliminated from the playoffs, but they’re about as close as you can possibly get. So what do they have left to play for coming out of their Week 14 bye? Pride is one thing. So are individual accomplishments. No one wants to be left counting stats and checking the box score in late December, but that’s where we are. And first-year wide receiver Chris Olave has given Saints fans plenty to cheer about.

Olave will come out of the Saints bye week needing 251 receiving yards to break the rookie record his mentor Michael Thomas set in 2016 (1,137). He’ll have four weeks to go the distance and improve on the 887-yard total he’s put up so far. Olave and Thomas are the only players to have at least 40 receiving yards in each of their first 12 games in the NFL since 1970.

It could be close. That calls for an average of 62.8 yards per game. Though he’s paced 73.9 yards per outing on the season, Olave has put up 40, 102, 62, and 65 yards the last four weeks (an average of 67.3 yards per game). The Saints will face pass defenses ranked 26th (Atlanta Falcons), 15th (Cleveland Browns), 1st (Cleveland Browns), and 14th (Carolina Panthers) in passing yards allowed per game down the stretch.

The rookie has proven to be a flexible, quarterback-proof weapon thanks to his impressive production against both man and zone coverage, but he’d probably have a better shot at taking the record with Jameis Winston at quarterback instead of Andy Dalton. Winston has a stronger arm and can get more out of Olave as a vertical threat, which we saw early this season.

Olave had 4 receptions of 20-plus yards in the first 3 weeks with Winston at quarterback. He’s since had 5 receptions of 20-plus yards across 9 games with Dalton under center (while also catching 2 passes of 21 and 41 yards from Taysom Hill after Dalton was named the starter). That’s not to say the Saints should make a switch just so Olave has a better shot at this record. It’s just illustrating our point. Whoever is throwing to him should be doing so early and often regardless of his place in the history books.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[listicle id=119284]

Justin Jefferson leads the NFL in receiving yards

The Vikings’ star receiver sits atop the league in one category

The Minnesota Vikings have rocketed off to a 4-1 start and that has to do with the success of the offense.

New head coach Kevin O’Connell has the offense humming. He is using creativity in getting the ball to his best players, including wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Having come from the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, O’Connell helped craft the offense that had Cooper Kupp running loose winning the triple crown for receivers.

After five games, Jefferson is well on his way to achieving similar success. Through the first five games, the star receiver has the NFLs lead in receiving yards.

Jefferson sitting 20 yards more than Kupp while thriving in the offense that made Kupp the player that he is today. Jefferson is also second in receptions with 40 but his two touchdown receptions sit five behind the NFL leader Travis Kelce.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyjpbajmjvnqmj player_id=none image=https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Alabama Football History: The top 20 all-time leading receivers

Check out the all-time leading receivers in Alabama Football history!

Alabama football has seen some of the greatest college wide receivers come through Tuscaloosa. The program has also been able to produce top-tier talent in the NFL ranks. Overall, there is a rich history of fine wide receiver play within the Crimson Tide program.

Whether it be numerous first-round picks, Biletnikoff Awards or a Heisman winner, Alabama’s wide receivers are nationally recognized and respected as one of the strongest units year after year.

Let’s take a look back at some of the Crimson Tide’s top receivers of all time based on how many total receiving yards they had in their time at Alabama.

Former Sooner Mark Andrews becomes first Ravens’ tight end with over 1,000 yards in a single season

Former Oklahoma Soonersโ€™ tight end Mark Andrews became tight end in Baltimore Ravens history to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark.

The Sooners have become well represented across the National Football League at many different positions. From quarterbacks to running backs, to offensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties, the Sooners are represented by some of the best in the world.

At the tight end position, one name stands above the rest in terms of recent Oklahoma players. Mark Andrews is widely considered a top-five tight end in the NFL. He’s been nothing but productive as the starting tight end for the Baltimore Ravens for a few years now. In his latest game, Andrews accomplished what no other tight end in the history of the Baltimore Ravens franchise ever has.

Andrews became the first Baltimore Ravens tight end to surpass the 1,000-yard receiving yards milestone in a single season with an early reception against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Earlier this season, Andrews had already exceeded Todd Heapโ€™s previous Ravens record for tight ends with 855 yards receiving in 2005.

Andrews became the first Ravens 1,000-yard receiver since Mike Wallace and finished the game with an incredible 10 catch, 136-yard, and two touchdown performance.

It’s not difficult to believe Andrews had this in him. He broke records while at Oklahoma too.

He’s the all-time leader in receiving yards and second in receptions among Oklahoma Sooners tight ends. Heโ€™s also the only Oklahoma tight end to win the John Mackey award, given to the best tight end in college football.

Andrews has emerged as the number one guy for the Ravens, who are currently playing without their 2019 MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson. Despite being the number one guy, Andrews has continued to produce in the face of double teams on a weekly basis.

He and the Baltimore Ravens have a few more games to try and figure out their way into the playoffs, but if they don’t make it, it will hardly be due to a lack of production from Mark Andrews, whoโ€™s tput together the single best season for a tight end in franchise history.