Tag: Receptions

PFF: Chiefs DB L’Jarius Sneed has allowed just 10 catches, 87 yards since Week 15

According to Pro Football Focus, #Chiefs DB L’Jarius Sneed has been supremely stingy in coverage since Week 15

The Kansas City Chiefs have relied on exceptional play from their defensive backs to keep opposing offenses in check this season, and L’Jarius Sneed has been a key part of the team’s game plans against star wide receivers.

His dominance this season is well documented, but the experts at Pro Football Focus shined a spotlight on Sneed’s recent tear of superb performances ahead of Kansas City’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills this weekend.

According to PFF, Sneed has allowed just 10 receptions and 87 yards since Week 15 and still hasn’t allowed a touchdown this season.

While the veteran defensive back wasn’t part of the Associated Press All-Pro roster or a Pro Bowl selection, Sneed’s tenacity has helped keep the Chiefs afloat in a season where Kansas City needed its defensive stars to step up as its offense plateaued.

Expect Sneed’s matchups against Bill receiver Stefon Diggs to steal the spotlight in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs this weekend.

Joe Burrow excited about the Bengals’ addition of Irv Smith Jr.

Irv Smith Jr. has the Bengals locker room buzzing over his talent

The Cincinnati Bengals have arguably the best receiving unit in the NFL, but they found a way to make it this off-season by adding former Alabama and Minnesota Vikings tight end, Irv Smith Jr. Smith is an upgrade from their 2022 TE room which was led by Hayden Hurst, who appeared in 13 games and recorded 52 receptions for 414 yards and two touchdowns. Hurst departed this off-season to go play with Bryce Young in Carolina.

Smith spent the first four years of his career with the Vikings, but mid-way through the 2022 season, Minnesota traded for Pro Bowl TE, TJ Hockenson. Smith had previously been a second-round pick of the Vikings, but will now get to join a roster that is in the midst of its Super Bowl window and will have a chance at consistent production.

He missed the 2021 season with a torn meniscus, but in his three other years in the NFL, Smith has posted 91 catches for 858 yards and nine touchdowns. There are still a lot of things to be excited about with Smith as a player, he just needs to find a chance at constant production, and I believe he has that with the Bengals.

In fact, Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow, is already impressed by what he has seen of Smith this far going on to say, “Irv, first of all, he’s upstairs all day every day learning the offense, watching tape with [tight ends coach] James Casey. So that’s exciting to hear. And he’s looking smooth — big, strong, athletic, smooth hands. So we’re excited to have that guy.”

Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitor Irv Smith Jr. and his tenure with the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Look: Bryan Edwards’ best catches from Derek Carr with the Raiders

Look: Bryan Edwards’ best catches from Derek Carr with the Raiders, now together with the Saints

The New Orleans Saints excited some fans early this week with the pickup  of wide receiver Bryan Edwards, who made some of his best catches on passes from Derek Carr when they were both playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Saints could use more help at receiver given the thin depth on their roster, so signing Edwards makes a lot of sense.

Now they’re together again in black and gold, and hoping to reestablish the connection that saw Edwards eclipse 500 receiving yards just two years ago. Here’s a quick look at some of their best completions in silver and black, giving us an idea of what they might be able to accomplish in New Orleans:

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:

Nico Collins set high water mark for yardage in a season vs. Browns

Collins surpassed his 2021 output with three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown in the #Texans’ loss to the #Browns in Week 13

While the Houston Texans’ offense was lackluster at best against the Cleveland Browns in Week 13, wide receiver Nico Collins managed to snag enough receptions to set his career high in yardage and catches in a season in the matchup. collins burst onto the scene this year as a much-needed contributor on offense and has proven over the course of 12 games that he is a force to be reckoned with.

The Alabama native was a third-round selection by the Texans in last year’s draft class and caught 33 passes for 446 yards as a rookie in 2021. This season, he has brought in 37 passes for 481 yards, including three of those receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown against the Browns in Sunday’s action.

These numbers likely won’t get Collins on the All-Pro squad at the end of the year, but they are an indication that his trajectory is trending up, even as the Texans’ fortunes on the whole are in a tailspin. He has not had the benefit of particularly good quarterback play to this point in his career, and especially in the 2022 season where he has caught passes from Davis Mills and, more recently, Kyle Allen.

His counterpart on the outside, Brandin Cooks, was inactive for the Week 13 tilt, which opened the door for Collins to take on an expanded role in the offense. He was targeted no less than 10 times in the game, and scored the Texans’ only touchdown on a pass from the aforementioned Allen.

With more performances like the one he turned out against Cleveland, Collins could soon find himself as one of Houston’s brightest offensive stars in an offense that should feature a premium quarterback prospect next year. If he can keep his head up through all of the ups and downs of the Texans’ rebuild, he might prove to be the team’s best offensive weapon.

Jordan Akins climbing Texans’ all-time tight end yardage leaderboard

Akins’ two-catch performance against the #Commanders was enough to put him in second place on a #Texans all-time franchise leaderboard

With his two receptions for eight yards against the Washington Commanders in Week 11 Houston Texans tight end, Jordan Akins moved to second all-time on a key leaderboard in the team’s franchise history. Akins has been a key piece of the Texans’ offense in 2022 and has seen his usage gradually rise over the course of the season while he has been competing for more reps against former first-round pick O.J. Howard.

Though his raw numbers from Week 11 aren’t overly impressive, his 1499 yards receiving over the course of his career with the Texans have him positioned behind Owen Daniels at second place on the team’s all-time leaderboard for yardage by a tight end. The gap between him and Daniels is likely to be insurmountable at this point in Akins’ career, though it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the difference narrow in the coming weeks.

Hamstrung by inconsistent quarterback play, Akins has had a hard time breaking out in the Texans’ offense, but his explosive potential is evident on nearly every down he plays. His lanky frame and smooth stride are perfectly suited for jump-ball duties or routes run along the sidelines with space to work after the catch.

If he weren’t playing second-fiddle to Howard at this point in the season, Akins could be one of Houston’s leading receivers, and as the offense begins to experiment with new strategies, he may see his role expand over the Texans’ last seven games. The only uncertainty for Akins at this juncture of the season is whether he will be re-signed by Houston as part of their 2023 rebuild, or if he will need to pursue a contract elsewhere for next season.

Given the potential, he has shown and his accomplishments in a Texans uniform, the team’s front office should be expected to make every effort to keep Akins as a part of their plans moving forward.

Cooper Kupp leads NFL in receptions ahead of Rams’ Week 6 matchup vs. Panthers

Kupp’s prolific numbers have been awe-inspiring, but might not be the best thing for the #Rams offense in the long-term

Though things have started to unravel for the Los Angeles Rams in recent weeks, star wide receiver Cooper Kupp has managed to maintain the prolific pace he set in 2021, and is currently leading the league in receptions heading into Week 6. With 49 catches through just five games, the holds sole ownership of the best mark in the NFL by a wide margin.

The next most productive receiver in terms of raw catches this year has been Minnesota Vikings’ superstar Justin Jefferson, who bests Kupp in yardage but has recorded nine fewer receptions. At his current pace, Kupp could be expected to eclipse the 100-reception benchmark around Week 10, which would leave him seven games to break New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas’ record of 149 catches in a season, which was set in 2019.

Kupp has been one of the only bright spots on Los Angeles’ offense so far this year, and arguably their best player on either side of the ball. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has connected with him regularly out of necessity, as the team has a host of injuries along their offensive line that have severely limited their ability to move the ball downfield.

The Rams’ running game has been particularly slow to produce this year, and in turn, has forced the coaching staff to rely on Kupp to churn out yards in situations where he otherwise might not have been called on in recent years. Effectively, Sean McVay’s offense has turned into a west coast style pass-to-run scheme that highlights Kupp as the team’s bell-cow target on nearly every play.

Unfortunately, the results of this strategy haven’t been favorable for anyone except Kupp, as the team currently sits a game under .500 and is reeling from their most recent loss to the Dallas Cowboys. If they can manage to keep Kupp involved while also finding opportunities for other contributors on the offense to get involved, the team may see its fortunes turn around.

Until then, the dysfunction within the offense is likely to continue, and the team will keep force-feeding Kupp.

Michael Thomas surpasses Joe Horn, ranks No. 3 among Saints receptions leaders

Michael Thomas surpassed Joe Horn on Sunday to rank No. 3 among the Saints’ all-time receptions leaders. Only Eric Martin and Marques Colston are still ahead of him:

Michael Thomas made New Orleans Saints history on Sunday, totaling 5 catches for 49 yards against the Carolina Panthers, converting 3 first downs. Those added to his career numbers, which mean he’s up to 526 receptions in a Saints uniform — he’s now surpassed Joe Horn (523) to rank No. 3 among the franchise’s all-time receptions leaders. Only Eric Martin (532) and Marques Colston (711) are still ahead of Thomas.

So he’s got a realistic shot at lapping Martin in the near future, though that hinges on the severity of his new toe injury. He was questionable to return on Sunday before the team later downgraded his status, so we’ll hope that was a precautionary move. It’s something to watch out for when the first Saints injury report drops on Wednesday.

As for Thomas’ standing in the record books: he’s now up to 6,121 receiving yards, which trails Horn (7,622), Martin (7,854), and Colston (9,759) for the all-time lead. The expanded regular season could give him a real shot at reaching 7,000 yards if he maintains his current pace, but it’ll be close. It depends on whether he misses time with this toe injury or if anything else gets in the way, and whether the Saints passing game can truly find its footing.

Still, it goes to show how special his talent is, even after injuries kept him sidelined for most of the last two seasons. More consistent quarterback play will do a lot to help his case, but Thomas is still on track to end his Saints career as one of the finest receivers to ever wear black and gold.

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Counting down the Chiefs’ single-season receptions leaders

Our @TheJohnDillon counts down the #Chiefs’ single-season receptions leaderboards.

With every passing season, the Kansas City Chiefs seem to move the offensive needle a bit more with Patrick Mahomes under center, and his receivers have a lot to do with their prolific success. Without the benefit of Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, Mahomes’ triumph over the AFC would have surely looked a lot different, though there are certainly arguments to be made that he could have achieved such great heights with any crew of supporting talent.

The Chiefs receiving leaderboards, however, tell an interesting tale about just how out-of-this-world Kansas City’s offense has played since 2017 when Mahomes took over. With the exception of Tony Gonzalez, the rankings in terms of receptions in a single season are dominated by Kelce and Hill, so much so that fans may wonder just how much the Chiefs stand to lose when they parted ways with the speed-demon receiver this offseason.

Take a look at this list of all-time great seasons and decide for yourself:

Seahawks TE Noah Fant hoping to ‘take the leap’ this season

Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant is hoping to “take the leap” as far as his production this season, his first in the Emerald City.

Tight end Noah Fant admitted that he was a little surprised when the Broncos sent him to Seattle as part of the trade for Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson but he understands the reasoning behind the move. He also appreciates the chance to make a fresh start and a name for himself here in the Emerald City.

“To be honest with you, I haven’t been really happy from my perspective with my production the last two years,” Fant told reporters on Tuesday. “Granted, it’s been decent production compared to other tight ends in the NFL. But I definitely am striving for more and better.”

In 16 games played for the Broncos last season, Fant tallied 68 receptions for 670 yards and four touchdowns. He plans to improve on those numbers significantly in 2022.

“Goals for year four is to take that leap, right?” Fant said. “I mean, I’m kind of stuck at that high 600 ceiling and I got to break through that. I think I have every opportunity to do that in Seattle, and I’m excited to get to work to do that.”

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