GIANTS HAVE EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES AT WIDE RECEIVER
NFL rosters are essentially set until training camps open this month. In the meantime, USA TODAY Sports has analyzed each team’s depth chart and is ranking units throughout the league.
Today’s positional group: Pass catchers
1. New York Giants: Odell Beckham Jr. has never had fewer than 90 receptions, 1,300 yards or 10 touchdowns in a season. The hype is more than justified. Fellow WR Sterling Shepard caught 65 passes and scored eight times as a rookie. Now mix in WR Brandon Marshall, a red-zone force who’s basically a tight end, along with first-round TE Evan Engram, who is basically a wideout given 4.4-second 40-yard speed that probably makes him the fastest guy in the bunch. This aerial assault could be unrelenting. 2. Green Bay Packers: Jordy Nelson’s 13 yards per catch were his fewest since 2010, a nitpick considering he had a league-high 14 touchdown grabs a year removed from an anterior cruciate ligament knee tear. Davante Adams surpassed Randall Cobb as quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ second favorite target, though that calculus could shift with the signing of TE Martellus Bennett. 3. New England Patriots: Brandin Cooks can score any time he touches the ball. He’s the latest ingredient to a pick-your-poison recipe that still consists of shifty Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola and long man Chris Hogan, whose 17.9 yards per catch led the AFC in 2016. And if TE Rob Gronkowski really is fully recovered from back surgery? Quarterback Tom Brady could post numbers to rival his 2007 MVP season. 4. Atlanta Falcons: Did you know Julio Jones’ career average of 96.3 receiving yards per game is tops in NFL history and more
than 20 yards better than that of Jerry Rice? That’s partially a function of the modern game but also indicative of why Jones is the gold standard at wideout and a threat to be the first 2,000-yard receiver. Mohamed Sanu and slot supreme Taylor Gabriel aren’t mere understudies, and QB Matt Ryan predicts a sophomore surge from TE Austin Hooper.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers: Antonio Brown eyes a fifth consecutive 100-catch season. But he’ll have to share more, and that’s not a bad thing. Martavis Bryant’s return from suspension is expected to have tremendous impact given 18% of his 76 career catches resulted in a touchdown. Sammie Coates can get deep, while second-rounder JuJu Smith-Schuster is highly physical. WR Eli Rogers and TE Jesse James are also factors.