(12-22-2023, 11:26 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: The receivers have had solid separation in lots of games - but have been locked up pretty effectively by the better secondaries they've faced.

Thus far the avg separation for our guys listed at next gen stats is:

Ridley 2.3 yards
Zay Jones 2.4 yards

(before you stick your foot in your mouth bashing these numbers - let me tell you other receivers at 2.3/2.4 - Metcalf, Higgins, Pitts, Pickens, Hopkins, A Cooper, Mike Evans)

Moving on:
Christian Kirk - 3.1 yards
Evan Engram - 3.5 yards


These are the only 4 with enough action to be listed among the NFL leaders on that site.

Separation is not a glaring issue on the whole for our corps, but they have been locked up on occasion this year.

The part about other guys having similar separation numbers is worth considering, but when you look at the guys on that list they're almost all physically overpowering defenders at the point of catch and making catches even when well covered. With a few exceptions Ridley doesn't do much of that. Really he doesn't do much of anything special right now. He's good good speed, not great speed, he's got okay size, not great size, he's got good hands, not great hands, etc. And he tends to run the wrong route sometimes, which means he's either not paying enough attention in practice, or in the games, neither is good.

He's a good receiver, not a great receiver. If he could be signed for a very team friendly deal that's all about incentives he'd be worth signing if the draft pick we'd give up isn't a consideration.

However, the draft pick is there, and it's a problem. Is he worth a pick that could be turned into a good offensive lineman plus a big contract? Probably not, especially since he's probably not looking for a 4 year $50 million dollar deal with 15 of it guaranteed, which is the kind of deal he's played up to.

---