Another C. Stuckey Fan... I talked to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Steve Breaston this week and he spoke like a polished receiver coming off a sophomore season in which he increased his receptions total by 69 (8 in 2007; 77 in 2008). Granted, the injuries to Anquan Boldin provided some of the impetus for Breaston's meteoric rise, but talent and readiness were also part of his big improvement. Breaston credited his quantum leap to really learning the playbook last spring and, most importantly, taking advantage of the time to work on his routes and hands with Kurt Warner in the offseason. Steve Breaston, WR Arizona Cardinals 2008 Statistics Catches: 77 Yards: 1,006 TDs: 3 ?Video: Breaston highlights Not many saw Breaston's 69-reception improvement coming. In fact, when NFL.com had its spring fantasy football draft for the magazine, no one picked him. Imagine if fantasy players saw his production on the horizon? What a steal in a fantasy draft -- or, more importantly, what a steal for the Arizona Cardinals, who were hoping he might come through if needed. Let's look for the next receiver to make a jump in 2009, much like Breaston did during the '08 season. Here's my list of receivers who have a year or two of limited production but may be on the verge of something significant in 2009. First is a list of five wide receivers ready to make the jump from 20-32 catches to 60-80 receptions. The second group is a list of wide receivers ready to take the leap from 10-15 receptions to 50-60 receptions. The circumstances have to be right, but these guys are poised for a big season. You might want to consider them somewhere in your fantasy draft while everyone else is thinking about the more obvious veterans or last spring's first-round picks. Leaving sub-35 receptions for 60-80 catches 1. Josh Morgan, San Francisco 49ers: Morgan was one of the most impressive rookies I saw last summer on my camp tour, but he struggled to stay healthy and missed four games during his rookie season. The arrival of Michael Crabtree may suggest a reduced role, but Morgan is capable of delivering a solid season and may get some good looks due to coverage focused on Crabtree. 2. Mark Bradley, Kansas City Chiefs: The arrival of Matt Cassel will expand the passing game and the departure of Tony Gonzalez will raise the opportunities for other Chiefs receivers. Teams will roll their coverage to Dwayne Bowe, and Bradley should see a spike in his production as a result. 3. Jason Avant, Philadelphia Eagles: Unless you talk with an Eagles coach or Donovan McNabb, you might not realize how much this franchise likes Avant. One Eagles executive called him the best slot receiver in the NFL. With all of the attention focused on DeSean Jackson and rookie Jeremy Maclin, Avant should have a very productive year. He has improved his receptions totals in each of his three NFL seasons, from 7 to 23 to 32 last year. 4. Chansi Stuckey, New York Jets: Laveranues Coles is gone and the Jets didn't trade for or draft a receiver in the offseason. Stuckey caught 32 balls for 359 yards and three touchdowns last year, and the path is clear for him to start. He has just two career starts, so this is his chance to shine. 5. Harry Douglas, Atlanta Falcons: Douglas is another slot receiver who could easily explode as fellow second-year teammate Matt Ryan develops. Douglas didn't start a game in 2007, but he did grab 23 passes for 320 yards and one touchdown. With so many teams working the three-wide receiver packages and developing their own versions of what New England does with slot receiver Wes Welker, the opportunities will grow for Douglas. Keep in mind, Breaston saw plenty of passes while on the field at the same time as Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Leaving sub-15 receptions for 50-60 catches 1. Limas Sweed, Pittsburgh Steelers: Sweed caught six balls for 64 yards and no touchdowns during the regular season in 2007, but the departure of Nate Washington and the Steelers' desire to grow the passing game open the door for Sweed to make a Breaston-like jump. 2. Jerome Simpson, Cincinnati Bengals: Simpson caught one pass in 2007, but the return of Palmer from injury and the fact that the pair has been working closely all spring while Chad Ochocinco sits on the wayside only fosters the positive relationship. Simpson seems poised for a Breaston-type season. 3. Dwayne Jarrett, Carolina Panthers: Jarrett will not be the starter in Carolina, but he should get the call when the team goes to three or four wideouts. He only caught 10 passes for 119 yards and no touchdowns last season, but I expect a very solid year from Jarrett and the Panthers' new-look offense. 4. Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys: With Terrell Owens gone, the Cowboys had enough faith in their young receivers (Austin and Patrick Crayton) not to sign any big free agents or draft a receiver before the seventh round. Austin should benefit greatly from the decision and could be on the verge of a breakout season. 5. Chaz Schilens, Oakland Raiders: Schilens had 15 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns last season, and he is the best-looking receiver in Raiders camp right now. Schilens caught six of those balls in the last two games of the year (both Raiders wins), and it appears he is on the verge of being a favorite target of quarterback JaMarcus Russell. (Raiderjoe I highlighted this for you ) When talent, preparation, confidence and opportunity come together, production is the end result. It would be a shame if you didn't see it coming. I ran this list of 10 receivers by a pro personnel director who I respect and he said all 10 had an arrow pointing up next to their names. As he said, "I'd like to have any one of them on my team." http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d810736b9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true
It really is a prime oppty. for Stuckey to step up and assume the #2 WR role. I think Manningham from the other local team is going to make a big jump this year as well.
Thank God we wont see dware and cakes go at it over Breaston this year. Btw cakes was right about Breaston
Cakes gave a list of his top 10 WRs of 2008 and breaston was on it but Calvin Johnson wasn't and that started the whole thing.
We need a receiver to really step up. This could be a huge problem with the lack of depth of the receiver corps.
Cakes was arguing that Steve Breaston was doing more for his team than Calvin Johnson was in 2008... I was on Cakes side the whole time. Super Bowl vs 0-16
Why did you put number 5 in bold? Now Raider Jeaux is going to turn this into another Raiders bitch-fest.
yes, and those are the correct stats. I'm not a Bengals fan or anything, but I do know he and Chad haven't been getting along because carson is gung-ho about football coming off his injury and Chad doesn't "do" OTA's. He wants to get right to work and find a new "guy".
Do U know this knucklehead was our CHIEF SCOUT for 10 years I believe from the 80s to the 90s. Before touting anything he has to say see why not see what his results were when he was our chief scout
As I've said before, the style of offense we're looking to play favors Stuckey greatly, and should contribute to his success. We're looking to play a possession offense, meaning Cotchery is going to demand double coverage in most situations, even if Clowney is able to establish himself as a deep threat. That should leave ample opportunity for Chansi in the slot to bump his numbers up into the range of a Wes Welker.
Are U really serious that any team will be giving JC double coverage? At this point in his career to other teams I would guess they look at him as a second stringer on there team since most teams have superior WRs then we do
Yep. As our only receiver with any documented success, and a solid possession receiver in a possession offense, I absolutely expect teams to double cover him on obvious passing downs. And I'm sorry, but are you really suggesting that he wouldn't start for most teams in this league? He finished 33rd in yards last season, meaning that he wouldn't be a #1 target on the vast majority of teams. However, that's a long way from not starting at all.
OK I guess we agree to disagree since he is not considered a "game breaker" that normally double coverage is assigned to. See Randy Moss as an example. Maybe even Joey Galloway as another. TO would be another. Pitt has Antonio. on most teams he may be a #2 or #3 receiver not a prime #1 which sorry to say he is on our team
I agree with Champ. I don't see Cotchery getting double coverage next year. I think they can take the extra DB and put him on Keller. I actually think of Clowney is as good as we all think/hope he is, that he may end up being the one that is double covered.
We can agree to disagree, but I'm not saying he's a prime #1. He's a great #2 receiver. I'm saying it's more of a reflection of how unknown our other receivers are that he could draw double coverage on obvious passing downs for the time being. It's happened to him in the past with Coles out of the game. Hopefully, the other receivers do step up. Murrell, if Clowney developed into that kind of receiver, I think we'd all be ecstatic.
