History Says Dez Bryant Could Be One Of The Best WRs Ever

[NeonDeion21]

If you haven’t heard, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was ranked according to a group of anonymous NFL players, as the 25th best player in the league on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Countdown. And while I have no problem with the 25th overall ranking, I did have a problem with some of the receivers ranked ahead of him. If you asked 32 general managers in the league who they would’ve rather have had last year when choosing between Dez Bryant, Antonio Brown and Andre Johnson, I’m betting that at least 28 of them choose Bryant. It’s really not even up for discussion. And then there’s this:



Last week, I was working on a summer-long Dez Bryant article that will come out later this month and stumbled across a chart that ESPN posted last week, showing Dez Bryant when compared to Calvin Johnson in his first 50 games as a pro. And that got me thinking; how does Dez compare with other elite wide receivers in their first 50 games? So here’s a list of a few active and retired greats and how Bryant measures up:



Yes, you could argue that some of these names are cherry-picked. But find any receiver in NFL history (outside of Jerry Rice) and you should find that Dez and said player are close. Here’s a cool stat for Dez Bryant; only one player in the NFL since the merger in 1970 has had more receiving touchdowns than Bryant before their 25th birthday. That player is Randy Moss. Even the greatest wide receiver ever Jerry Rice, was a full 10 touchdowns behind Dez. We are talking about one of the greatest starts to a career in NFL history. Does this mean Dez will be better than Rice or Irvin? Of course not. But it shows you what kind of career Bryant *could* have. To be that productive that early in a career means that there is certainly the potential for much to come.

Read the rest at: http://cover32.com/cowboys/2014/07/...yant-could-be-one-of-the-best-receivers-ever/

 

[dstovall5]

Yes, you could argue that some of these names are cherry-picked. But find any receiver in NFL history (outside of Jerry Rice) and you should find that Dez and said player are close.

Here’s a cool stat for Dez Bryant; only one player in the NFL since the merger in 1970 has had more receiving touchdowns than Bryant before their 25th birthday. That player is Randy Moss. Even the greatest wide receiver ever Jerry Rice, was a full 10 touchdowns behind Dez. We are talking about one of the greatest starts to a career in NFL history. Does this mean Dez will be better than Rice or Irvin? Of course not. But it shows you what kind of career Bryant *could* have. To be that productive that early in a career means that there is certainly the potential for much to come.

Randy Moss - 48 Games - 4163 Yards / 226 Catches / 43 TDs / 18.47 YPC

Dez Bryant - 50 Games - 3,440 Yards / 242 Catches / 33 TDs / 14.2 YPC

Hmm ......

Just kidding, I'm just nitpicking haha. What Dez has done so far is pretty special and not many WRs have achieved his success so early. He has grown a lot as well, not just physically but emotionally and that's been huge to his success.

 

[Apollo Creed]

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/exactly-how-good-can-dez-bryant-be.215319/

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Dude is a beast and the only one close to Calvin right now. People say he isn't close to Calvin cause the game he went off for 300 yards. Dez was scoring TDs and was only targeted 4 times.

Not saying Dez is better but he has a chance to be better then Calvin, no doubt but we have to get him the ball. Linehan will, like he did with Calvin.

Dez will have 1500 plus yards, 13 TDS or more

 

[BoysFan4ever]

I love Dez but there is Calvin Johnson & then all the rest right now.

 

[theogt]

Randy Moss - 48 Games - 4163 Yards / 226 Catches / 43 TDs / 18.47 YPC

Dez Bryant - 50 Games - 3,440 Yards / 242 Catches / 33 TDs / 14.2 YPC

Hmm ......

Just kidding, I'm just nitpicking haha. What Dez has done so far is pretty special and not many WRs have achieved his success so early. He has grown a lot as well, not just physically but emotionally and that's been huge to his success.

Darn. He hasn't had as good a start to his career as the second best receiver of all time. But he has had a better to comparable start relative to the 1st and 3rd best receivers of all time.

That's some crazy company to be mentioned with.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Barring injury I envision him being productive deep into his 30s like T.O. was.

 

[Jenky]

I saw the chart and thought to my self, "where the hell is Randy Moss?" then I continued to read.

Moss could have been the best receiver ever.

 

[NeonDeion21]

I saw the chart and thought to my self, "where the hell is Randy Moss?" then I continued to read.

Moss could have been the best receiver ever.

I'm not sure we will ever see a start to a career like his. Unreal.

 

[HappyOnions]

Barring injury I envision him being productive deep into his 30s like T.O. was.

Man I really miss T.O...

 

[lostar2009]

If you haven’t heard, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was ranked according to a group of anonymous NFL players, as the 25th best player in the league on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Countdown. And while I have no problem with the 25th overall ranking, I did have a problem with some of the receivers ranked ahead of him. If you asked 32 general managers in the league who they would’ve rather have had last year when choosing between Dez Bryant, Antonio Brown and Andre Johnson, I’m betting that at least 28 of them choose Bryant. It’s really not even up for discussion. And then there’s this:



Last week, I was working on a summer-long Dez Bryant article that will come out later this month and stumbled across a chart that ESPN posted last week, showing Dez Bryant when compared to Calvin Johnson in his first 50 games as a pro. And that got me thinking; how does Dez compare with other elite wide receivers in their first 50 games? So here’s a list of a few active and retired greats and how Bryant measures up:



Yes, you could argue that some of these names are cherry-picked. But find any receiver in NFL history (outside of Jerry Rice) and you should find that Dez and said player are close. Here’s a cool stat for Dez Bryant; only one player in the NFL since the merger in 1970 has had more receiving touchdowns than Bryant before their 25th birthday. That player is Randy Moss. Even the greatest wide receiver ever Jerry Rice, was a full 10 touchdowns behind Dez. We are talking about one of the greatest starts to a career in NFL history. Does this mean Dez will be better than Rice or Irvin? Of course not. But it shows you what kind of career Bryant *could* have. To be that productive that early in a career means that there is certainly the potential for much to come.

Read the rest at: http://cover32.com/cowboys/2014/07/...yant-could-be-one-of-the-best-receivers-ever/

Good to stats of another besides Romo that actually holds true.

 

[lane]

If Linehan is truly calling the plays this year...Dez is going to be a machine.

already is though.

just needs an oc who can put him in the right situation.

same goes for escobar and beasley...use these weapons correctly.

i think Linehan will.

 

[Hoofbite]

AJ Green & Julio Jones are right there as well.

Green: 47 games, 260 Rec, 3800 Yards, 29 TDs

Jones: 34 Games, 174 Rec, 2700 Yards, 20 TDs

 

[BigStar]

Randy Moss - 48 Games - 4163 Yards / 226 Catches / 43 TDs / 18.47 YPC

Dez Bryant - 50 Games - 3,440 Yards / 242 Catches / 33 TDs / 14.2 YPC

Hmm ......

Just kidding, I'm just nitpicking haha. What Dez has done so far is pretty special and not many WRs have achieved his success so early. He has grown a lot as well, not just physically but emotionally and that's been huge to his success.

TBH...I think Dez is capable of that production bc he is rarely given the opportunity to go deep. He is not close to Moss in speed admittedly but that is an aspect of his game that is hugely underutilized. Whereas Moss would simply outrun defenders to the ball Dez could simply "go up n get it" with only one defender bw him and the endzone? I'd take that bet!

 

[CyberB0b]

Dude is a beast and the only one close to Calvin right now. People say he isn't close to Calvin cause the game he went off for 300 yards. Dez was scoring TDs and was only targeted 4 times.

Not saying Dez is better but he has a chance to be better then Calvin, no doubt but we have to get him the ball. Linehan will, like he did with Calvin.

Dez will have 1500 plus yards, 13 TDS or more

I don't think he is anywhere close to Calvin Johnson, IMO. Johnson ,is taller, faster, and has just about the same catching ability as Dez.

To me, Dez has that X-factor that can't really be measured. If you look at every tangible attribute, you can find a player in the league right now that is better than Dez at X. The intangibles are going to be what puts Dez over the top. Think Michael Irvin or Jerry Rice. Right now, I think Dez has yet to separate himself from guys like A.J. Green and Julio Jones, but he is really close to surpassing them.

I love me some Dez Bryant, but he isn't close to being as good as Calvin Johnson.

 

[pancakeman]

AJ Green & Julio Jones are right there as well.

Green: 47 games, 260 Rec, 3800 Yards, 29 TDs

Jones: 34 Games, 174 Rec, 2700 Yards, 20 TDs

...which makes me wonder how the era's style of play factors in.

 

[Fredd]

Dez is a beast, and we are lucky to have him...that being said, I can see him taking a step forward if the offense clicks and defenders have to pay attention to more guys, freeing Dez up for 1:1 match-ups more often..no one can guard him 1:1

 

[Hoofbite]

...which makes me wonder how the era's style of play factors in.

No doubt the era plays it's part. I think another big factor is quality of QB play. I'd say Calvin, Larry Fitz, and Andre all got the short end of the QB stick when they came into the league.

Demaryius Thomas is another one and a perfect example of QB play impacting the WR position. Guy had Tebow/Orton throwing him the ball for his first few years and look where he was at after 50 games.

222 RC, 3417 Yards, 27 TDs.

Now consider that he only had about 830 Yards and 6 TDs through his first 21 games (up until Manning arrived).

Also, I think a lot of receivers get opportunities today that didn't really exist for WRs in years past. Look at a guy like Torry Holt and for his first 50 games he had:

226 Rec, 3956 Yards, 19 TDs

Monster yardage but TDs aren't on par with Dez, Julio and A.J. Then again, neither are his opportunities from deep inside the opponents territory. From inside the opponents 5 yard line Holt had 4 targets and caught 1 TD, likely because the Rams were running in.

A.J. has 18 targets, 7 TDs since 2011

Dez has 18 targets, 12 TDs since 2011

Julio has 12 targets, 2 TDs (Season of games to be played) since 2011

Receivers are getting a lot of short scoring opportunities that likely once belonged to the running game. Over 1999 to 2001 there were 10 WRs (maybe 1 or 2 TEs in the bunch) who had double-digit targets from the opponents 5 yard line or closer. 3 WRs went over 15 targets and they were Chris Carter, T.O., and Marvin Harrison. Three of the best of all time.

From 2011 to 2013 there were 29 WRs/TEs who had double-digit targets. 13 of these guys are TEs. 10 of the group had 15 targets or more.

Adding the top 25 most targeted players for each span looks to be about a 40% increase for 2011-2013 over 1999-2001.

The passing game is more prolific than ever and WRs get more scoring opportunities than ever.

And defenders can't really defend a pass like they used to.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I don't think he is anywhere close to Calvin Johnson, IMO. Johnson ,is taller, faster, and has just about the same catching ability as Dez.

To me, Dez has that X-factor that can't really be measured. If you look at every tangible attribute, you can find a player in the league right now that is better than Dez at X. The intangibles are going to be what puts Dez over the top. Think Michael Irvin or Jerry Rice. Right now, I think Dez has yet to separate himself from guys like A.J. Green and Julio Jones, but he is really close to surpassing them.

I love me some Dez Bryant, but he isn't close to being as good as Calvin Johnson.

I think Dez will be better then Calvin. Dez is still young and has had better stats then Calvin at this time in his career. I believe Dez has had better catches then aby WR to play the game. Like I said Calvin is the best but Dez is closing in fast.

Rice and Irvin wasn't fast. ... Witten isn't fast

 

[Clove]

No doubt the era plays it's part. I think another big factor is quality of QB play. I'd say Calvin, Larry Fitz, and Andre all got the short end of the QB stick when they came into the league.

Demaryius Thomas is another one and a perfect example of QB play impacting the WR position. Guy had Tebow/Orton throwing him the ball for his first few years and look where he was at after 50 games.

222 RC, 3417 Yards, 27 TDs.

Now consider that he only had about 830 Yards and 6 TDs through his first 21 games (up until Manning arrived).

Also, I think a lot of receivers get opportunities today that didn't really exist for WRs in years past. Look at a guy like Torry Holt and for his first 50 games he had:

226 Rec, 3956 Yards, 19 TDs

Monster yardage but TDs aren't on par with Dez, Julio and A.J. Then again, neither are his opportunities from deep inside the opponents territory. From inside the opponents 5 yard line Holt had 4 targets and caught 1 TD, likely because the Rams were running in.

A.J. has 18 targets, 7 TDs since 2011

Dez has 18 targets, 12 TDs since 2011

Julio has 12 targets, 2 TDs (Season of games to be played) since 2011

Receivers are getting a lot of short scoring opportunities that likely once belonged to the running game. Over 1999 to 2001 there were 10 WRs (maybe 1 or 2 TEs in the bunch) who had double-digit targets from the opponents 5 yard line or closer. 3 WRs went over 15 targets and they were Chris Carter, T.O., and Marvin Harrison. Three of the best of all time.

From 2011 to 2013 there were 29 WRs/TEs who had double-digit targets. 13 of these guys are TEs. 10 of the group had 15 targets or more.

Adding the top 25 most targeted players for each span looks to be about a 40% increase for 2011-2013 over 1999-2001.

The passing game is more prolific than ever and WRs get more scoring opportunities than ever.

And defenders can't really defend a pass like they used to.

Great post. And this is the thing I bring up a lot when talking about QB stats, receiver stats, etc. This era is about tossing the ball. That's all teams do anymore. And when you're throwing it more, you have more opportunities to catch it. more opportunities to put up monster yards, more opportunities of throwing TDs, catching TDs, getting sacked and throwing games away.

The goal of the league was to have more dynamic offenses, and it's worked perfectly. The only place they've screwed the offense is in the kick off game. Now we almost always have to start from the 20, and not like the 35 or whatever like we used to.
They won't let you touch the receiver, hit the receiver, hit the QB after a pass, hit him high, hit him low, yet people brag about the QB and receiver's stats. Records would be untouchable if guys back in the day had the same playing rules of today.

I'm not impressed by offensive numbers in today's football. What I'd like to see is better defenses like Seattle.

As for Dez Bryant, when someone is talented like him, you need the right coordinator and QB to get him the ball, you also need for the receiver on the other side to beat one-on-one coverage consistently.