Chip Kelly release DeSean Jackson, traded away LeSean McCoy and didn’t want to get into a bidding war for Jeremy Maclin. Does he know what he’s doing?
Time will tell with McCoy and Maclin. With Jackson, there was some kind of locker-room issue there – he and Kelly didn’t see eye to eye. But Jackson makes plays. He consistently made big plays for the Eagles, and that continued with Washington last year.
In Jay Gruden’s offense, Jackson had 13 catches over 40 yards – 5 more than any other player in the league. He had 8 of those plays in his one year in Kelly’s offense, one short of the league lead.
So over the last two seasons, Jackson has 9 more receptions of 40-plus yards than any other receiver in the league, and he’s done it despite not working with a franchise-type quarterback.
If McCoy and Maclin also continue to thrive with other teams, patience for Kelly’s personnel decisions will wane.
Over the last two seasons, 46 wide receivers have at least 100 receptions. Here are the number of 40-yard plays for each of those players.
WIDE RECEIVERS, 40-YARD RECEPTIONS (2013-14) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Rec | Yards | Avg | 40+ |
DeSean Jackson | 138 | 2501 | 18.1 | 21 |
T.Y. Hilton | 164 | 2428 | 14.8 | 12 |
A.J. Green | 167 | 2467 | 14.8 | 12 |
Jordy Nelson | 183 | 2833 | 15.5 | 11 |
Demaryius Thomas | 203 | 3049 | 15.0 | 11 |
Torrey Smith | 114 | 1895 | 16.6 | 10 |
Eric Decker | 161 | 2250 | 14.0 | 10 |
Alshon Jeffery | 174 | 2554 | 14.7 | 10 |
Antonio Brown | 239 | 3197 | 13.4 | 10 |
Josh Gordon | 111 | 1949 | 17.6 | 9 |
Michael Floyd | 112 | 1882 | 16.8 | 9 |
Dez Bryant | 181 | 2553 | 14.1 | 9 |
DeAndre Hopkins | 128 | 2012 | 15.7 | 8 |
Vincent Jackson | 148 | 2226 | 15.0 | 8 |
Calvin Johnson | 155 | 2569 | 16.6 | 8 |
Golden Tate | 163 | 2229 | 13.7 | 8 |
Riley Cooper | 102 | 1412 | 13.8 | 7 |
Mike Wallace | 140 | 1792 | 12.8 | 7 |
Steve Smith | 143 | 1810 | 12.7 | 7 |
Brandon Marshall | 161 | 2016 | 12.5 | 7 |
Harry Douglas | 136 | 1623 | 11.9 | 6 |
Julio Jones | 145 | 2173 | 15.0 | 6 |
Doug Baldwin | 116 | 1603 | 13.8 | 5 |
James Jones | 132 | 1483 | 11.2 | 5 |
Pierre Garcon | 181 | 2098 | 11.6 | 5 |
Julian Edelman | 197 | 2028 | 10.3 | 5 |
Emmanuel Sanders | 101 | 1404 | 13.9 | 4 |
Eddie Royal | 109 | 1409 | 12.9 | 4 |
Randall Cobb | 122 | 1720 | 14.1 | 4 |
Larry Fitzgerald | 145 | 1738 | 12.0 | 4 |
Anquan Boldin | 168 | 2241 | 13.3 | 4 |
Reggie Wayne | 102 | 1282 | 12.6 | 3 |
Mohamed Sanu | 103 | 1245 | 12.1 | 3 |
Brandon LaFell | 123 | 1580 | 12.8 | 3 |
Andre Johnson | 194 | 2343 | 12.1 | 3 |
Robert Woods | 105 | 1286 | 12.2 | 2 |
Rueben Randle | 112 | 1549 | 13.8 | 2 |
Cecil Shorts | 119 | 1334 | 11.2 | 2 |
Greg Jennings | 127 | 1546 | 12.2 | 2 |
Kendall Wright | 151 | 1794 | 11.9 | 2 |
Brian Hartline | 115 | 1490 | 13.0 | 1 |
Marques Colston | 134 | 1845 | 13.8 | 1 |
Keenan Allen | 148 | 1829 | 12.4 | 1 |
Roddy White | 143 | 1632 | 11.4 | 0 |
Wes Welker | 122 | 1242 | 10.2 | 0 |
Dwayne Bowe | 117 | 1427 | 12.2 | 0 |
—Ian Allan