Perhaps lost in the excitement of the NFL Draft, the Raiders swung a trade for Martavis Bryant from the Steelers. He'll join Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson as the team's top 3 at wide receiver. In bringing in Bryant, Oakland adds a talented, explosive deep threat who can take the top off a defense. Well, maybe.
A year ago, Bryant was statistically below-average as a deep threat. Among the 77 wideouts who caught at least 30 passes, 48 of them caught a higher percentage of passes of outside 20 yards.
| WIDE RECEIVERS, RECEPTIONS OVER 20 YARDS, 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | 20+ | Pct/20 |
| Jaron Brown, Ariz. | 31 | 477 | 15.4 | 4 | 12 | 38.7% |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 61 | 1101 | 18.0 | 9 | 20 | 32.8% |
| Paul Richardson, Sea. | 44 | 703 | 16.0 | 6 | 13 | 29.5% |
| Travis Benjamin, LAC | 34 | 567 | 16.7 | 4 | 10 | 29.4% |
| Ted Ginn, N.O. | 53 | 787 | 14.8 | 4 | 15 | 28.3% |
| Tyrell Williams, LAC | 43 | 728 | 16.9 | 4 | 12 | 27.9% |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 65 | 1082 | 16.6 | 7 | 18 | 27.7% |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 63 | 941 | 14.9 | 7 | 17 | 27.0% |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 101 | 1533 | 15.2 | 9 | 27 | 26.7% |
| Keelan Cole, Jac. | 42 | 748 | 17.8 | 3 | 11 | 26.2% |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 88 | 1444 | 16.4 | 3 | 23 | 26.1% |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 96 | 1378 | 14.4 | 13 | 24 | 25.0% |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 57 | 966 | 16.9 | 4 | 14 | 24.6% |
| Rishard Matthews, Tenn. | 53 | 795 | 15.0 | 4 | 13 | 24.5% |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 58 | 847 | 14.6 | 6 | 14 | 24.1% |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 75 | 991 | 13.2 | 8 | 18 | 24.0% |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 63 | 840 | 13.3 | 8 | 15 | 23.8% |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 47 | 555 | 11.8 | 2 | 11 | 23.4% |
| Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 56 | 962 | 17.2 | 2 | 13 | 23.2% |
| Sammy Watkins, LAR | 39 | 593 | 15.2 | 8 | 9 | 23.1% |
| Ryan Grant, Wash. | 45 | 573 | 12.7 | 4 | 10 | 22.2% |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 91 | 1276 | 14.0 | 4 | 20 | 22.0% |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 64 | 849 | 13.3 | 8 | 14 | 21.9% |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 56 | 781 | 13.9 | 5 | 12 | 21.4% |
| Mike Wallace, Balt. | 52 | 748 | 14.4 | 4 | 11 | 21.2% |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 104 | 1245 | 12.0 | 5 | 22 | 21.2% |
| Deonte Thompson, Chi-Buf | 38 | 555 | 14.6 | 2 | 8 | 21.1% |
| Kelvin Benjamin, Car-Buf | 48 | 692 | 14.4 | 2 | 10 | 20.8% |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 58 | 917 | 15.8 | 7 | 12 | 20.7% |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 75 | 1183 | 15.8 | 7 | 15 | 20.0% |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 50 | 668 | 13.4 | 3 | 10 | 20.0% |
| T.J. Jones, Det. | 30 | 399 | 13.3 | 1 | 6 | 20.0% |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 62 | 869 | 14.0 | 5 | 12 | 19.4% |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 48 | 680 | 14.2 | 7 | 9 | 18.8% |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 66 | 789 | 12.0 | 3 | 12 | 18.2% |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 83 | 949 | 11.4 | 5 | 15 | 18.1% |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 102 | 1393 | 13.7 | 6 | 18 | 17.6% |
| Chris Hogan, N.E. | 34 | 439 | 12.9 | 5 | 6 | 17.6% |
| Josh Doctson, Wash. | 35 | 502 | 14.3 | 6 | 6 | 17.1% |
| Torrey Smith, Phil. | 36 | 430 | 11.9 | 2 | 6 | 16.7% |
| Roger Lewis, NYG | 36 | 416 | 11.6 | 2 | 6 | 16.7% |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 57 | 670 | 11.8 | 1 | 9 | 15.8% |
| Pierre Garcon, S.F. | 40 | 500 | 12.5 | 0 | 6 | 15.0% |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 67 | 703 | 10.5 | 5 | 10 | 14.9% |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 109 | 1156 | 10.6 | 6 | 16 | 14.7% |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 62 | 768 | 12.4 | 8 | 9 | 14.5% |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 57 | 789 | 13.8 | 9 | 8 | 14.0% |
| Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 50 | 603 | 12.1 | 3 | 7 | 14.0% |
| Seth Roberts, Oak. | 43 | 455 | 10.6 | 1 | 6 | 14.0% |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 65 | 810 | 12.5 | 5 | 9 | 13.8% |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 58 | 618 | 10.7 | 8 | 8 | 13.8% |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 71 | 1001 | 14.1 | 5 | 9 | 12.7% |
| Taylor Gabriel, Atl. | 33 | 378 | 11.5 | 1 | 4 | 12.1% |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 75 | 1078 | 14.4 | 8 | 9 | 12.0% |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 59 | 731 | 12.4 | 2 | 7 | 11.9% |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 34 | 525 | 15.4 | 1 | 4 | 11.8% |
| Corey Davis, Tenn. | 34 | 375 | 11.0 | 0 | 4 | 11.8% |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 69 | 838 | 12.1 | 6 | 8 | 11.6% |
| Brandon LaFell, Cin. | 52 | 548 | 10.5 | 3 | 6 | 11.5% |
| Danny Amendola, N.E. | 61 | 659 | 10.8 | 2 | 7 | 11.5% |
| Terrance Williams, Dall. | 53 | 568 | 10.7 | 0 | 6 | 11.3% |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 45 | 555 | 12.3 | 2 | 5 | 11.1% |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 92 | 1003 | 10.9 | 5 | 10 | 10.9% |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 74 | 885 | 12.0 | 10 | 8 | 10.8% |
| Marqise Lee, Jac. | 56 | 702 | 12.5 | 3 | 6 | 10.7% |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 66 | 653 | 9.9 | 4 | 7 | 10.6% |
| Allen Hurns, Jac. | 39 | 484 | 12.4 | 2 | 4 | 10.3% |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Oak. | 31 | 309 | 10.0 | 0 | 3 | 9.7% |
| Albert Wilson, K.C. | 42 | 554 | 13.2 | 3 | 4 | 9.5% |
| Eric Decker, Tenn. | 54 | 563 | 10.4 | 1 | 5 | 9.3% |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 61 | 631 | 10.3 | 1 | 5 | 8.2% |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 53 | 482 | 9.1 | 6 | 4 | 7.5% |
| Jeremy Maclin, Balt. | 40 | 440 | 11.0 | 3 | 3 | 7.5% |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 36 | 314 | 8.7 | 4 | 2 | 5.6% |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 987 | 8.8 | 9 | 6 | 5.4% |
| Trent Taylor, S.F. | 43 | 430 | 10.0 | 2 | 2 | 4.7% |
| Kendall Wright, Chi. | 59 | 614 | 10.4 | 1 | 1 | 1.7% |
Oakland's other noteworthy addition at wideout, Nelson, had one of the lowest rates in the league in this regard. Granted, he was working with Brett Hundley for a large percentage of the year. But neither was as productive in this regard as holdover Amari Cooper.
To me, the Bryant acquisition is another eyebrow-raising move by Jon Gruden. A third-round pick for a guy with multiple suspensions on his resume? And one who may not be the big-play threat he's billed as -- at least, not as much as you'd expect. And he's in a contract year, and that's going to be a complicated contract, given the suspension history.
--Andy Richardson