Part of the process of scouting teams is checking who’s simply getting on the field. And with the wide receivers, one name jumped out at me – on the field for all but 3 of his offense’s plays.
Chad Williams of the Cardinals. Their third-round pick a year ago, and one of the young guys they’re hoping will start to emerge. They also have Christian Kirk, who also was on the field almost full time yesterday and made a few nice plays in the preseason. I was surprised that the Cardinals didn't make more of an effort to also rotate in J.J. Nelson. He's had some success in the past but got on the field for only one play against Washington.
But all of Williams’ playing time yesterday resulted in very little production. He saw 3 targets, but he didn’t catch any of them.
In Week 1 so far, 20 wide receivers have been on the field for at least 90 percent of their team’s offensive plays. Only two of them failed to catch a pass: Williams and Mike Wallace.
Of the two, Wallace has more fantasy value. The Eagles also went 0 for 3 trying to get the ball to Wallace, but least they tried to get him on a couple of potential big plays downfield against Atlanta. On one of those, I thought he should have drawn a flag for pass interference. With the Eagles playing lesser teams the next two weeks, at least there’s some chance Wallace will maybe hit on a long touchdown.
| ON THE FIELD FOR 90-PLUS PERCENT OF THE PLAYS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiver | Plays | Team | Pct |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 83 | 84 | 99% |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 73 | 74 | 99% |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 59 | 60 | 98% |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 56 | 57 | 98% |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 52 | 53 | 98% |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 80 | 82 | 98% |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 68 | 71 | 96% |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 68 | 71 | 96% |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 67 | 70 | 96% |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 61 | 64 | 95% |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 59 | 62 | 95% |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 52 | 55 | 95% |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 68 | 72 | 94% |
| Chad Williams, Ariz. | 50 | 53 | 94% |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 60 | 64 | 94% |
| Corey Davis, Tenn. | 63 | 68 | 93% |
| Mike Wallace, Phil. | 66 | 72 | 92% |
| Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 51 | 56 | 91% |
| Jarvis Landry, Clev. | 81 | 89 | 91% |
| Chris Hogan, N.E. | 68 | 75 | 91% |
—Ian Allan