At what point do we pull the plug on A.J. Green? Joe Burrow keeps throwing for 300-plus yards, yet Green is averaging under 30 yards per week.
Green has been one of the game’s best receivers, but he’s 32 now and has been plagued by injuries for years. He’s not quite as dynamically athletic as he’s been in the past. He’s not getting open as easily, and he’s not coming down with as many contested balls.
It’s been ugly to watch. The Bengals have thrown him 33 balls, and only 14 of those have been completed (and for just 119 yards). That works out to 3.6 yards per pass attempt.
In the last 10 years, only 11 wide receivers with at least 30 targets have failed to average at least 4.0 per pass plays. (Only another 32 have failed to average at least 5.0).
Green is playing under the franchise tag. He’s making $18 million this year. You would be hard pressed to find a receiver who’s ever been paid more to do less.
For fantasy purposes, Tyler Boyd looks like the No. 1 receiver there. And I would be more inclined to cast my lot with their second-round pick, Tee Higgins, rather than Green. With Higgins, there’s more potential he might develop into something.
| AVERAGING UNDER 4 YARDS PER TARGET | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Yds/Tgt |
| 2017 | Breshad Perriman, BAL | 35 | 10 | 77 | 0 | 2.20 |
| 2015 | Rashad Greene, JAX | 35 | 19 | 93 | 2 | 2.66 |
| 2013 | Kenny Britt, TEN | 35 | 11 | 96 | 0 | 2.74 |
| 2017 | Kamar Aiken, IND | 44 | 15 | 133 | 0 | 3.02 |
| 2011 | Eddie Royal, DEN | 50 | 19 | 155 | 1 | 3.10 |
| 2015 | Brian Quick, STL | 32 | 10 | 102 | 0 | 3.19 |
| 2012 | Kevin Elliott, JAX | 31 | 10 | 108 | 0 | 3.48 |
| 2020 | A.J. Green, CIN | 33 | 14 | 119 | 0 | 3.61 |
| 2018 | John Ross, CIN | 58 | 21 | 210 | 7 | 3.62 |
| 2018 | Chad Williams, ARI | 46 | 17 | 171 | 1 | 3.72 |
| 2015 | Marlon Brown, BAL | 30 | 14 | 112 | 0 | 3.73 |
| 2012 | Early Doucet, ARI | 53 | 28 | 207 | 0 | 3.91 |
The search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com were used to compile this chart.
—Ian Allan