Jarvis Landry signing with the Saints was bigger news from a fantasy perspective, but I'm intrigued by the Raiders trading Bryan Edwards to another NFC South team, Atlanta. There was a time when Edwards looked like a nice sleeper with Las Vegas, and maybe that can happen in Atlanta.
The new Atlanta quarterback, Marcus Mariota, will recognize Edwards around the locker room; that's a plus. And the Falcons, with Calvin Ridley suspended and Russell Gage departed, have a desperate need for functional wide receivers. They drafted Drake London in the first round, but there might be a learning curve for the rookie, plus he's just one guy. The depth chart is wide open after that.
A couple of preseasons ago, it was reasonable to wonder if third-rounder Edwards would turn out better than first-rounder Henry Ruggs. That was before Ruggs' legal problems which now make that speculation a moot point. But Edwards looked like he was going to be a nice selection, and he's shown some good things with his opportunities the first two seasons.
Most notably, Edwards in his first two seasons has shown some big-play potential. He's averaged 17 yards per catch, and 10.3 yards per target. Among all wide receivers to catch at least 40 passes the last two years, that's a top-10 figure. Data from pro-football-reference.com was used in compiling this table.
| WR YARDS PER TARGET, 2020-2021 (40-PLUS CATCHES) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/Tgt |
| Henry Ruggs III | 79 | 50 | 921 | 18.4 | 4 | 11.7 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 78 | 48 | 901 | 18.8 | 5 | 11.6 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | 128 | 81 | 1455 | 18.0 | 13 | 11.4 |
| Will Fuller | 83 | 57 | 905 | 15.9 | 8 | 10.9 |
| Deebo Samuel | 165 | 110 | 1796 | 16.3 | 7 | 10.9 |
| Julio Jones | 116 | 82 | 1205 | 14.7 | 4 | 10.4 |
| Justin Jefferson | 292 | 196 | 3016 | 15.4 | 17 | 10.3 |
| Bryan Edwards | 74 | 45 | 764 | 17.0 | 4 | 10.3 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 144 | 104 | 1467 | 14.1 | 7 | 10.2 |
| Quez Watkins | 75 | 50 | 753 | 15.1 | 2 | 10.0 |
| Corey Davis | 151 | 99 | 1476 | 14.9 | 9 | 9.8 |
| Cam Sims | 71 | 47 | 688 | 14.6 | 3 | 9.7 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 118 | 59 | 1120 | 19.0 | 9 | 9.5 |
| Byron Pringle | 77 | 55 | 728 | 13.2 | 6 | 9.5 |
| Randall Cobb | 87 | 66 | 816 | 12.4 | 8 | 9.4 |
| Nelson Agholor | 146 | 85 | 1369 | 16.1 | 11 | 9.4 |
| Tyler Lockett | 239 | 173 | 2229 | 12.9 | 18 | 9.3 |
| Jalen Guyton | 103 | 59 | 959 | 16.3 | 6 | 9.3 |
| Cooper Kupp | 315 | 237 | 2921 | 12.3 | 19 | 9.3 |
| A.J. Brown | 211 | 133 | 1944 | 14.6 | 16 | 9.2 |
| Chris Godwin | 211 | 163 | 1943 | 11.9 | 12 | 9.2 |
| Davante Adams | 318 | 238 | 2927 | 12.3 | 29 | 9.2 |
| Gabriel Davis | 125 | 70 | 1148 | 16.4 | 13 | 9.2 |
| Tee Higgins | 218 | 141 | 1999 | 14.2 | 12 | 9.2 |
| Mike Evans | 223 | 144 | 2041 | 14.2 | 27 | 9.2 |
| Allen Lazard | 106 | 73 | 964 | 13.2 | 11 | 9.1 |
| Deonte Harris | 84 | 56 | 756 | 13.5 | 4 | 9.0 |
| Tim Patrick | 164 | 104 | 1476 | 14.2 | 11 | 9.0 |
| Mike Williams | 214 | 124 | 1902 | 15.3 | 14 | 8.9 |
| Cedrick Wilson Jr. | 89 | 62 | 791 | 12.8 | 8 | 8.9 |
| Kalif Raymond | 86 | 57 | 763 | 13.4 | 4 | 8.9 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 224 | 157 | 1979 | 12.6 | 14 | 8.8 |
| Rashard Higgins | 99 | 61 | 874 | 14.3 | 5 | 8.8 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 231 | 153 | 2037 | 13.3 | 11 | 8.8 |
| Christian Kirk | 182 | 125 | 1603 | 12.8 | 11 | 8.8 |
| DeVonta Smith | 104 | 64 | 916 | 14.3 | 5 | 8.8 |
| D.K. Metcalf | 258 | 158 | 2270 | 14.4 | 22 | 8.8 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 154 | 103 | 1352 | 13.1 | 9 | 8.8 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 180 | 116 | 1574 | 13.6 | 10 | 8.7 |
| Brandin Cooks | 253 | 171 | 2187 | 12.8 | 12 | 8.6 |
| Mecole Hardman | 145 | 100 | 1253 | 12.5 | 6 | 8.6 |
| Breshad Perriman | 78 | 41 | 672 | 16.4 | 4 | 8.6 |
| Tyreek Hill | 294 | 198 | 2515 | 12.7 | 24 | 8.6 |
| Van Jefferson | 120 | 69 | 1022 | 14.8 | 7 | 8.5 |
| Calvin Ridley | 195 | 121 | 1655 | 13.7 | 11 | 8.5 |
| Amari Cooper | 234 | 160 | 1979 | 12.4 | 13 | 8.5 |
Sharp eyes will notice Ruggs at the top of this chart; getting receivers downfield is clearly something the Las Vegas offense has wanted to do. Nelson Agholor also shows up on the list; he averaged nearly 11 yards per target with the Raiders in 2020. But there's some potential for Edwards, in a new offense without much at wide receiver.
Edwards' last games with the Raiders were among his better ones. He led the team with 4 receptions for 63 yards in the Week 18 win over the Chargers, putting the Raiders into the postseason, then came back to catch 3 for 41 in ensuing loss to Cincinnati. But he was going to be pushed down the depth chart following the acquisition of Davante Adams. Now he's got a better chance to emerge as one of the top 2 wideouts. There are worse last-round sleepers.
A brief comment on the Saints' signing of Jarvis Landry. The initial reaction was that it cooled the outlook for first-rounder Chris Olave, giving the Saints a couple of proven, veteran wideouts ahead of the rookie. But the immediate second thought was that since Landry is a slot receiver, like Michael Thomas, it's a concern for Thomas' recovery from the world's longest ankle injury.
Just last week, Head Coach Dennis Allen said "There's still a few hurdles that [Thomas] has got to climb, with any of our guys that had any injuries they're trying to get back from." Thomas has appeared in seven games the last two seasons; none last year. He's still recovering. The fact that he's still facing hurdles 18 months after last appearing in a game is not encouraging. I don't think I'd touch him in a draft until get something more positive than what we've seen so far, and the Landry signing just strengthens that worry.
--Andy Richardson