Everyone looks fast, explosive, and impossible to cover in July and August, so these preseason reports need to be taken with a grain of salt. But ignoring them can also be risky, leaving you to miss out on a breakout performer. So some attention must be paid to WanDale Robinson.
The Giants' second-round pick has been drawing raves thus far, lining up in the slot and the backfield and making plays -- the "star of training camp," according to NBC Sports' Peter King. It seems like the Giants have a lot of potential offensive stars, in Robinson, Kadarius Toney, Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay, and more realistically, some of these guys will disappoint. But better to hear nice things than nothing at all.
My concern with Robinson is that he's a smaller guy -- 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds according to the team website, and 7 pounds lighter than that at the combine. Just last year I got all excited about Rondale Moore in Arizona, and he had a couple of good games but got mostly lost in the shuffle for the Cardinals. Size isn't everything, but sometimes it can be hard for smaller players to carve out big roles.
Using the search tools at pro-football-reference, I took a look at how often smaller wideouts put up significant numbers. If I went down to Moore or Robinson height, the number of players were pretty thin, so I picked 5-foot-10 or under, and 185 pounds. I went with 800 total scrimmage yards (both receiving and running).
That gave me a list of just over 60 players since 2000, so about 3 per season, on average. Some of these guys are a little taller than Robinson, but I think it gives a sense of the ...er... ceiling for these smaller wideouts. Numbers appear to be trending up, when you consider that seven of those seasons came in 2021 (in bold).
TOP YARDAGE SEASONS FROM SMALLER WIDEOUTS, 2000-PRESENT | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Year | Rec | Run | Tot | TD |
Antonio Brown | 2015 | 1834 | 28 | 1862 | 10 |
Antonio Brown | 2014 | 1698 | 13 | 1711 | 13 |
Tyreek Hill | 2018 | 1479 | 151 | 1630 | 12 |
Wes Welker | 2011 | 1569 | 30 | 1599 | 9 |
Antonio Brown | 2017 | 1533 | 0 | 1533 | 9 |
Antonio Brown | 2013 | 1499 | 4 | 1503 | 8 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2016 | 1448 | 0 | 1448 | 6 |
Tyreek Hill | 2020 | 1276 | 123 | 1399 | 15 |
Wes Welker | 2009 | 1348 | 36 | 1384 | 4 |
Wes Welker | 2012 | 1354 | 20 | 1374 | 6 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2014 | 1345 | 20 | 1365 | 7 |
Tyreek Hill | 2021 | 1239 | 96 | 1335 | 9 |
DeSean Jackson | 2013 | 1332 | 2 | 1334 | 9 |
Antonio Brown | 2018 | 1297 | 0 | 1297 | 15 |
DeSean Jackson | 2009 | 1156 | 137 | 1293 | 9 |
Antonio Brown | 2016 | 1284 | 9 | 1293 | 12 |
Brandin Cooks | 2018 | 1204 | 68 | 1272 | 5 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2018 | 1270 | 0 | 1270 | 6 |
Tyreek Hill | 2017 | 1183 | 59 | 1242 | 7 |
Diontae Johnson | 2021 | 1161 | 53 | 1214 | 8 |
Wes Welker | 2007 | 1175 | 34 | 1209 | 8 |
Brandin Cooks | 2016 | 1173 | 30 | 1203 | 8 |
Wes Welker | 2008 | 1165 | 26 | 1191 | 3 |
Tyler Lockett | 2021 | 1175 | 9 | 1184 | 8 |
DeSean Jackson | 2014 | 1169 | 7 | 1176 | 6 |
DeSean Jackson | 2010 | 1056 | 104 | 1160 | 6 |
Brandin Cooks | 2015 | 1138 | 18 | 1156 | 9 |
Brandin Cooks | 2020 | 1150 | 0 | 1150 | 6 |
Antonio Brown | 2011 | 1108 | 41 | 1149 | 2 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2015 | 1124 | 0 | 1124 | 5 |
Brandin Cooks | 2017 | 1082 | 40 | 1122 | 7 |
Eddie Royal | 2008 | 980 | 109 | 1089 | 5 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2013 | 1083 | 6 | 1089 | 5 |
Kendall Wright | 2013 | 1079 | 0 | 1079 | 2 |
Brandin Cooks | 2021 | 1037 | 21 | 1058 | 6 |
Tyler Lockett | 2020 | 1054 | 0 | 1054 | 10 |
Hunter Renfrow | 2021 | 1038 | 3 | 1041 | 9 |
Tyler Lockett | 2018 | 965 | 69 | 1034 | 10 |
Jaylen Waddle | 2021 | 1015 | 3 | 1018 | 6 |
Marquise Brown | 2021 | 1008 | 5 | 1013 | 6 |
DeSean Jackson | 2008 | 912 | 96 | 1008 | 2 |
Marquise Goodwin | 2017 | 962 | 44 | 1006 | 2 |
DeSean Jackson | 2016 | 1005 | 0 | 1005 | 4 |
DeSean Jackson | 2011 | 961 | 41 | 1002 | 4 |
Travis Benjamin | 2015 | 966 | 12 | 978 | 5 |
Cole Beasley | 2020 | 967 | 0 | 967 | 4 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2017 | 966 | 0 | 966 | 4 |
Shaun McDonald | 2007 | 943 | 2 | 945 | 6 |
Diontae Johnson | 2020 | 923 | 15 | 938 | 7 |
Tavon Austin | 2015 | 473 | 434 | 907 | 5 |
T.Y. Hilton | 2012 | 861 | 29 | 890 | 7 |
Tyreek Hill | 2019 | 860 | 23 | 883 | 7 |
Tyreek Hill | 2016 | 593 | 267 | 860 | 6 |
Wes Welker | 2010 | 848 | 0 | 848 | 7 |
Dexter McCluster | 2011 | 328 | 516 | 844 | 1 |
Cole Beasley | 2016 | 833 | 7 | 840 | 5 |
Andrew Hawkins | 2014 | 824 | 15 | 839 | 2 |
Jamison Crowder | 2019 | 833 | 4 | 837 | 6 |
Jamison Crowder | 2017 | 789 | 34 | 823 | 3 |
Antonio Brown | 2012 | 787 | 24 | 811 | 5 |
DeSean Jackson | 2018 | 774 | 29 | 803 | 4 |
It's difficult to wade into the Giants' passing game. Daniel Jones is very much a hit-or-miss type of quarterback this season, and there are a lot of potential targets. Hard to imagine Robinson crowding out all the veterans ahead of him for a regular, consistent role.
But it happens. I don't know that I'll have him on any of my teams this year, but somebody I'd be interested in in dynasty. Some chance he'll be a top-2 or 3 wideout here a year or two from now.
--Andy Richardson