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Wide receivers have been on the move for AFC teams that feel like they could (have) been a Super Bowl contender in the lead-up to the NFL trade deadline. All of these deals are fairly recent and haven’t had much time to get going on the field, but it’s still worth examining what their prospects are to round out their offenses and give them the opportunities they need to become Super Bowl contenders.
Diontae Johnson is a perfect depth piece for the Ravens
Baltimore acquired Diontae Johnson from the Panthers this week in a trade of Day 3 draft picks (which really amounted to the Ravens getting Johnson for free). This was a smart move by a team that tends to make them, giving arguably the NFL’s best offense the most complete wide receiver space the Ravens have had in the Lamar Jackson era. With this spot strengthened, the Ravens offense is ready to chase that ever-elusive Super Bowl appearance with Jackson at the helm.
Johnson is probably unlikely to become a target monster. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman establish themselves as starters. Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely are established starters at tight end. There are already a handful of mouths to feed in this offense, so it’s not like Johnson is going to Baltimore to be a major production leader for this offense. It’s an ancillary advantage the Ravens got essentially for free.
Johnson comes in to improve some of the reps when Nelson Agholor was on the field, giving Baltimore a top-tier WR3 who is a more credible threat to the defense. The reason the Ravens were able to sign Johnson, who has been a productive receiver throughout his career, is because he was infected with a fatal case of Pantheritis. Panteritis has hurt many NFL players in North Carolina this year, but Johnson has been one of the biggest losers in this regard. He’s having the lowest season of his career, with expected points added per target, yards per route run, yards after catch per reception and reception percentage all at or second-lowest in Johnson’s career.
Still, there’s reason to believe this is just a blip on the radar and that Johnson will once again be a productive player now that he’s on the Ravens. Johnson had one of the most efficient years of his career last year with the Steelers under dire circumstances involving Kenny Pickett as their quarterback. If you can play well in that offensively, being a good player for the Ravens is within our reach.
There won’t be as many targets available here for Johnson, but as long as he can put together some productive moments and be a little more dynamic than Agholor, then the Ravens should have all the pieces they need (on offense). to advance deep into the playoffs.
DeAndre Hopkins could be the extra security blanket the Chiefs need
DeAndre Hopkins recently joined the Chiefs after the Titans decided to look to the future and make him available in a trade, allowing Kansas City to get a desperately needed upgrade.
The Chiefs have needed some energy for most of the year (a year in which they won the Super Bowl) and are hoping that Hopkins can at least be a stabilizing force to help them overcome some of the obstacles they’ve had. people concerned about this team.
There are two areas where the Chiefs have performed poorly on offense this season: turnovers and in the red zone. According to TruMedia, the Chiefs rank 23rd in red zone touchdown percentage (51.9%) and 29th in percentage of drives that end in a turnover (15.7%). Other than that, they still have one of the best offenses in the league, being able to rely on their running game and the simple fact of having Patrick Mahomes under center. So far, Hopkins has only played one game for the Chiefs, but it appears his presence will be beneficial for the Chiefs in the future.
Hopkins only ran 14 routes against the Raiders, recording two receptions for 29 yards on three targets. That’s poor production in a vacuum, but it actually shows that the Chiefs and Mahomes will target him and make him a valuable member of the offense going forward. Hopkins was one of two Chiefs players (along with Travis Kelce) to record more than two yards per route and ranked third in targets per route of all Chiefs players who ran at least 10 routes in their win over the Raiders. He also ranked first in EPA per target among those receivers, but again, he only had three targets.
That’s a very small sample size against a truly terrible defense, but that sample size shows that Hopkins’ presence is something the offense could have greatly missed. Even at age 32, he’ll likely still be a big upgrade for this and help stabilize some of the margins they’ve been struggling on. He probably won’t be the ace, alpha No. 1 receiver he was in the past, but he doesn’t need to be to stabilize an offense that has the best quarterback in the league.
In other words, the best team in the NFL got better. They still won’t be the most explosive group in the world, but they don’t need to be to achieve their goal. Good luck AFC!
Amari Cooper can still pay dividends to the Bills
Amari Cooper has been with the Bills for two weeks and has had mixed results in those two games, although that’s actually not a bad thing for him or the Bills.
In his first game after being released from the Browns depth, Cooper scored one touchdown and 66 yards on five targets in a resounding victory over the Titans. This week against the Seahawks, he only had one catch for three yards, but the Bills didn’t need him to crush Seattle on the road. This is the perfect receiver for the Bills to add right now: a veteran receiver who can get his own when needed, but isn’t essential to the game plan.
Cooper suffered the same affliction as the rest of the Browns receivers before being traded: playing with the worst quarterback in the league. Cooper averaged 4.7 yards per target playing with Deshaun Watson, a number he has already increased to 9.9 in Buffalo. In a much smaller sample size, Cooper has shown that his ability from last year hasn’t really diminished, he’s simply in a better situation playing with one of the best passers in the league in Josh Allen.
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This trade has given the Bills a reliable target to have on the outside while younger receivers like Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman get up to speed for an offense and team that has Super Bowl aspirations this year. It’s not the most complicated idea in the world, it’s simply a stabilizing veteran presence who gets a chance to shine when the football gets tougher and experience against the best players in the league matters in the postseason.
It’s still unclear if this Bills team has what it takes to win a title considering they were demolished by the Ravens earlier this season. Still, this is a useful addition for them and they will need to lean on Cooper at certain points. This is an incredibly well-rounded offense that is being led by a quarterback who is playing MVP-caliber football this season. Let’s see where this is in January, because that’s when this trade will really be measured.
The Davante Adams trade has been good, but it’s not enough
Unless the Jets can make it 10 straight wins, their season is incredibly over, but it’s not because they didn’t try! They’ve invested an immense amount of resources into this roster, and one of their latest acquisitions was former Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, who obviously has a long relationship with Aaron Rodgers dating back to their time together in Green Bay. For whatever reason, this has been a low-impact move up to this point, with Rodgers and Adams simply being right for each other and ultimately just not giving the Jets the wins they need to save their season.
Over the past two weeks, the Rodgers-Adams connection has produced lackluster results. Among the seven Jets players who have run at least 10 routes during Weeks 7 and 8, Adams ranks second in targets (15) behind Garrett Wilson and is tied for first in routes run (68). Despite that amount of action, the actual results have not been as good. Adams ranks fourth in yards per carry (1.24), last in expected points added per carry (-0.09), sixth in first downs and touchdowns per target (26.7%), and fifth in target success rate (40%).
This is a multifaceted issue. Obviously, Rodgers is past his prime at age 40 following an Achilles injury, and Adams is not a dominant No. 1 wide receiver at this point in his career. Still, the goal of this trade for the Jets was to get them up and running with a superior QB-WR combination to help turn their season around. They were 2-4 when the trade was made. Now, they’re 2-6 with an incredibly expensive season on the brink.
There’s still a chance this individual connection will change and they’ll have some good moments late in their careers, but as far as actual wins go, this season is already over. Maybe they’ll get one more chance in 2025 if Rodgers decides to come back and play another season, but for now, it’s too little, too late.
At least they will always have Adams tackle on Beanie Bishop’s interception from their game against the Steelers. Nobody can take that away from them.