Wide Receiver Optimism

Written By: Jon Wekerle


With another draft behind us, all of the excitement surrounding the Rams is focused on their new players.   I wanted to take a minute to add some excitement to players that were already on the roster—two players in particular—at a position that I view as the shallowest on the roster: wide receiver.  Rams fans everywhere, myself included, are upset that the team did not get Justin Blackmon or Michael Floyd.  I think Rams fans need to focus on the great possibility that we have two good young receivers already on the roster. 

If you have read my past posts, then you might know that, although I live in Denver, I am a Rams fan through and through.  I wanted to use my Broncos’ experience to provide two great examples that will give Rams nation reason to be optimistic for next season.  Those examples are Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas.  I compared these two receivers, who made great strides in their second seasons, to two Rams receivers who are entering their second seasons: Austin Pettis and Greg Salas.  Here is some background on these guys.

Demaryius Thomas – 6 foot 3 – 235 lbs – 22nd pick 2010 – Georgia Tech – 24 years old

-          First-Team All-ACC in 2009, but played in a predominately run-oriented offense in college.  He impressed at the combine and raised his draft stock dramatically.

Stats in 2010 – 10 games played – 22 receptions – 283 yards – 2 TDs

Stats in 2011 – 11 games played – 32 receptions – 551 yards – 4 TDs



This is an actual picture of Eric Decker



Eric Decker – 6 foot 3 – 218 lbs – 3rd round pick – Minnesota – 25 years old

-          In 2009, he finished 6th in the nation in receiving despite playing through injuries for most of his college career.

Stats in 2010 – 14 games played – 6 receptions – 106 yards – 1 TD

Stats in 2011 – 16 games played – 44 receptions – 612 yards – 8 TDs

Austin Pettis – 6 foot 3 – 203 lbs – 3rd round pick – Boise State – 23 years old

-          Left Boise as the school’s all-time leader in receptions and touchdowns, and ran the fastest shuttle at the combine in 2011.  His stock also rose when he posted eye-popping numbers at the combine.

Stats in 2011 – 12 games played – 27 receptions – 256 yards – 0 TDs

Greg Salas – 6 foot 1 – 207 lbs – 4th round pick – Hawaii – 23 years old.

-          First-Team WAC and led a receiving core that finished the year 3rd in FBS in receiving yards.  In 2010, he had the most yards by a receiver and beat out 2nd place candidate Justin Blackmon. 

Stats in 2011 – 6 games played – 27 receptions – 264 yards – 0 TDs

                When researching these guys, I was amazed by their similarities.  Thomas, Decker, and Pettis are the same height, and all four receivers have similar builds.  Thomas’ and Pettis’ draft stocks were significantly  influenced by the combine.  All four players played for middle/upper class college programs.  All of them had very lack luster rookie seasons.  Further, all of them had to deal with bad quarterback situations.  Thomas and Decker had Tebow-mania and a run-first offense, while Salas and Pettis were dealing with Sam Bradford’s injuries and poor offensive line play.  All four receivers missed games with injuries in their rookie campaign. 

                Decker and Thomas are much more nationally known because of Tim Tebow.  I am not surprised because it seemed like one of the seven completions Tebow had a game was a great catch from Thomas and plastered all over Sportscenter.  I watched many Broncos games last year, and I am amazed, after seeing some of those catches, that Thomas had such a crappy year statistically.

                I don’t think ESPN knew the Rams had a team last year, so it doesn’t surprise me that no one has heard of Salas or Pettis outside of St. Louis.  Decker and Thomas also made incredible strides in their 2nd year, which helped put them on the map.

                Thomas looked awful in 2010.  He frequently was jammed at the line and looked lost at times.  In his second year, he turned into a much better all-around receiver.  Decker, in his rookie campaign, was non-existent.  Some of the local media mentioned him as the worst route runner in the NFL in his rookie season.  I thought he would be cut going into this season, but he turned it around and became a fantastic slot guy after just one year.

                The other connection between these four wideouts is who was in the draft room when these guys were drafted.  Josh McDaniels is known in many circles to be a good offensive coordinator and a really bad head coach.  This man was hated in Denver while he was here, both because he traded Jay Cutler in favor of an unproven Kyle Orton and because he traded up to get Tim Tebow.  For some reason, his sideline antics were what irked the Denver fan base the most—his obscene facial expressions and Pauly-D-like fist pumping.  All that aside, he has a decent track-record in drafting players.  He drafted a team that beat the Steelers in the playoffs last season.  Beyond Thomas, Decker, and Tebow, McDaniels drafted a couple of starting offensive lineman—a unit that helped the team lead the league in rushing.  He also drafted Robert Ayers, an impact player at the line backer position.

                He has missed a couple of times in the draft, but not at wideout.  In fact, his track record for finding good, overlooked receivers goes back to his New England days when he picked up Wes Welker as an undrafted free agent.  McDaniels was not the most liked guy in St. Louis or Denver, but you have to feel pretty good that he had a hand in drafting Pettis and Salas. 

Are Pettis and Salas going to have the same level of improvement after one season as Thomas and Decker?  Maybe.  Salas and Pettis are very young.  Both were 22 years old last year.  I think people forget about Salas and Pettis when Rams fans or national media describe the Rams receiving corp.  With the additions of Brian Quick and Chris Givens in the draft, we should have the youngest group of receivers in the league.  All four of these guys have extreme athleticism, and I think people are neglecting to recognize this about our WR core.  All of these guys are, or will be, signed to multiyear deals, so we will have them for a good amount of time.  Do I think we have a great receiving core?  No, but I think there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the guys that are coming to camp.  I’m expecting a great deal of improvement from our 2nd year guys.