Weapons for a quarterback are invaluable. The receivers around a QB, even a future Hall of Fame-bound one, can ultimately determine his success.
For example, some believed Tom Brady was washed up after his 2019 season in New England. Brady completed 60.8 of his throws for 4,057 yards with 24 touchdowns. That was a down year for him.
But Brady had below average skill players surrounding him. Julian Edelman produced 1,117 yards and six touchdowns, but Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers and Josh Gordon combined for 1,043 yards.
Then in 2020, Brady went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who loaded their roster with playmakers like Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski. Brady finished that season with 40 touchdowns and another Super Bowl ring.
Today we turn our attention to the receiving weapons at wideout and tight end in Part 3 of the Daily News’ series on AFC East position group rankings.
These rankings are based on production from last year and their immediate outlook for the 2021 season.
1) Bills
The Bills have done an excellent job of surrounding Josh Allen with weapons. Allen made strides after a rough rookie year when he threw for 3,089 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions in year two.
But in 2020 he exploded for an MVP-caliber season.
A big reason why was because of the addition of Stefon Diggs, who had 127 receptions for 1,535 yards (led the NFL in both) with eight touchdowns and was first team All-Pro. Diggs was the best receiver in the AFC East by a wide margin last season and there’s no reason to expect him to slow down.
The Bills will also have Cole Beasley back this season as long as his COVID-19 vaccine protest doesn’t hold up. Beasley was second team All-Pro last season after finishing with 82 catches for 967 yards with four touchdowns in the slot.
And the weapons don’t stop there.
The Bills added Emmanuel Sanders in the offseason after he was cut by the Saints. Sanders had 726 yards with five touchdowns in New Orleans in 2020.
There’s also Gabriel Davis who proved to be a threat down the field last season. Davis averaged 17.1 yards per catch (fourth in the NFL) and finished with 599 yards and seven touchdowns. Isaiah McKenzie rounds out their receiver corps. He had five touchdowns last year.
The Bills’ tight end group isn’t that strong with Dawson Knox and Jacob Hollister, but their offense is still plenty lethal.
2) Dolphins
The Dolphins weapons last season weren’t their issue. Their depth was.
Once Devante Parker, Mike Gesicki and Preston Williams all went down with injuries, Tua Tagovailoa was left throwing to practice squad players. In week 15 against the Patriots, the main receivers were Mack Hollins, Lynn Bowden and Isaiah Ford. Most fans outside of Miami didn’t know who those three were.
During the offseason, the Dolphins upgraded their weapons by signing Will Fuller and drafting Jaylen Waddle with the No. 8 pick. Now they have the fastest receiver corps in the division when you include Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant.
The Dolphins have two receivers, Parker and Fuller, who are capable of going for a thousand yards this season. Parker had 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019. Fuller finished with 879 yards for eight touchdowns in 11 games. He was on pace to have a 1,200-yard season in 2020 before being suspended for PEDs. But he was rated the ninth best receiver in 2020 by Pro Football Focus.
Gesicki will be, arguably, the best tight end in the division this season, after posting 703 yards with six touchdowns last season. PFF also rated him eighth at his position.
Waddle was considered one of the most explosive prospects in the draft who can take a short route and burn defenders to the end zone.
Tagovailoa’s main targets will be Parker, Fuller, Gesicki, Waddle, and Preston Williams. That’s a significant improvement. It’s on the second year quarterback to turn up.
3) Jets
The Jets receiver corps has revamped from last year. The Jets have Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Jamison Crowder, Denzel Mims, Braxton Berrios and Keelan Cole.
Davis, then with the Titans, was rated the 10th best receiver in 2020 (85.3) by PFF. He finished that season with 65 receptions for 984 yards and five touchdowns. The Titans were a heavy run offense that featured Derrick Henry. So, Davis made the most out of his targets and was only targeted 92 times, which ranked 51st in the NFL.
The Jets will look for Davis to become a No.1 wideout. Gang Green plans to incorporate a plethora of play-action in their offense in 2021, which will help Davis play to his strengths. He thrived in those situations last year. He had 562 yards off play-action, fourth-most in the NFL. The receivers who had more were Diggs, Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill and the Falcons’ Calvin Ridley.
The buzz in spring, however, has been Moore. He’s been showcasing his playmaking ability that made the Jets draft him in the second round. So far, he’s been everything as advertised.
Crowder has been the Jets best offensive player over the past two seasons. Last year, he led the Jets in receiving yards (699) and touchdowns (6) in 12 games.
And Cole, who was solid with the Jaguars from 2017-2020, compiling 2,242 yards with 12 touchdowns, has flashed that brilliance throughout the spring.
So the Jets are in good hands with this group.
4) Patriots
Last year’s team in New England was one of the worst in the NFL.
The Patriots trotted out a corps that included Meyers, Damiere Byrd, N’Keal Harry, Ryan Izzo and a washed up Edelman. It was a struggle for whoever was at quarterback because it’s impossible for a passing offense to succeed with those options.
The Patriots weren’t oblivious to their issue and added Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. That should improve the Patriots passing attack in the coming season.
Henry and Smith are expected to be the best tight end duo in the league.
Smith had 41 catches for 448 yards with eight touchdowns and Henry totaled 60 receptions for 613 yards with four touchdowns.
Agholor had a career year with 896 yards and eight touchdowns with the Las Vegas Raiders. He’ll be the Patriots No.1 receiver.
But, there isn’t much to be overly excited about. The group, at least on paper, improved from bad to average.
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PREVIOUS POSITION GROUP BREAKDOWNS
1. Quarterbacks
