New Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant might be one of my favorite players in the 2014 draft class as it relates to upside. I’m currently going through and watching every pass thrown his way in 2013 and while he really is raw, he’s super talented and should only get better.
Before I get to a clip I want you to watch, here are some numbers from Bryant.
First, of the 61 passes that he caught at Clemson, 23 (37.7%) of them went for 25 or more yards. 41 (67.2%) of those 61 receptions went for 15 yards or more.
Bryant was targeted a total of 65 times in 2013 and his 42 catches resulted in a 64.6% completion percentage. That’s not bad at all when you consider the depth of the routes run by Bryant in addition to the poor quarterback play he had to endure.
Of the 23 passes that were not caught by Bryant in 2013, there were a few drops and we will get to those in a future post. Several of the rest were squarely on the shoulders of Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd. I’m convinced Bryant would have easily been a 1,000-yard receiver in 2013 if only Boyd had played better.
To best illustrate the poor quarterback play, along with a one of Bryant’s drops, watch the game below against North Carolina State. Of the 23 passes not caught by Bryant in 2013, six occurred in this game
I have listed the times for you so you can go right to each pass intended for Bryant.
1:58 – A drop? This certainly is a high throw from Boyd, but Bryant does get a hand on it. You be the judge.
3:07 – Bryant has two defenders beat and Boyd overthrows him. That would have went for 96 yards and a touchdown. Look at Bryant’s separation grow with the ball in the air.
5:32 – This pass from Boyd was intended for two receivers.
6:10 – Way too high for Bryant on the sideline.
6:45 – Back judge has a better shot at catching this ball.
7:00 – A true drop, or in this case, a double catch along the sideline that was ruled incomplete. He has to hands catch this.
So, two drops or one? You be the judge, but you can clearly see that Boyd didn’t help Bryant out on a few other throws.
In my next post on Bryant, we will look at all of his drops from 2013.
