Although the Bengals signed former New England wide receiver Brandon LaFell, receiver remains the biggest hole to fill due to free agency. When it comes down to it, there’s been numerous debates on who the Bengals should take. One fan can be a fan of Corey Coleman while the other argues Michael Thomas. When it comes to wide receivers, there’s more to it than just surface stats. AJ Green never had over 1,000 yards in college nor did he ever eclipse 10 touchdowns in any season. It comes down to game tape and what the player shows in their play. So instead of looking at advanced stats, we’re going to take a look at some more advanced stats for some of the premiere wide receivers in this class.
Note: Every stat here has been calculated by College Football Film Room (@CFBFilmroom)
Receptions and Dropped Passes
Josh Docston-79 total receptions, 5 dropped passes
Sterling Shepherd-86 receptions, 7 dropped passes
Michael Thomas-56 total receptions, 5 dropped passes
Corey Coleman-72 total receptions, 10 dropped passes
Will Fuller-62 total receptions, 10 dropped passes
Braxton Miller-26 total receptions, 2 dropped passes
Drop Rate
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Josh Docston: 6.0%
Sterling Shepherd: 7.5%
Michael Thomas: 8.2%
Corey Coleman: 12.2%
Will Fuller: 13.9%
Braxton Miller: 7.7%
Once looking at the total amount of receptions, Shepherd led these receivers in receptions and also had a very low drop percentage. Docston had a high reception total and the lowest drop rate. The most eye-popping stats are that Coleman and Fuller dropped 10 passes last year. However, the problem is that Coleman had more receptions than Fuller. Once looking at the drop rate, it looks like Fuller drops a pass nearly every 10 receptions, which certainly isn’t a good thing. But there’s more to look at when it comes to receptions.
Contested Catches Percentage
Josh Docston: 20 receptions on 37 contested targets. 54%
Laquon Treadwell: 13 receptions on 25 contested targets. 52%
Michael Thomas: 13 receptions on 25 contested targets. 52%
Sterling Shepherd: 14 receptions on 28 contested targets. 50%
Corey Coleman: 13 receptions on 28 contested targets. 46%
Will Fuller: 11 receptions on 28 contested targets. 39%
Braxton Miller: 2 receptions on 4 contested targets. 50%
One of the biggest thing the Bengals are going to want out of their next receiver is sure hands. Showing that they can go up and out muscle the opponent. Docston, Treadwell, Thomas, Shepherd, and Miller all have a 50% or higher catch rate when it comes to contested catches. Although, it’s a fairly small sample size for Miller. Coleman and Fuller are the only players that have below a 50% contested catch percentage. They are also the two players with the most drops. However, Fuller has below a 40% contested catch percentage.
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Targets Within 5 Yards Of The Line Of Scrimmage
Corey Coleman: 28 reception on 33 targets. 84.8% catch percentage. 9.2 yards per target. 9.0 YAC/Rec. 2 drops
Sterling Shepherd: 32 receptions on 38 targets. 82.1% catch percentage. 8.5 YAC/Rec. 2 drops
Braxton Miller: 7 receptions on 7 targets. 100% catch percentage. 6.6 yards per target. 6.9 YAC/Rec. 0 drops
Will Fuller: 19 receptions on 23 targets. 82.6% catch percentage. 6.1 yards per target. 8.0 YAC/Rec. 3 drops
Laquon Treadwell: 34 receptions on 42 targets. 81% catch percentage. 5.9 yards per target. 5.9 YAC/Rec. 4 drops
Michael Thomas: 14 receptions on 19 targets. 73.7% catch percentage. 5.7 yards per target. 6.1 YAC/Rec. 2 drops
Josh Docston: 18 receptions on 22 targets. 81.8% catch percentage. 5.3 yards per target. 4.7 YAC/Rec. 2 drops
Targets 10-19 Yards Down The Field
Josh Docston: 30 receptions on 36 targets. 83.3% catch percentage. 484 yards. 13.4 yards per target. 1 drop
Michael Thomas: 16 receptions on 21 targets. 76.2% catch percentage. 283 yards. 13.5 yards per target. 1 drop
Sterling Shepherd: 28 receptions on 37 targets. 75.7% catch percentage. 439 yards. 11.9 yards per target. 2 drops
Corey Coleman: 14 receptions on 25 targets. 56% catch percentage. 276 yards. 11.0 yards per target. 0 drops
Will Fuller: 16 receptions on 29 targets. 55.2% catch percentage. 322 yards. 11.1 yards per target. 2 drops
Laquon Treadwell: 18 receptions on 33 targets. 54.2% catch percentage. 315 yards. 9.5 yards per target. 4 drops
Targets 20+ Yards Down The Field
Sterling Shepherd: 11 receptions on 17 targets. 64.7 catch percentage. 423 yards. 24.9 yards per target. 0 drops
Will Fuller: 17 receptions on 28 targets. 60.7% catch percentage. 708 yards. 25.3 yards per target. 4 drops
Josh Docston: 17 receptions on 32 targets. 53.1% catch percentage. 552 yards. 17.3 yards per target. 0 drops
Michael Thomas: 7 receptions on 14 targets. 50% catch percentage. 178 yards. 12.7 yards per target. 1 drop
Laquon Treadwell: 10 receptions on 22 targets. 45.5% catch percentage. 327 yards. 14.9 yards per target. 1 drop
Corey Coleman: 14 receptions on 35 targets. 45% catch percentage. 592 yards. 16.9 yards per target. 4 drops
Corey Coleman has an outstanding YAC when it comes to catches within the 5 yard line with an eye-popping 9 YAC. One guy who stands out in these different route trees is Shepherd. Top three in all three categories and produced well with yardage. The surprising fact is Laquon Treadwell is in the bottom three in each category, along with leading these receivers in drops with 10-19 yards down the field. Docston’s stats show he’s a reliable receiver anywhere on the field. Fuller leads every receiver in 20+ yards down the field with yardage and yards per target. Again, his biggest gripe is having 4 drops in that area. Thomas showed that he can be a very good intermediate receiver, but when it comes to farther down the field his numbers are sub par.
Random Stats
– Shepherd forced 21 missed tackles after receptions
– Shepherd also had 37 receptions and 1 drop on passes that went 10+ yards
– Coleman caught 9 of 15 targets in the red zone
– Docston caught 9 of his 19 contested targets 15+ yards down the field
– Coleman had 14 catches on 23 targets at 15+ yards down the field with Seth Russell as his QB, but only 3 receptions on 11 targets from other QB’s
– Fuller caught 15 passes on 31 targets on 3rd down, a 48% catch percentage. However, he also had 4 dropped passes on 3rd down.
– Thomas caught 10 passes on 16 targets on 3rd down, a 63% catch percentage.
So after looking all these numbers, there’s a much clearer picture as to how these receivers play. Now who do the Bengals pick? That remains to be determined, but if the Bengals decide to draft any of these receivers, there’s always these advanced stats to better understand what they drafted.