2020 Pass Catchers | Syracusefan.com

2020 Pass Catchers

money3189

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Just wanted to hear people's opinion's on the Wr unit going into the 2020 season.

We know what Taj can do.. We need him to double the amount he's given us. I think he will do that because he will have more opportunities than ever. Im hoping Hendrix stays healthy. He's the X factor in all this. He just lacks game reps. Might take some time to get acclimated. I think Cam can be serviceable. I just wish he could be more twitchy. Queeley might provide us something. I think he can help in the slot. He played most of his snaps there in HS and did damage. Nykeim should give us stability in the slot. He has a lot of experience. Im wondering how the the staff will use Benson. He looks like a guy that can play on the outside and also be a physical blocker in the screen game. I heard bad perimeter blocking was one of the reasons why they threw less Wr screens last year. Thoughts?
 
Think Mital has a breakout year :)

In all seriousness, need Taj to put on some strength and get on the same page as TD. Hoping Cam Jordan can be our Custis, could hopefully block well at that size. The question w/ Hendrix is obviously can he stay healthy?
 
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Think Mital has a breakout year :)

In all seriousness, need Taj to put on some strength and get on the same page as TD. Hoping Cam Jordan can be our Custis, could hopefully block well at that size. Who is Hendrix can stay healthy?
lol Im still trying to figure out how people are using the laugh button on here. I would have used it for this post lol
 
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- Think Hendrix will get some meaningful playing time by the end of the year.
- Could see the offense rely on the RBs/TEs more in the passing game early on until someone steps up at WR
 
Just wanted to hear people's opinion's on the Wr unit going into the 2020 season.

We know what Taj can do.. We need him to double the amount he's given us. I think he will do that because he will have more opportunities than ever. Im hoping Hendrix stays healthy. He's the X factor in all this. He just lacks game reps. Might take some time to get acclimated. I think Cam can be serviceable. I just wish he could be more twitchy. Queeley might provide us something. I think he can help in the slot. He played most of his snaps there in HS and did damage. Nykeim should give us stability in the slot. He has a lot of experience. Im wondering how the the staff will use Benson. He looks like a guy that can play on the outside and also be a physical blocker in the screen game. I heard bad perimeter blocking was one of the reasons why they threw less Wr screens last year. Thoughts?
Assumptions: Barron starts off at WR, Carter and Pena start off at DB. I think Luke Benson might get a few snaps as a WR too but he is a TE and will be considered one for this exercise.

That leaves us with this group:

Taj Harris
Nykeim Johnson
Cameron Jordan
Sharod Johnson
Courtney Jackson
Russell Thompson-Bishop
Anthony Queeley
Ed Hendrix
Damien Alford
Justin Barron
Ja'Vontae Williams

Taj Harris

Taj is going to get a lot of balls thrown his way. Very disturbed he not only didn't gain weight from last year but is actually listed at 3 pounds less than 2019 (172 vs 175). No question he has a lot of talent.

Nykeim Johnson

Went from 41 catches and 13.8 ypc as a soph to 19 catches for 5.2 ypc as a junior. He had surgery and reportedly was not 100% during most, if not all of the season. His health is one of the keys for the season.

Sharod Johnson

Went from 7 catches and 13.9 ypc as a frosh to 1 catch for 0 yards as a soph. Not sure why. I don't think he was hurt. Anyway, the trend here is not a good one and with Nykeim and Courtney on the team, is there a significant role for another small guy? Probably not.

Courtney Jackson

From what I have seen, Courtney Jackson is a special playmaker and is going to fight his way into the rotation. He can catch, he can get open and he can run after the catch. I would not be surprised if he gets more catches than any WR on the team. That said, this is based mostly on his performance in a spring game and what I have seen of him in pre game warmups.

Cam Jordan

You can see a lot of similarities between Cam and Jamel Custis. Both are big, strong guys who can run. This offense needs a big, strong, physical guy who can block well on screens for other WRs can make tough catches in traffic. Cam is next in line for that role and I think he will step up and take it. Should get a lot of PT and make his share of catches, especially on 3rd downs and in the red zone.

I think one more WR will get some playing time. Another big guy who can block and make tough catches. Thompson-Bishop, Queeley, Hendrix, Alford and Barron all fit the bill. One of the first three is most likely because it is tough for a frosh to learn the assignments so early. I hope Hendrix is the guy because he has the mix of experience and talent to be really good this year. If he can't do it, it is really wide open and I could even see Alford or Barron step up and get some reps.

Of course, I still hope that Jawhar Jordan gets some reps at WR as well. I suspect the staff will find ways to get him some touches. They used a formation with two RBs a little. That might really work with Jordan this season. But I would like to see us try and get Jawhar the ball in space, on WR screens, WR reverses, stuff like that. Gotta find a way to leverage that weapon in this offense.
 
I think Alford and Williams are the two guys to watch coming in. Both have size and speed. One if not both will see playing time this year I am betting. Dino needs dubs this year and I think whomever shows they deserve PT will be on the field no matter what year you are and WR is one position that can roll with Frosh receivers.
 
Makes no sense to me why Courtney Jackson didn’t get in to use the minimum game reps while still preserving his redshirt season.

Aside from an injury he should’ve seen 4 games worth of playing time. Didn’t game reps use to help players get better?
 
Thx for the post, Money. It'll be exciting to see if Hendrix is the one who breaks out opposite Taj. Benson is another x-factor on the outside ... certainly has the speed and better size to block for screens. Seems like Jackson and Alford have really high ceilings.
 
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Im admittedly low on this unit though I think Taj has the highest ceiling of a wide receiver we’ve had in quite some time. He has to get out of his own way.

Think Cam and Sharod take starting roles when all’s said and done.
 
Makes no sense to me why Courtney Jackson didn’t get in to use the minimum game reps while still preserving his redshirt season.

Aside from an injury he should’ve seen 4 games worth of playing time. Didn’t game reps use to help players get better?

Riley and Nykeim were both taking up space in the slot, while simultaneously appearing on milk cartons last year, which prevented Courtney from seeing the field.

I'm hoping The Ed Hendrix Experience finally goes live this year (assuming there's a "this year").
Totally passes the eye test as an elite WR, and could be very impactful for us - IF he can stay healthy and get on the field.

And - I'm all aboard the Jawhar Jordan HYPE TRAIN - TOOT-TOOT!!!! :cool:
Really hope we throw him a lotta swing passes and screens and whatnot.
Dude should be absolutely lethal in space - so, let's put him there, early and often!
 
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I think youre going to see Benson out wide a good amount assuming there is a season. He and Hackett are two of our better and most proven skill position guys, they both need to be on the field. Taj will get targeted a bunch, hopeful that a youngster emerges. Javontae Williams or Alford.
 
In a straight line, sure
Im not so sure. Cam hasn't shown me any wiggle or stop and acceleration type plays. Maybe he as developed those skills? He showed some burst on those two catches vs Nc State but I need to see more.
 
Assumptions: Barron starts off at WR, Carter and Pena start off at DB. I think Luke Benson might get a few snaps as a WR too but he is a TE and will be considered one for this exercise.

That leaves us with this group:

Taj Harris
Nykeim Johnson
Cameron Jordan
Sharod Johnson
Courtney Jackson
Russell Thompson-Bishop
Anthony Queeley
Ed Hendrix
Damien Alford
Justin Barron
Ja'Vontae Williams

Taj Harris

Taj is going to get a lot of balls thrown his way. Very disturbed he not only didn't gain weight from last year but is actually listed at 3 pounds less than 2019 (172 vs 175). No question he has a lot of talent.

Nykeim Johnson

Went from 41 catches and 13.8 ypc as a soph to 19 catches for 5.2 ypc as a junior. He had surgery and reportedly was not 100% during most, if not all of the season. His health is one of the keys for the season.

Sharod Johnson

Went from 7 catches and 13.9 ypc as a frosh to 1 catch for 0 yards as a soph. Not sure why. I don't think he was hurt. Anyway, the trend here is not a good one and with Nykeim and Courtney on the team, is there a significant role for another small guy? Probably not.

Courtney Jackson

From what I have seen, Courtney Jackson is a special playmaker and is going to fight his way into the rotation. He can catch, he can get open and he can run after the catch. I would not be surprised if he gets more catches than any WR on the team. That said, this is based mostly on his performance in a spring game and what I have seen of him in pre game warmups.

Cam Jordan

You can see a lot of similarities between Cam and Jamel Custis. Both are big, strong guys who can run. This offense needs a big, strong, physical guy who can block well on screens for other WRs can make tough catches in traffic. Cam is next in line for that role and I think he will step up and take it. Should get a lot of PT and make his share of catches, especially on 3rd downs and in the red zone.

I think one more WR will get some playing time. Another big guy who can block and make tough catches. Thompson-Bishop, Queeley, Hendrix, Alford and Barron all fit the bill. One of the first three is most likely because it is tough for a frosh to learn the assignments so early. I hope Hendrix is the guy because he has the mix of experience and talent to be really good this year. If he can't do it, it is really wide open and I could even see Alford or Barron step up and get some reps.

Of course, I still hope that Jawhar Jordan gets some reps at WR as well. I suspect the staff will find ways to get him some touches. They used a formation with two RBs a little. That might really work with Jordan this season. But I would like to see us try and get Jawhar the ball in space, on WR screens, WR reverses, stuff like that. Gotta find a way to leverage that weapon in this offense.
Good write up. like that you see Jawhar being used in multiple ways. He absolutely needs too. Im not as high on Jackson. Not yet. I have to see it. Ive just heard that he has a lot of potential. I can only go off that so much. I cant put him up there until I see it.
 
I won't be surprised if Anthony Queeley is in the running. If memory serves, He and Taj had a good competition year 1(per Bailey).

A spring game would have been nice to see where AQ, Hendrix, etc. are at. Queeley had a great catch, last spring, and might be a gamer. Jawar was fantastic last spring game.
 
Queeley’s got skills from what I’ve seen but I don’t know if he’s put significant size on.
 
I think the te are going to be used a lot more with Gilbert calling the plays. It appears from current recruiting he likes tight ends that are big like wr (benson) and (Barron). The kid from germany may see the field. He’s 6’7 250 plus. I remember seeing his film and though he had great leaping ability. Use to play volley ball.

there needs to be a replacement in the slot. N. Johnson and Riley were not affective last year. We need to use the middle of the field more. Jackson may be an option or Williams seems to have high up side.

outside receiver is a concern. I like Harris but he needs to mature. I’m sure it was frustrating last year but throwing a tantrum on the sidelines does not help. I also agree needed to add some weight.

I like everyone else would love to see Henderson but time will tell.

jordan, s. Johnson and russle-Thompson all came in together and have been mia since arriving on campus. It would be nice to see at least one step up but I’m not to confident.

Alford with his size and talent has potential for playing time but he will have to show he can block.

queely is also a possibility. He seemed he would really progress from his freshman year and then did not see much last year.

A lot depends on TD. Will he have more time? Has he gotten better at reading D? Will he move the ball around and not focus on 1 option (Tristan Jackson)? Will he be able to get through his progressions? A lot of this will be a major determination on any of the wr play.
Time will tell.
 
After Taj it's such a question mark who the heck knows. Hendrix was going to crack the 2-deep as a true freshman. Therefore, IF he returns to form then I'd pencil him in as the other starter. If he doesnt then?...

The #2s will be a shootout. I think Alford and Williams have as much as chance to crack the 2-deep as anyone. Though I seem to recall Ja'Williams maybe playing on the inside.

In a 4 man set I'm going to go with Harris, Hendrix, CJackson and Nykiem.

Queeley has great hands but I've never seen him run. What can he do with the ball after the catch? If he can run and has the twitch then maybe he moves up to the 1 line.

I think that #2 group remains Cameron Jordan, Sharod Johnson, Russell Thompson-Bishop and Anthony Queeley.

I know spring ball was only 4 practices but would be interesting to know how Ja'Vontae Williams (and Hendrix) performed in that time. Any little morsel would be welcome.
 
lol Im still trying to figure out how people are using the laugh button on here. I would have used it for the post lol
If you change your style (bottom left of the page) from Syracuse Default to Pub Only and hover over Like, you should see several other choices. The hover works on a desktop or laptop. If you're on your phone, I think you can press Like without releasing and you should see the options.

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Assumptions: Barron starts off at WR, Carter and Pena start off at DB. I think Luke Benson might get a few snaps as a WR too but he is a TE and will be considered one for this exercise.

That leaves us with this group:

Taj Harris
Nykeim Johnson
Cameron Jordan
Sharod Johnson
Courtney Jackson
Russell Thompson-Bishop
Anthony Queeley
Ed Hendrix
Damien Alford
Justin Barron
Ja'Vontae Williams

Taj Harris

Taj is going to get a lot of balls thrown his way. Very disturbed he not only didn't gain weight from last year but is actually listed at 3 pounds less than 2019 (172 vs 175). No question he has a lot of talent.

Nykeim Johnson

Went from 41 catches and 13.8 ypc as a soph to 19 catches for 5.2 ypc as a junior. He had surgery and reportedly was not 100% during most, if not all of the season. His health is one of the keys for the season.

Sharod Johnson

Went from 7 catches and 13.9 ypc as a frosh to 1 catch for 0 yards as a soph. Not sure why. I don't think he was hurt. Anyway, the trend here is not a good one and with Nykeim and Courtney on the team, is there a significant role for another small guy? Probably not.

Courtney Jackson

From what I have seen, Courtney Jackson is a special playmaker and is going to fight his way into the rotation. He can catch, he can get open and he can run after the catch. I would not be surprised if he gets more catches than any WR on the team. That said, this is based mostly on his performance in a spring game and what I have seen of him in pre game warmups.

Cam Jordan

You can see a lot of similarities between Cam and Jamel Custis. Both are big, strong guys who can run. This offense needs a big, strong, physical guy who can block well on screens for other WRs can make tough catches in traffic. Cam is next in line for that role and I think he will step up and take it. Should get a lot of PT and make his share of catches, especially on 3rd downs and in the red zone.

I think one more WR will get some playing time. Another big guy who can block and make tough catches. Thompson-Bishop, Queeley, Hendrix, Alford and Barron all fit the bill. One of the first three is most likely because it is tough for a frosh to learn the assignments so early. I hope Hendrix is the guy because he has the mix of experience and talent to be really good this year. If he can't do it, it is really wide open and I could even see Alford or Barron step up and get some reps.

Of course, I still hope that Jawhar Jordan gets some reps at WR as well. I suspect the staff will find ways to get him some touches. They used a formation with two RBs a little. That might really work with Jordan this season. But I would like to see us try and get Jawhar the ball in space, on WR screens, WR reverses, stuff like that. Gotta find a way to leverage that weapon in this offense.
Jordan needs to be this teams Phillips with more speed and escapability.
 

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