NFC South Position Rankings: Do the Saints have the best receiving corps?
By Jake Rajala
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers stole the offseason by signing a six-time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady.
Brady has some serious new weapons and maybe the best weapons that he has ever had. Brady gets to connect with three-time Pro Bowler Mike Evans and recent first-time Pro Bowler, Chris Godwin, a lot this year.
Mike Evans had 1,157 receiving yards last year, but he averaged an insane 17.3 YPC to go with it, according to Pro Football Reference.
The 6-foot-5, 230 wide receiver who runs a 4.53 showed that he could stretch the field and haul in contested passes. Evans isn’t only elite, but his teammate managed to record better statistics last season.
Chris Godwin took the NFL by storm this year. He placed third in the whole league in receiving yards while showing that he can find the end zone with nine touchdown receptions. Godwin will look to settle in for a big payday in the near future.
It will be interesting to see how the Buccaneers go about paying two receivers that might deserve a 100 million dollar contract.
Let’s look at the last team left in the division and who placed as the number 1 receiving corps.
The Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have the most talented receiving corps in the NFC South. People may be surprised that the Offensive Player of the Year, Michael Thomas and newly acquired Sanders didn’t take first.
It may seem like the Buccaneers receiving duo with the best-combined stats last season should be here, but that’s also not the case.
The two Alabama produced wideouts, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley are very dangerous, and they proved it last season. Julio Jones did very well by recording the second-most receiving yards last season, he missed one game and played injured in a few more.
Calvin Ridley may be the most underrated wide receiver in the NFL.
Pro-Football Reference noted how the Falcons’ stud receiver missed four games, yet he amassed 866 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. Calvin Ridley would’ve surely made a run for Julio’s receiving yard stature if he stayed healthy.
Pro Football Focus also took note of these two players receiving ability. Pro Football Focus projects Julio Jones to lead the NFL in receiving yards next year and Calvin Ridley to top 1,000 receiving yards.
Yes, The Buccaneers duo had great stats last year. However, let’s not forget that their quarterback led the NFL in passing yards throwing to them, and that didn’t prove to help him. Yes, Michael Thomas won OPOY, but he had 144 receptions in one of the best offenses around the NFL, and Sanders isn’t as dangerous as Ridley.
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The next season’s outlook is that the injury-riddled Falcons receivers look to stay healthy and prove why they boast one of the best receiving corps around the league.