Expectations for Maclin in 2010
Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin had 56 catches for 773 yards as a rookie. How do those numbers compare to other receivers during the last five seasons? And what's in store for Maclin in 2010?
Expectations for Maclin in 2010
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Jeremy Maclin had a standout rookie season, catching 56 balls for 773 yards.
But what's in store for him in 2010?
In order to better form an educated guess at how Maclin might perform next season, I took a look at how his rookie numbers compared to other first-year receivers since 2004.
I focused on receiving yards as the criteria for selecting this group, but also included their other stats. The following chart shows the 10 receivers whose yardage totals during their rookie seasons most resembled Maclin's total of 773:
| Player | Catches | Yds. | TDs | YPC | Rookie Year |
| Jeremy Maclin | 56 | 773 | 4 | 13.8 | 2009 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 58 | 780 | 8 | 13.4 | 2004 |
| Calvin Johnson | 48 | 756 | 4 | 15.8 | 2007 |
| Keary Colbert | 47 | 754 | 5 | 16.0 | 2004 |
| Roy Williams | 54 | 817 | 8 | 15.1 | 2004 |
| Santonio Holmes | 49 | 824 | 2 | 16.8 | 2006 |
| Lee Evans | 48 | 843 | 9 | 17.6 | 2004 |
| Donnie Avery | 53 | 674 | 3 | 12.7 | 2008 |
| DeSean Jackson | 62 | 912 | 2 | 14.7 | 2008 |
| Greg Jennings | 45 | 632 | 3 | 14.0 | 2006 |
| Anthony Gonzalez | 37 | 576 | 3 | 15.6 | 2007 |
Not bad company, huh?
And here's how those 10 players performed in Year 2:
| Player | Catches | Yds. | TDs | YPC |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 103 | 1,409 | 10 | 13.7 |
| Calvin Johnson | 78 | 1,331 | 12 | 17.1 |
| Keary Colbert | 25 | 282 | 2 | 11.3 |
| Roy Williams | 45 | 687 | 8 | 15.3 |
| Santonio Holmes | 52 | 942 | 8 | 18.1 |
| Lee Evans | 48 | 743 | 7 | 15.5 |
| Donnie Avery | 47 | 589 | 5 | 12.5 |
| DeSean Jackson | 63 | 1,167 | 9 | 18.5 |
| Greg Jennings | 53 | 920 | 12 | 17.4 |
| Anthony Gonzalez | 57 | 664 | 4 | 11.6 |
And finally, differential from Year 1 to Year 2:
| Player | Catches | Yds. | TDs | YPC |
| Larry Fitzgerald | +45 | +629 | +2 | -0.3 |
| Calvin Johnson | +30 | +575 | +8 | +1.3 |
| Keary Colbert | -22 | -472 | -3 | -4.7 |
| Roy Williams | -9 | -130 | 0 | +0.2 |
| Santonio Holmes | +3 | +118 | +3 | +1.3 |
| Lee Evans | 0 | -100 | -2 | -2.1 |
| Donnie Avery | -6 | -85 | +2 | -0.2 |
| DeSean Jackson | +1 | +255 | +7 | +3.8 |
| Greg Jennings | +8 | +288 | +9 | +3.4 |
| Anthony Gonzalez | +20 | +88 | +1 | -4.0 |
| Totals: | +70 | +1,166 | +30 | -1.3 |
| Averages: | +7.0 | +116.6 | +3 | -0.13 |
So what can we conclude from the numbers? Here are some notes and observations:
* Six of the 10 receivers had more catches in their second years; one had the same; and three had fewer. Six of the 10 were within 10 catches (plus or minus) of their totals as rookies.
* Six of the 10 receivers had more receiving yards in their second years; four had fewer. Seven of the 10 had more touchdowns as sophomores; one had the same; and two had fewer.
* The most dramatic improvements were Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson. The most dramatic dropoff was Keary Colbert.
* Every one of the 10 guys on the list were taken in the first or second round of the draft. The highest picks were Johnson (second overall) and Fitzgerald (third overall). The lowest pick was Colbert (62nd overall).
* If Maclin falls in line with the averages, he'll project to 63 catches for 890 yards and seven touchdowns. But obviously there are several variables. It'll be Kevin Kolb, not Donovan McNabb throwing Maclin the football. Also, remember that Maclin missed a portion of training camp last year as a rookie.
* Last year at Lehigh, DeSean Jackson was the Eagles' most impressive player. When Maclin got on the practice field, his talent was evident, but I was skeptical of him having an immediate impact and picking up the offense right away. I was wrong. He came in and played very well. It'll be interesting to see how different Maclin looks this year at Lehigh.
* So, based on what you see above, what are your projections for Maclin in his second season?
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bigjay215, that's just lonewolf 10 (or sometimes wolf 4), he's our village idiot. It's best to just ignore him, he'll never provide proof or cite evidence to back up his hilariously pathetic, nonsensical drivel.— The Reddgie- Ok, there have been some times that lonewolf actually said something intelligible, but, um now's he's just been hitting the Jack Daniels a bit too much. Because McNabb's gone Bradley is going to play like Urlacher (what, you mean never win a championship?)? Huh? What have you been smoking? I still think Lonewolf is Kolb's mom.— reb
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- eastboogieillinois - I've been thinking the exact same thing. To me it seems Maclin is a total professional WR (studies his trade, works to get better/build physically, etc). Combined with his natual talent, I can see that making him the #1 WR soon. Jackson seems like an extremely physically talented diva WR. How will he react when Maclin begins to excel and gets all the articles written about him? How will he react when the coaching staff tells him he should've added 10-15 lbs of muscle so he can get off press coverage now that teams know that's how to defend him? The list of questions go on and on in my mind.— RocketC
- its not lonewolf dummies. its an imposter— Girth Brooks
- he is lonewolf 4 now. seriously.— Girth Brooks
- I agree with the guy who said Maclin is afraid of contact. i noticed throughout the season. hope it was rookie nerves or i'm wrong.— Girth Brooks
- We stand a real chance of having three receivers go over 1000 yards: Jackson, Maclin and Celek.— dviljoen
- Mac'Alin will have to wait for year three to become a good solid threat. He is still soft when it comes to gettin hit. That part of his game will hold him back another season until he adjusts. And get off McNabbs back, Philly hasn't exactly had a lack of success under his playing days. How quick we can forget.— starbird
- Can you say... oh wow?!?!?! Maclin is gonna tear it up... especially with Kolb delivering the ball!— Drigh13
- RocketC... that's an interesting scenario that I really hadn't thought of before. I really thing that D. Jackson and Maclin would thrive off of the competition, but that will be interesting to watch as D. Jax was pretty much an immediate star in his rookie season. I really hope that my optimisitic "healthy competition" view is more the way things go than some sort of resentment building between them. Really, if you think about it, there aren't too many successful/top-shelf WR tandems that last too long on the same team. Boldin and Fitzgerald are the last two that I can think of, but that didn't exactly have an amicable last few years.— Drigh13
- ...wow,lonewolf is a hater...the question was about maclin,not the team.but anyway,its obvious maclin is real good.he missed half of training camp and he put up the numbers he did.and it wasnt like he was being overlooked because after the tampa bay game everybody knew he was nice...they'll be comparing him to tory holt— stef0731
- ...wow,lonewolf is a hater...the question was about maclin,not the team.but anyway,its obvious maclin is real good.he missed half of training camp and he put up the numbers he did.and it wasnt like he was being overlooked because after the tampa bay game everybody knew he was nice...they'll be comparing him to tory holt— stef0731
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