How McCoy stacks up as a receiver
How Eagles running back LeSean McCoy performs in the passing game will play a determining factor in how successful his career is. How did McCoy perform last year as a rookie? We take a look.
How McCoy stacks up as a receiver
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
First off, thanks for all the congratulations comments in my last post. Now, who can tell me where in the Philadelphia area I can tie the knot without breaking the bank?
C'mon people. I need you here.
And second of all, Happy Memorial Day, especially to those who have served - or are serving - this country. I love hearing from those of you serving overseas in our Eagles and Phillies chats.
As for the post, let's talk about LeSean McCoy. And particularly, McCoy as a receiver.
When the Birds drafted him out of Pitt in 2009, we heard plenty about how much they liked McCoy as a pass-catcher. And we heard a lot about how he was an unknown as a blocker.
Today, I examine the first part.
McCoy caught 40 balls for 308 yards as a rookie, averaging 7.7 yards per catch. He had two receptions of 20 yards or more.
He was tied for 17th among running backs in terms of receptions, and 17th in yards. Here's a chart with the backs who had better numbers:
| Receptions | Yards | Yards per catch | Catches of 20+ | |
| Ray Rice | 78 | 702 | 9.0 | 7 |
| Tim Hightower | 63 | 428 | 6.8 | 2 |
| Matt Forte | 57 | 471 | 8.3 | 6 |
| Maurice Jones-Drew | 53 | 374 | 7.1 | 0 |
| Frank Gore | 52 | 406 | 7.8 | 3 |
| Joseph Addai | 51 | 336 | 6.6 | 1 |
| Steven Jackson | 51 | 322 | 6.3 | 3 |
| Chris Johnson | 50 | 503 | 10.1 | 3 |
| Reggie Bush | 47 | 335 | 7.1 | 3 |
| Fred Jackson | 46 | 371 | 8.1 | 1 |
| Darren Sproles | 45 | 497 | 11.0 | 7 |
| Steve Slaton | 44 | 417 | 9.5 | 5 |
| Chester Taylor | 44 | 389 | 8.8 | 5 |
| Adrian Peterson | 43 | 436 | 10.1 | 5 |
| Justin Forsett | 41 | 350 | 8.5 | 2 |
| Kevin Smith | 41 | 415 | 10.1 | 3 |
| Jamaal Charles | 40 | 297 | 7.4 | 3 |
| LeSean McCoy | 40 | 308 | 7.7 | 2 |
Some notes on the numbers:
* Several, although not all, names on the above list saw more action than McCoy, who shared the workload with Brian Westbrook and Leonard Weaver last season.
* McCoy is the only rookie on the list. In other words, he led all rookie running backs in receptions and yards last season.
* Those last two columns are probably more important than the first two when talking about McCoy. It's huge for the Eagles to have a running back who can catch a screen or dump-off from Kevin Kolb and turn it into a big play, especially considering the talent this team has at its other skill positions.
* Of the 18 players on the list, only six averaged fewer yards per reception thatn McCoy. The average yards per reception was 8.91. McCoy was at 7.7.
* Brian Westbrook really set the bar high with his performance as a receiver from 2004-2007. Check out the chart below, and pay special attention to the last two columns.
| Catches | Yards | Yds./catch | 20+ | |
| 2004 | 73 | 703 | 9.6 | 7 |
| 2005 | 61 | 616 | 10.1 | 6 |
| 2006 | 77 | 699 | 9.1 | 9 |
| 2007 | 90 | 771 | 8.6 | 7 |
That number in 2006 of nine catches of 20 yards or more is pretty incredible. Think about if you could count on your back to have a big play in the passing game like that in more than half your games. Huge weapon.
Westbrook's yards per catch dropped to 7.4 and 7.2 in his final two seasons here, and he had a total of five catches of 20 yards or more in 2008 and 2009.
I firmly believe that McCoy's success as a receiver will be a big part of how successful he is overall. It'll be interesting to see how much he can improve in the passing game in his second year.
There are several factors at play. Part of it is continuing to get adjusted to the NFL game. Another part is understanding when to go out in his routes and when to stay in to block. Plus there's the issue of how Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg use him - split out wide as a receiver, etc. And finally, how he works with the offensive line, how those guys perform blocking at the next level, and how the wide receivers and tight ends perform as blockers downfield.
Just another thing to keep an eye on at OTAs, at Lehigh and during next season.
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Sheil Congrats! I am behind on my blog reading. Matt Mullin knows why I have been away from my computer lately. We used Rosewood Caterers up here in the Northeast for our reception...they did an excellent job and were very reasonable. They even gave us a few extra wine selections free of charge from the normal package. I just got married 9 months ago, so I have a lot reccomendations if you need any. Just send an e-mail to me...Matt Mullin has the address.
Sheil, congrats. Not sure the size of your bank, but we got married at the academy of physicians on 22nd street- very nice hall, and the Mutter Museum was open during cocktail hour. It made for an elegant but fun and offbeat reception.— FKD215- Mcoy is 3-4 inches taller than those other two RB, and outweighs Sproles by at least 10 lbs. He's 5-10, 200 with more room to get bigger. Not quite the same player.— Bob1
- He is not going to be BWEST but in his prime he will be a top 10 RB.— horsebas
- I don't agree that the platoon situation was any more of an impact to McCoy's numbers than it was to a few other RBs on that list. I do think the use (or misuse) of the wildcat did negatively impact his numbers.— kcruel
- Forty catches for a rookie working his way into the WCO shows pretty good promise for the future. Like Shady your bride must see lots of potential. Curtis Arboretum is a beautiful setting for a memorable wedding.— brs50
- is our goose cooked...first the flyers and now 2 more years of OBAMA— joebill
- Agree, McCoy is 3-4 inches taller than those other little RBs mentioned. Since he played last year at 217 lbs and has now slimmed down to 211 for this season he is still, even now, 25 lbs heavier than Sproles.— Flying Dutchman
- yeah joebill man we would be in so much better hands if palin-mccain had won. I can't believe things aren't better considering the great shape bush left the country in.— notch44
@joebill..You will survive after eight years of Bush and no cup for the flyers- It would be interesting to see the number of passes given to Westy and McCoy to see the # of 'shared catches', also drops would be interesting to see back effectiveness or % caught.— vachaos
- I'm more concerned about his blocking and blitz pick-up. When B-West was leading the team in receiving categories, he was usually the #1 option. I don't need Shady to catch 70 balls, I would like him to keep our QB from getting Kolbcaked.— dragoon6
- Ohh, and congrats Sheil!!!!— dragoon6
- joespill, your Flyers are done. Please! Did you really think they were going to have magic happen to them again?? NOT! McCoy will be fine. No sweat! GO EAGLES!!!
- I would rather have 2 years of Obama then any time with Palin..Go Eagles. McCoy will only get better people...— crohnkiller
- Hey, dont you mean 6 more years of OBAMA. Between Phils and Flyers I am really depressed. I need to find another hobby, this is ridiculous!
- There is another thing to factor in. B-West had his big numbers when the Eagles didn't have much at the WR position. That is not the case now. The Eagles don't need eye-popping receiving numbers out of McCoy that they got from Westbrook. This offense "should" be more balanced then in past years. This year will be about the O-Line. If they play well, the offense will be great and if they can run block as well, look out, they will be one of the best in the league. This team will go as far a the O-Line and Defense lets them.— craig123
- mccoy has a promising future as RB receiver. 2009 saw him ( and weaver) tire in the offense. mornhinweg needed to rotate RBs more and give mccoy few reps til he matures in nfl.— Smashmouth
- McCoy is still a 21-yr old kid, so it seems he has a pretty high ceiling. And although it isn't fair to compare McCoy to B-West (B-West was incredible), at 21 B-west was playing against 1AA competition.— PhillyPhantastico
- Hey, Congrats Sheil! You are a reporter of a lot of promise! You have a fresh take on getting the stories, and really infuse the internet-age feel to the sports reporting in this town. Keep up the good work.— JofreyRice
- I'm more concerned about Shady as a runner and a pass blocker than I am about his receiving skills. As other posters have pointed out, McCoy is only 21 and he has a high ceiling and he has already produced decent numbers in the passing game. Blitz recognition and hitting the hole without dancing around as well as ball security are the parts of his game that need work.— PhillyTru
Now that he's the clear-cut starter and has some seasoning, plus the fact that he'll be the pressure release when Kolb needs to dump it off, I'd expect McCoy to catch 60-65 balls for 550-600 yards this year. That would be fine considering the talent the team has at WR and TE.— jpk
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