Should the Saints Cut These Two Wide Receivers?
After playing your rookie year on a sports team, you feel some relief to put it behind you, even if it wasn’t a winning season. You won’t be treated anymore as the “newbie” who was prone to additional criticism; fantasy-sports participants will be more inclined to choose you because of your having stats on which they can make their decision, and you may be able to relax a little because you have some professional experience under your belt. The recent NFL draft brought in some new and inexperienced players to your team, and there are still some concerns to address before the initial kickoff of the first preseason game. Minicamps are currently the place where free agents can show up and attempt to impress the coaching staff with their skills. As a former rookie, you now have additional competition, and a new sense of pressure has appeared, that of convincing your current team to retain you for the upcoming season. The question of why you should be permitted to stick around will be brought up in discussions in offices, hallways, and cafeterias. There may be two New Orleans Saints players who will have to convince their coaches to keep them on the team.
Let’s look at the stats of Kevin Austin Jr. and Mason Tipton during their most recent and only season playing as wide receivers in professional football. Austin Jr. played eight games and started in two of them. After those eight games, Kevin had 151 receiving yards from 11 receptions,s amounting of 13.7 yards per reception, and didn’t score any touchdowns. Tipton played 11 games and started in one of them. After those 11 games, Mason had 99 receiving yards from 14 receptions, amounting to 7.1 yards per reception, and didn’t score any touchdowns. Out of the 11 receptions Austin Jr. made, 10 of those resulted in a first down for the team, while two out of 14 were made by Tipton. The longest reception made by Kevin was 23 yards, and Mason’s was 15 yards, which does accomplish repeatedly earning those first downs on every play to put the team closer to the goal line. When we look at their catch percentages, they’re both about even with Austin Jr. at 50.0% and Tipton at 53.8% due to having slightly more pass targets.
From what we’ve viewed of their stats, they’re about even in all of their numbers. This may be likely due to their limited presence on the field. As a rookie, you can’t expect to be thrown into every play while you’re standing next to veteran players who have been on the team for multiple years and likely longer in the professional league. Every play during which you’re on the field is crucial because a matter of seconds has the possibility of being applied to the decisions made by the people who are holding the clipboards. When it comes to their long-term careers on a team on which they enjoyed playing, Kevin and Mason will probably put in more effort during the minicamps when they look at who else is also vying for their positions. If they can impress in the coming months, both men should be signed up to again wear the fleur de lis for their sophomore year.
