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+---- Thread: *Where did they come from? (/showthread.php?tid=5051)
*Where did they come from? - Symmetrik - 10-05-2017
No one would bat an eye today if you said Alexandre LeClair or Bradley Westfield were the best receivers in the game. Shane Weston or Fox North too. Mayran Jackson.
If you said that to someone back in S1, they'd probably laugh in your face. Probably because Fox North was signed late in the season to get some reps in before being eligible for the S2 draft. Mayran Jackson was a Safety. The other 3 were playing second fiddle to "better" receivers.
So what happened? Where did these now dominant receivers come from, why weren't they good before, and why are the previous guys ahead of them not good anymore?
First up, one that's got a somewhat clear answer.
Alexandre LeClair
Well, this one is fairly clear. In S1, LeClair played 2nd string to Josh Garden, on the Wraiths. In S2 he was second to Stormblessed on the Legion. After Las Vegas traded away Stormblessed, LeClair took over the #1 spot this season, and in 10 games has more receptions than he did either of his first 2 seasons. He's slightly improved his YPC average, and between his growth and his new role, he was always going to be a candidate for a breakout.
![[Image: ojnNSng.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/ojnNSng.jpg)
Growth is obviously a big factor. He made massive strides in his Hands, but also big improvements in Speed and Agility. Most would argue, the 3 primary stats for any receiver.
At this point maybe you wonder, what's the point of this? It probably seems like role and growth will explain pretty much every player. Well, I ask, guys like Garden and Cook and Phelps still have their growth, and for most are still the #1 WRs for their teams. So why did they drop off? Then you look a little bit closer at the other guys here, and you realize, their roles haven't really changed.
Shane Weston
In S1, he played second string to Bailey Cook. There was a very clear difference in role for the both of them, with Cook the heavy favourite in targets, despite there not being a huge gap in talent. S2 was more of the same, that is until Cook was traded late in the season. Weston took on the #1 role and flourished, showing a drastic improvement in stats and just reaching the 1000 yard plateau. In S3 things appeared like they would continue in that direction, with Weston as the #1. Another player primed for a breakout in a bigger role. Not to be though, as the SaberCats acquired Mayran Jackson and he became the #1 option. And yet, Weston flourished anyway, putting up better numbers than Jackson in every category except the number of receptions, which makes things all the more impressive. He leads the league in YPC, and is less than 100 yards from his career high with 4 games still to go. This one can only be explained by growth. But why is his growth so much better than that of someone like Cook, or Garden?
![[Image: RW3E0Xf.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/RW3E0Xf.jpg)
We'll have to see how that compares to others, but Weston as with most, most likely, made big strides in the 3 main receiver stats, but also a huge jump in both Strength and Endurance, which makes one start to wonder if those improvements have led him to the big time YPC numbers.
Bradley Westfield
Personally, even in S1 I would have told you he was one of the best, but most couldn't take their eyes off Robert Phelps, the Otters #1 receiver. On the depth chart anyway. Westfield doubled Phelps in TDs, and had 2.5 more YPC, the only problem was that he had 20 fewer catches. In S2, Phelps was pretty unanimously touted as the #1 receiver. Westfield definitely didn't perform the same way, so perhaps that left some people down on him coming in to S3. Phelps still has more receptions, but Westfield has exploded onto the receiver charts as at the very least the reception share is even now, and Westifeld is using that share to prove he's the better receiver. Phelps has 2 more TDs, but Westfield has over 250 yards on him, and 4.5 more YPC. I've always said Westfield was better, but he just didn't get the same monster number of targets as Phelps, so Phelps always looked better. And now Westfield is getting those monster targets and he is absolutely dominating. Really though, this shouldn't surprise anyone.
![[Image: JbYSzxC.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/JbYSzxC.jpg)
Ahh, but wait, why are some of his attributes going down? Of the big improvers, Westfield is the only one to use an archetype change just before the end of S2. And boy, has it done wonders. A massive leap in Speed seems to have made most of the difference, but his improvements to Hands and Agility are big too. Don't discout Endurance either, as it helps him find the 2nd most YPC in the league.
But, let's take a look at their comparables. The "former" greats if you will. Why can't Cook, Garden, and Phelps keep up anymore with their former 2nd in commands?
Bailey Cook
![[Image: U6Uc1F4.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/U6Uc1F4.jpg)
Well, the first thing we see from Cook is the lack of Speed. It doesn't help that he's now playing 2nd to Garden. Whereas most receivers seem to put their money on Speed, and then Hands, then spread the rest around, Cook has banked his money on Agility, then kind of spread the rest around. He's got attributes going up all over the place, that don't really help him. He's not really focusing his growth, and that's somewhat stalled out his development.
Josh Garden
![[Image: rzPcBCQ.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/rzPcBCQ.jpg)
At the very least, he's got a big improvement to Speed. But much like Cook, he's banked a large part on his Agility providing him with success, and that hasn't happened. Not great improvements to his Hands, which means that with all those targets he's getting over Cook, he's wasting a lot of them. His development is at least a little more focused than Cook, but it's still more or less spread out. A lot of jumps in a number of attributes, and a lot of them unnecessary. He really should be better than he is right now, but he just can't make the catches at the same volume as guys like Westfield or LeClair.
Robert Phelps
![[Image: EJBaaAb.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/EJBaaAb.jpg)
He's made egood strides on his Agility, and a good jump in his Speed, but not a whole lot else. Out of this group the guy who's shows some of the least development over the last couple seasons. He's still been growing well, just not as much as, most importantly, Bradley Westfield. Phelps is still one of the top receivers in the game, but in this case, the simple explanation is that he's been out grown by Westfield.
There's definitely some stuff that jumps out at you when you look at it. Most notable is the different approaches taken by Garden and Cook. Their growth has been good, but their season to season stat improvement is pretty stagnant. Guys like Westfield, and Weston have taken it a different direction and found more success and continuing improvement, while still slotting in as the #2 receiver.
Code:
1168 wordsIn the charts, ES1 is their Attributes at the end of S1, S3 is their current stats taken from the index, not roster or update pages.
GRADED
*Where did they come from? - White Cornerback - 10-05-2017
Great article! Maybe it's just my dementia but I hardly ever see articles from you. Unless you're a gfx guy?