Free Agency Reviews

2016 New Contract Tracker: Wide Receivers (Week 5)

Now that we’re one week into the second quarter of the season, there’s more or less a feel of who is generally playing well this season. Newly signed/extended Wide Receivers haven’t disappointed. Many of them had big games in Week Five, but here’s the one who had the biggest:

Week 5 Stud: Travis Benjamin ($6,000,000 APY)

Travis Benjamin has benefitted a lot from Keenan Allen’s season-ending injury. He has taken over as the number-one receiver for the Chargers in the interim, and few players coming off fresh deals have made similar impact. Here are Benjamin’s stats compared to Doug Baldwin and Michael Crabtree — both recently signed new deal and are of the same age as Benjamin.

Name	Team	Targets	Receptions	Yards	TDs	Snaps
Travis Benjamin	Chargers	11	7	117	0	26
Doug Baldwin	Seahawks	7.75	6	82.5	0.5	37.75
Michael Crabtree	Raiders	8.8	5.8	71	1	40.2

Benjamin was way ahead of the curve in Week Five, and the efficiency numbers look even more outrageous.

Name	Team	Snaps/Target	Snaps/Reception	Yards/Snap	Catch Rate	Yards/Target	Yards/Reception
Travis Benjamin	Chargers	2.4	3.7	4.5	63.6%	10.6	16.7
Doug Baldwin	Seahawks	4.9	6.3	2.2	77.4%	10.6	13.8
Michael Crabtree	Raiders	4.6	6.9	1.8	65.9%	8.1	12.2

It’s hard to see Benjamin produce that much every week. However, Doug Baldwin and Michael Crabtree are both top targets on their respective teams. Now that Travis Benjamin has assumed the same role, his value would be somewhere around Crabtree’s $8,500,000 APY and Baldwin’s $11,500,000 APY, assuming he continues to play like a Tier 1A receiver.

Week 5 Dud: Alshon Jeffrey ($14,599,000 APY)

Receiving the franchise tag, naturally, Alshon Jeffrey has the largest APY of any Wide Receiver who signed a contract this off-season. Additionally, he ranks by the top of the Wide Receiver contracts. Nonetheless, he hasn’t shown that he deserves such a big deal. Let’s look at Jeffrey compared to the other two highest-payed players at the position.

Name	Team	Targets	Receptions	Yards	TDs	Snaps
Alshon Jeffrey	Bears	6	5	77	0	94.5%
Julio Jones	Falcons	8.2	4.8	103.4	0.6	76.0%
AJ Green	Bengals	10.4	7.2	103.6	0.4	90.6%

Despite playing the amount of time as the top receiver in the league, Jeffrey doesn’t touch Jones’ and Green’s production with a ten-foot pole. Julio Jones’ stats could possibly be even higher if he hadn’t had to nurse an injury.

Name	Team	Snaps/Target	Snaps/Reception	Yards/Snap	Catch Rate	Yards/Target	Yards/Reception
Alshon Jeffrey	Bears	7.5	9.0	1.7	83.3%	12.8	15.4
Julio Jones	Falcons	4.0	6.8	3.2	58.5%	12.6	21.5
AJ Green	Bengals	4.1	5.9	2.5	69.2%	10.0	14.4

Jeffrey can only dream of being in Jones’ and Green’s category right now. Comparing the contract of Jeffrey to Jones and Green versus production, his effective value APY should come between $10,100,000 and $12,000,000.

Eli (@Ebookstaber) is a big follower of every facet of the NFL: from the contracts, to the game-film, and to the Draft. He also writes for OvertimeIreland.com. Eli compiles their weekly power rankings and analyzes game film. Additionally, in the offseason he writes a variety of articles on free agency and the Draft. Growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, Eli was brought up as a Redskins fan from the day he heard his dad yell at the TV as a little kid.