Playing behind two of the best wide receivers in Clemson school history in DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, Pittsburgh Steelers WR Martavis Bryant flew a bit under the radar when the 2014 NFL Draft arrived. While his counterparts, Hopkins and Watkins, were both selected in the 1st rounds of the 2013 and 2014 NFL draft, respectively, Martavis Bryant had to wait until the 4th round of last year's draft to hear his name called. Being an electric playmaker in college and coming in at 6' 4", 211 lbs, a few NFL player comparisons I can specifically recall include similarly built wideouts such as A.J. Green and the great Randy Moss. While he clearly was viewed as a much more raw prospect, the size-speed combination was imminent, as he impressed many teams at the 2014 combine with his 4.42 official (4.34 unofficial) 40-yard dash. The Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff admittedly was thrilled that he fell on draft day last year, and they scooped him up with the 118th overall selection. With the Steelers seemingly always finding gems on draft day at the wide receiver position, the selection of Martavis Bryant further proves that notion at this point in his young career. Coming out of Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, Bryant was given a 4-star recruiting grade and ranked 43rd on ESPN's top 150 recruits (8th at WR) back in 2010. The Clemson Tigers proceeded to offer him a scholarship, which he signed and faxed to the Tigers back in February of 2010. In his freshman year at Clemson, he was buried behind the depth chart behind current pass-catching pros like DeAndre Hopkins, Jaron Brown, Dwayne Allen, and Sammy Watkins, another highly touted freshman. However, he still made a small impact in 2011, mainly as a situational deep threat. In 10 games, he caught 9 balls for 221 yards along with 2 touchdowns, averaging a whopping 24.6 yards per reception. In the following season, Bryant remained buried on the WR depth chart behind Hopkins, Watkins, and Brown. In 2012, he suited up for 8 games, catching 10 balls for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns. Grabbing 4 TDs in his 10 total catches, while also averaging a ridiculous 30.5 yards per catch, Martavis was proving his potential in a very small sample size. Finally, in 2013, Bryant was able to crack the top 3 at his position on the depth chart, after seeing "Nuk" Hopkins head to the Texans in the NFL draft. Playing second fiddle to Sammy Watkins' mammoth season of 101 catches for almost 1500 yards, Bryant was a deep ball maven who wasn't gaining nearly enough attention from around the country in his junior year. Still, he turned in his best season by far, grabbing 42 balls for 828 yards and 7 TDs. Even with more volume, he still was averaging 19.7 yards per grab, solidifying his playmaking potential. Coming into the 2014 NFL combine, Bryant seemed like a very lanky and raw prospect in the NFL's eyes, and he also had a relatively small sample size in college. On the other hand, his teammate at Clemson, Sammy Watkins, was looking like a lock for a top-10 overall pick. Watkins ended up going to the Bills as the 4th overall pick, and they gave up a whole lot in order to get him. These reasons, among others, undoubtedly masked his NFL readiness when draft day approached. However, when looking at his statistics, you can tell that a 4th round selection was an enormous bargain. One aspect of his game that stands out to me is his touchdown tendency, which is evident for the Steelers, but was also obvious in college. Let's break down his numbers back at Clemson: Martavis Bryant had small sample sizes for his freshman and sophomore year, so I'm going to combine all three seasons for a better sense of his stats. His first year, he caught only 9 balls, but 2 were for touchdowns. The following year, he converted 4 of his 10 catches for touchdowns. During his junior season at Clemson, Bryant tallied 42 receptions, 7 of which were for scores. If we add those numbers up, Bryant amassed a total of 61 receptions. Out of those 61 grabs, 13 of them went for a touchdown. This means that 21.3% of Martavis Bryant's receptions at Clemson went for touchdown. So, on average, about 1 out of every 4.7 catches he recorded in college were going for touchdowns. That's just insane. For some laughs, here's a few wideouts that were selected ahead of Marty B in the 2014 draft: Shaq Evans, Bruce Ellington, Jalen Saunders, Josh Huff, and Paul Richardson (2 entire rounds ahead) - just to name a few. When the Steelers landed Bryant in the 4th round, they made it known that he wouldn't immediately be thrown into the lineup opposite of all-pro WR Antonio Brown. They knew he needed to get up to speed with the playbook as well as put some muscle on his tall frame. He finally made his debut in Week 7 against the Texans on Monday Night Football. He was instantly an unstoppable force that made Ben Roethlisberger and the entire Steelers offense better. He played in every game from that point on, compiling a stat line of: 26 receptions - 549 yards - 8 touchdowns... Talk about production - for a rookie who didn't play until the midway point of the season. Let's dive into what those numbers really showed. For one, his big-play ability carried over from college, as he averaged a massive 21.1 yards per catch, and had a whopping 94-yard TD catch as his season long. Secondly, his red zone dominance also carried over, as his impressive 8 rookie year touchdowns show. Bryant's 2015 season started off on the wrong foot, however. He was handed a 4-game suspension for failing, what some claim, were "multiple" drugs tests. Martavis appealed his suspension, but it was upheld, and he then received treatment away from the team to heal his off-the-field issues. While he was eligible for a Week 5 return in 2015, a minor knee injury held him out until the following week. This past Sunday, he returned with an emphatic performance to say the least. With Big Ben out and Mike Vick in, Bryant had only 8 receiving yards at halftime. However, when Vick went down with a hamstring injury, third-stringer Landry Jones entered the game. This is when Martavis made his return evident. Bryant finished the day with 6 grabs for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus a rush for 8 yards. His first touchdown was an excellent display of red zone awareness, as he skied into the air and got both feet down in the back of the end zone on a pass from Landry Jones. His second score sealed the upset win for the Steelers and was a truly spectacular play. In a play that Martavis ran a total of 130 yards, he caught a simple slant route, threw off defender Tyrann Matheiu, then proceeded to make his way to the outside of the field. He strided down the sideline, picked up a few blocks, and then cut inward to gallop into the end zone. This 88-yarder was a prime example of his game-breaking ability at the professional level. In summary, I'm going to take a look at his statistics as a Pittsburgh Steeler, in combination with the numbers he compiled at Clemson. In a total of 11 games as a Steelers, Bryant has 32 receptions for a behemoth 686 yards. That means he is averaging 21.4 yards per catch as an NFL receiver. This year alone, only the one-trick pony Torrey Smith is averaging more yards per grab (23.1), and has nowhere near the ability in the red zone. For comparison, last year's leader was DeSean Jackson with 20.9 yards per grab, only due the fact that Bryant didn't play enough games to qualify as the leader - he averaged 22.8 in 8 games last season. Basically, Martavis has unbelievable big-play potential that is hard to find in an NFL receiver. To go along with his high YPR, he has continued to be a TD magnet. Of his 32 career receptions in the NFL, a ridiculous 10 of them have gone for touchdowns. That means that his NFL touchdown potential is 31.25% - somehow even better than his filthy college percentage of 23.1%. To put this into perspective, this means that almost 1 out of every 3 catches in his NFL career have gone for touchdowns! He'll get Ben Roethlisberger back soon, which will only boost his stock, along with all Steelers skill players. Martavis Bryant is the ideal receiver to place opposite of the quick and sure-handed Antonio Brown. He has the size, speed, and skills to materialize into a legitimate wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and should emerge as a high-end WR2 within the next few weeks, with the true possibility of Bryant scoring like a low-end WR1 from this point til the end of the 2015 season. While many think of him as being boom-or-bust, I simply do not agree. The Steelers offense consistently scores more points with him on the field, and he is a top 3 weapon in the NFL's premier offense. He should only get more consistent as he grows stronger, more mature, and builds chemistry with his QB. This kid is a freak of nature that has proven to be a real-life draft steal as well as a juggernaut in fantasy. Get him into your starting lineups as soon as possible. He has week-winning potential every time he steps foot onto the football field. Author:Robert Kohnfelder |
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