I am being fair... he followed up that 50 catch season with one he landed on IR and wasnt healthy at all , then last season he was passed up by a fifth round phenom Puka Nakua... and once Kupp returned from IR, was dealt to Atlanta...
The falcons offense didnt use 2 wrs as targets... as per Smiths typical O...
Just like our O, theirs only threw 508 times (we tgrew 506)
Their top wr was targeted 110 times
There top Te 90
The Rb 86
And the backup RB 70 times
Nobody else got more than 30 targets
Robinson was right behind Holins with 28 targets... there just arent many wr targets for the non primary guy in that O
For reference, Our craptastic O targeted Pickens 106 times, DJ 87, and allen Robinson 49 times ...
The Falcons under Smith had basically the same conditions the Steelers had with a transition from a long-time franchise QB to poor QB play. I just don't think the concept that Smith doesn't use more than one WR is true. In my opinion, it's been the product of terrible QB play and awful depth at WR with better talent at RB and TE. The reality is, receivers led the way in 3 of 5 years of Smith leading the offense.
As OC in Tennessee, Titans WRs Brown and Davis led the team in receptions and targets in both 2019 and 2020. In 2019, four of the top 5 leaders in receptions were a receiver.
In 2021, Matt Ryan was near the end and the Falcons had a pathetic group of receivers. Ridley only played 5 games, but was on pace for 105 receptions (177 targets). Russell Gage was just behind top-5 pick Kyle Pitts with 66 receptions (Pitts had 68). The other leading receivers were Zaccheaus and Sharpe--two nobodies. If Ridley plays all season, Ridley and Gage are two of the top three receivers on the team.
A terrible QB situation in 2022 with Mariota and Ridder. Despite this, four of the top 5 receivers and targets were receivers (London, Zaccheaus, Byrd, and Hodge) with Pitts ranking third with only 10 games played. Again, that is with a pathetic group of receivers.
Ridder was one of the few QBs worse than Pickett in 2023, which is one of the reasons the target share shifted, IMO. London still led the way in both receptions and targets with studs such as Hollins and Hodge not getting many looks. Simply put, Pitts, Smith, and Robinson were all more talented targets than any of the other receivers.
As it stands now, Pickens, Freiermuth, and the combination of both Harris and Warren are probably the four best receiving options and I believe the target share would reflect that. A top receiver and there will be a total shift in targets and Aiyuk and Pickens would easily lead the way with Freiermuth in the top 3 as well.
