UC Probably Won’t Have A 1,000-Yard Receiver Again This Season, And That’s OK

Traditionally the mark of a high-flying offense is a number one receiver, like a Calvin Johnson with the Detroit Lions or an Amari Cooper when he was still with Alabama. The lucky teams have two, like the Cincinnati Bengals did when T.J. Houshmandzadeh was on the team and the first time Chad Johnson was named Chad Johnson. Generally those receivers are a quarterback’s first target in check downs, the first option on passing plays called in from the coordinator, and usually lead their teams in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

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In the NFL that usually statistically equates to 90+ receptions, 1,500+ yards, and 15+ touchdowns in a season. At the collegiate level with less games to play, a receiver who surpasses the 1,000-yard mark and catches double digit touchdowns is generally the first player defensive coordinators gameplan against.

Believe it or not, UC hasn’t had a guy like that for four whole seasons now, since Armon Binns notched 1,101 yards in 2010. Even last year when Gunner Kiel threw for over 3,200 yards, not one of his wide outs surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. Truth be told, none of them probably will this year either.

Unlike almost every other team in college football and the NFL, UC doesn’t have a number one receiver. Kiel and Gran don’t have a go-to guy they target to get the ball to on most passing plays. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of a number one receiver, the Bearcats are fortunate enough to have upwards of five, each bringing a unique skill set to the table.

Mekale McKay is a huge target on the outside with a long reach. Chris Moore is arguably the fastest receiver on the team. Shaq Washington runs crisp routes and has a knack for getting open. Max Morrison also runs good routes but is a bigger downfield threat due to his speed. Johnny Holton also has the wheels to burn defenses and in particular via the tunnel screen.

Put them all together and you have yourself one of the best wide receivers corps in the country. The doesn’t even include the depth provided from Alex Chisum, Nate Cole, and Tshumbi Johnson. It’s your classic “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” situation.

Last year Shaq Washington led the team in yards with 761. Mekale McKay and Chris Moore followed behind with 725 receiving yards and 673 respectively. Those are definitely solid numbers the trio put up but they look fairly pedestrian when you line them up against Binns’ 1,101 and D.J. Woods’ 898 in 2010.

Therein lies the point.

The 2014 and 2015 version of Cincinnati’s offense is so utterly talented, so loaded with pass catchers who can slice and dice a defense that they don’t need to rely on only a couple of receivers to move the ball downfield. UC distributed passes fairly evenly last season and with the entire group back this year, it’s hard to imagine them deviating from this much:

• Shaq Washington: 22%
• Max Morrison: 15%
• Mekale McKay: 15%
• Chris Moore: 10%
• Johnny Holton: 10%
• Alex Chisum: 7%
• Nate Cole: 5%

Passes could easily be redistributed amongst the receivers but it’s pretty unlikely that McKay all of a sudden accounts for 30% of Cincinnati’s receptions like Binns did in 2010. With Casey Gladney gone, Holton, Chisum, and Cole stand to see their reps and as a result their catches increase in 2015. But that’s about it.

In doing so, the accompanying yards will be distributed fairly even again. That is, unless Chris Moore’s 30-40 catches this season all go for 50- or 60-yard touchdowns, which to be honest I wouldn’t put past him. Moore, Washington, and McKay could approach the 1,000-yard mark in 2015, especially if Gunner Kiel throws for 4,000 yards this season, but I don’t see them surpassing it with the way this passing game works.

And, again, that’s OK. The formula for success in the last couple of years is moving the chains however possible, whether it’s a curl to Shaq Washington or a bomb to Max Morrison. It doesn’t matter who’s catching the ball and how well their line looks. It’s all about advancing downfield, getting into the endzone repeatedly, and driving the win total. At the end of that day, I think most receivers would rather be on an 11-win team even if it means they only accounted for a handful of catches during the year.