Looking at the All-Time list, here is how AJ Green has fared:
# |
name |
yr |
rec |
yd |
td |
1 |
1998 |
69 |
1313 |
17 |
|
2 |
Bill Groman |
1960 |
72 |
1473 |
12 |
3 |
Billy Howton |
1952 |
53 |
1231 |
13 |
4 |
2003 |
101 |
1377 |
8 |
|
5 |
John Jefferson |
1978 |
56 |
1001 |
13 |
6 |
Bob Hayes |
1965 |
46 |
1003 |
12 |
7 |
2004 |
80 |
1193 |
7 |
|
8 |
2006 |
70 |
1038 |
8 |
|
9 |
Sammy White |
1976 |
51 |
906 |
10 |
10 |
1996 |
90 |
1132 |
6 |
|
11 |
Cris Collinsworth |
1981 |
67 |
1009 |
8 |
12 |
AJ Green |
2011 |
65 |
1057 |
7 |
13 |
1995 |
67 |
1039 |
7 |
|
14 |
2011 |
54 |
959 |
8 |
|
15 |
1985 |
53 |
942 |
8 |
.
If my collection of rookie WR seasons is complete, AJ Green finished with the 12th best rookie WR season in the history of the NFL! Not too bad for a kid with a limited preseason and a rookie QB who supposedly has bad arm strength.
Also of note, 2 other Bengals made the list – Eddie Brown and Chris Collins.
The 3 guys that 99% of you haven’t heard of (Groman, Howton, Hayes) had ridiculous 20+ yards per catch numbers (Howton 23.2 ypc, Hayes 21.8 ypc, Groman 20.5 ypc) in their rookie seasons, which were the highest of anybody on the list, ahead of Moss’ 19.0 ypc which was 4th.
I used fantasy football points as a way to try to rank them...6 pts per td and 1 pt for every 10 rec yards.
I know a million people will come up with a million ranking schemes, but it’s one that is widely known and the one that I picked. So deal with it :-)
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Since 2000, here is how AJ Green has fared with other rookies:
# |
name |
yr |
rec |
yd |
td |
1 |
Anquan Boldin |
2003 |
101 |
1377 |
8 |
2 |
Michael Clayton |
2004 |
80 |
1193 |
7 |
3 |
Marques Colston |
2006 |
70 |
1038 |
8 |
4 |
AJ Green |
2011 |
65 |
1057 |
7 |
5 |
Julio Jones |
2011 |
54 |
959 |
8 |
6 |
2004 |
48 |
843 |
9 |
|
7 |
Roy Williams |
2004 |
54 |
817 |
8 |
8 |
2007 |
70 |
995 |
5 |
|
9 |
2008 |
90 |
980 |
5 |
|
10 |
2004 |
58 |
780 |
8 |
AJ is #4 on the list since 2000, while fellow rookie Julio Jones finishes at 5th, right behind AJ.
Interestingly, some of these guys have gone on to become great (Fitzgerald), others have gone on to be very good (Boldin, Colston, Bowe) and others have just faded (Clayton, Royal, Williams).
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So the big question becomes how does AJ Green do going forward? He had a great rookie year, so does he follow the trajectory of guys like Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson & Calvin Johnson who went on to be the top 3 WR’s in the NFL over the last half decade? Does he flame out like Michael Clayton or Eddie Royal? Or does he linger in the very good category but fail to become elite (like Bowe, Boldin, Colston)?
.
I’m sure I probably missed a couple rookie WR’s who had great seasons that should be in the lists.
If that is you, I’m sorry.
If that’s not you, oh well...