Within the last month, wide receivers Eric Decker and Jeremy Maclin have been released by the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. According to ESPN, Decker recently signed with the Tennessee Titans, while Maclin has wrapped things with a lucrative contract signing with the Baltimore Ravens. With both offenses pass heavy, the wide receivers have a good chance of bouncing back from bad seasons. Can Maclin and Decker propel their teams to top of the AFC North and South divisions?
Eric Decker 2015 statistics
Eric Decker spent the 2016 season healing from a shoulder injury and was put on injured reserve in October 2016.
He ended up with nine receptions, two touchdowns, and 194 total yards. The Jets quarterback situation was grim and has been for quite some time. Geno Smith has been a draft bust and now plays for the New York Giants. Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty are both a work in progress. Josh McCown has been shuffled from team to team the last 5 years.
Decker’s 2015 season when Ryan Fitzpatrick was quarterback showed some solid numbers. He caught 80 passes for 1027 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. For his overall career, Decker has 5,253 yards and 74 touchdowns. He needs to get back to those numbers, so Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota can light up the offense again this year. Corey Davis was also drafted by the team, who can benefit from Decker’s veteran experience.
Jeremy Maclin’s 2016 numbers
After being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, where he played alongside running back LeSean McCoy, Maclin signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015. He amassed 1088 receiving yards and showed that he was worth the money. His 2016 season was somewhat of a disappointment, as he hauled in 44 passes and 536 receiving yards.
While Maclin did have a groin injury where he missed 4 games, his numbers should have been better last year.
To stay on the Baltimore Ravens roster, Maclin will have to step up his game and connect with quarterback Joe Flacco numerous times this year. Flacco does find ways to win and threw for over 4,000 yards last year. The Ravens had the most pass attempts since Flacco’s debut in 2008.
He attempted a career-high 672 passes, which works to Maclin’s favor.
Eric Decker and Jeremy Maclin get to show their wide receiver talent at the same time when The Ravens and Titans play each other in November this year. It will be interesting to see who gets the most yards and which team walks away as the winner.
