Auden Tate

[Whatever]

(08-23-2019, 04:45 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Auden Tate isn't expected to smoke cb's down field.
That's not his game.
His game is to get matched up on smaller db's on those intermediate routes inside 20 yds.
His frame dictates he should be ablessed to expose mis matches in the red zone.
Put him inside the 10 yd line with Boyd Green Eifert. 
All big framed targets.
He's catching everything thrown his way.
On my WR depth chart I actually put him over Erickson.
Erickson just lacks an extra gear to elude the defense.
He's a strictly possession WR. 

Tate has great hands and a great catch radius, probably the best on the team.  But that's all.  

His size creates mismatches on contested balls, but every pass you throw to him is contested because he can't separate at all.  People get a bit hypnotized by the spectacular catches, but he has to make spectacular catches because he can't get open.  

He has value as a red zone target, but we have a ton of great red zone weapons with AJ, Boyd, Eifert, Ross, Mixon, Gio, etc.

His Ypc is a miserable 8.5 in preseason so far.  That's bad for a WR.  We have 2 TE's and 2 RB's with a higher ypc this preseason.  It was only 8.8 last year.  He gets no separation and gets dropped right where he makes the catch, so he really doesn't have much use outside the red zone.

I would put him above Erickson, but Erickson has never developed as a WR.  He's a good, albeit not spectacular, return man, but subpar WR.  I would like to put him above Core, but Core has outplayed him in every area except TD's in the preseason.  Better catch%, better YPC, more YAC, same number of catches.  I'd put him behind Malone and Willis and ahead of Morgan and Bryant, also.  

He's a guy with an incredible catch radius that has a lot of potential if he can get his route running polished so he can get separation.  He's not a guy that I see getting a bunch of snaps on offense this year due to his limitations, though, so if you can hide him on IR, I think it's a good play.