Lets talk the truth about Martavis Bryant

I'm a little surprised more threads haven't been posted on this subject. BUT I'm going to say it. This guy sucks and shouldn't be starting.

First off he screwed the team with his little suspension.
He can't catch.
He runs poor routes.
He lacks effort occasionally
Is terrible adjusting to the ball while it's in the air.
Terrible fighting off defenders to catch a ball.
He's dropped some passes that maybe could have been the difference in a game. He's dropped a lot of balls. T
hat so called effort against the Ravens this week was embarrassing.

So he's really fast. he's tall. He's amazingly quick for a guy his size. All that means is he has potential to be great but the reality is he's not good and he's hurt our team all season - minus one game.

I do wonder if Wheaton or Heyward B were given the same opportunities as Bryant they would have done better.

I hope Bryant can get serious about football and dramatically improve his hands in the off season. I would hate to see so much potential go to waste. Time will tell.

 

Those were the knocks on him coming out of college, and the reason he fell. He was a project. That said, if teams could have a do-over draft, he'd be a first rounder based on the production and potential he's shown in basically 1.5 season's worth of games. Fwiw, Wheaton had the opportunity to make a game-saving catch on Sunday, but couldn't get it done.

 

I am not ready to throw in the towel on Bryant. He so far has out produced his much higher drafted college teammate Sammy Watkins. He also is making some big life changes and I am sure that isn't easy. Yesterday was not a good day for anyone including him. But to completely give up on him after a rough stretch is a bit harsh in my opinion. He is definitely having a disappointing season based on his potential but I think he will still be very good for us. Personally I was hoping Sammie Coats would be pushing him more than he seems to be.

 

Neither could Bryant and he's been given all the opportunities. I'm guessing Wheaton would have improved through out the year if he was our #2 WR.

Brown also didn't get it done, even though the officials screwed us...and Tomlin didn't challenge a first down catch called out of bounds - that could have put us in FG range

 

I never said give up on him. I said he sucks and has some serious issues. I hope he fixes the problems his offseason... If he doesn't.. then I'll give up on him.

Point about giving Wheaton or Heyward B a chance was maybe they help us win more games this year? Why not use Bryant as a #3 and let him develop?

 

My guess would be his skill set and route running better are better suited to the #2 WR position. I have no idea if Wheaton or Heyward Bey would be better or not. Wheaton to me seems to have found his home as a slot WR. My hope is Bryant fixes some of these issues and becomes that big play threat he has been in the past. My hope is we can keep this WR group together for a couple of more seasons.

 

He has had some drops, and issues with route running. Hard to argue against OP, but having him on the field has opened opportunities to Brown (most of the season) and Wheaton (specially, vs SEA). Also, let's not forget he is a real deep threat, who has had several big plays the last 1.5 seasons.

Yes, he's a project. And probably will only last with us his rookie contract (someone will overpay him due to size/speed), but as far as he's here, we need to get the most out of him. Stretching the field = more opportunities to other receivers.
That's why we drafted Coates too, I guess...

 

He needs to quit dropping balls period. He has had way too many easy drops this season so far.

 

He has a lot of work to do to get where we need him to be.

 

Truth is.... Your perception is a bit exaggerated. The stats sites I've checked show he has 7 dropped passed ytd and a rate of 7.9%. He is far from elite status like Larry Fitzgerald (1 drop less than 1%), but he's around the same level as Amari cooper.... Hot rookie sensation.

Bryant is around the middle of the pack for drops.... Much like his draft place. No surprises here.

 

when I watch him attempting to make a catch, sometimes he's moving his hands at the last moment like he didn't see it until it was right on top of him. I wonder if the dude needs glasses

 

He is a legit deep threat, he is struggling now with other routes. He will come around, he has freakish talent.
Needs better hands.

 

Our offense just wouldn't be the same with him out, so we really have no choice but to roll with the speed bumps along the way and hope he works things out.

 

I think he is a good WR and he needs to continue to work on his craft , I will say that Haley should look at the body of work that WR'S are currently putting forward . Most will still say that the sample size is to small on DHB this year to trust him over Bryant or Wheaton . I don't agree with that because the 2015 stats show DHB hasn't dropped a ball all year. Not 1 credited drop the entire year . Haley has simply made a mistake in not using DHB more , I don't want Bryant off the field either . What needed to be done is more 1 TE looks ...

 

Really? This is on the second year guy who's at least as good as or better than Wheaton? Come on the guys gotten better from last year and he's made a significant stride to keep doing so. It's not like he's getting paid franchise QB money to get outplayed by a fourth string QB in a big game......

 

Bryant is a deep threat, and his stats this year are pretty good for a second year player, in 10 games this year he has 49 receptions for 795 yards and 6 TDs averaging 15.6 a catch, and he is being used more in the underneath passing game, compared to last year in 10 games he only had 26 catches for 549 yards, he's only going to get better as he gets more experience, I like where he is headed as long as he stays out of trouble off the field.....

 

The clear positive about him, he definitely opens up the field for others and obviously his splash potential.

 

My take on Bryant.....

Great Hands!!!!! He catches the ball with his hands and is very good at it. Don't blame his drops on his hands, that falls on focus and as he matures in this league so will his focus.

Elite Speed and after the catch runner. Nuff said.!!

Rte runner. A work in progress but its a curve upwards...... This is year 2..... the sky is the limit

Dropped in the draft because of character concerns mainly and why we drafted Coats in case he doesn't get his life/career on the right track. He's made solid strides in this area and hopefully no relapses.

Against the Ravens everyone struggled....why? Ben looked off on his throws and decision making. The OL was weak against a 4 man rush and the ravens defended the Pass better than they had all year.

Cajun

 

He also dropped because of his hands, wasn't just character.

They used to line him up in the slot and just run deep.... that is where he would get those deep passes from. Not sure if they are trying different things or if teams are just scheming that away. Regardless him running crisp routes on the sidelines is not is strong suit. He is a nice player to have, but we need consistency.

 

When I said character I also said "Mainly" and not exclusively. Also focus issues on catches doesn't start in the NFL and was known to be the case in College. My point, as I thought I was clear about..... he has great hands but lapses in focus. When he's focused he'll catch it.

Cajun

 

I think Bryant is fine. His performance in game 2 against the Ravens was not good. But who had a good game that day other than Williams and Heath? He needs to do more work off the field to hone his skills. He has the natural ability and physique to outdo AB. But does he have both the drive and focus?

Time will tell.

 

I agree that a receiver's drops are rather subjective, but one thing to keep in mind in a Cooper/Bryant comparison is sample size. Bryant has been targeted 89 times this year; Cooper 125. That's nearly 50% more balls thrown Cooper's way. Cooper's rookie status could be debated as a factor I suppose, though one could argue 2nd year R4 pick vs 1st year R1 is close to a wash.

At any rate, this is another element to what I think is an interesting offseason looming for the FO. Bryant has come back down to earth a bit, while Wheaton will join Bell as an RFA this spring. Bryant's projected path at this point last year put a crimp into the future cap plans for the team; his settling a bit could be a good thing - I'd rather see the warts now than after a large chunk of money is cleared for him.

It makes Wheaton's tendering an interesting one - we could have another Emmanuel Sanders-like decision on our hands this summer.

 

I think we need to try and keep Wheaton if at all possible. With Coates not getting a helmet for most of the year I get the feeling he isn't ready to take on the slot position. Also DHB is not a slot receiver so right now Wheaton is really the only slot WR we have on the roster in my opinion.