Dez Bryant Was Second-Least-Valuable Wide Receiver Last Year Based on Production Versus Cap Charge

Cotton

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Dez Bryant Was Second-Least-Valuable Wide Receiver Last Year Based on Production Versus Cap Charge

By: Jason Lisk | 2 hours ago

Football Perspective has a look at the wide receivers from 2017, looking at production and the cap charge. Tavon Austin comes up as easily the most overpaid player at the position, with a top 5 cap charge but only having 61 receiving yards. Second, though, goes to a big name who is often considered part of the elite at the position, but whose production has been lagging in recent years: Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys.

Why is Bryant rated so low? Well, you start with the $17 million cap charge, which is the second-highest in the league. If you look at the other highest-paid guys who are generally considered the best of the best, Bryant comes up way below all of them (outside Austin).

Here is Bryant compared to the other #1 wide receivers with cap charges above $13 million:



And lest you think we shouldn’t look at one year, here is the production over the last three years from that group:



All those other elite receivers are in the Top 8 in receiving yards over the last three years combined. Dez Bryant is 37th. It’s pretty clear he’s not part of that group, even though his paid like it.

The most similar players, by 2017 stats, to Bryant’s production, were Devin Funchess, Marquise Goodwin, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, and T.Y. Hilton. Combined, that group had a cap charge of $16.13 million (most of it Hilton) — still less than Bryant cost the Cowboys a year ago.

Jerry Jones is going to meet with Dez Bryant about his contract situation soon. There’s a decent chance he’s out in Dallas if they can’t reach a reduction in his cap charge. The reason Dallas is considering it is pretty obvious–Dez Bryant hasn’t been worth the money and teams can get the production he has provided for much cheaper.
 

Plan9Misfit

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We didn’t need any stats to know that. Him leading the league in drops and flat out sucking on the field was all the proof we needed.
 

Cowboysrock55

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We didn’t need any stats to know that. Him leading the league in drops and flat out sucking on the field was all the proof we needed.
Yeah and I'm sure there are a number of people on this board that will blame it all on Dak. Regardless I'm not sure how you can keep paying so much money for such little results. Seems like it would be a slam dunk cut anywhere except Dallas.
 

p1_

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You notice no writers or analysts are throwing Dak under the bus over Dez' decline.
 

L.T. Fan

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Yeah and I'm sure there are a number of people on this board that will blame it all on Dak. Regardless I'm not sure how you can keep paying so much money for such little results. Seems like it would be a slam dunk cut anywhere except Dallas.
I don’t blame Dak for Bryant’s inadequacies I am judging him on his inability (at least for now) to go to the receiver who is open or a secondary read. The fact that Bryant wasn’t productive and Dak continued to force the play to him is in my opinion an indictment on his judgement.
 

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Cowboysrock55

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I don’t blame Dak for Bryant’s inadequacies I am judging him on his inability (at least for now) to go to the receiver who is open or a secondary read. The fact that Bryant wasn’t productive and Dak continued to force the play to him is in my opinion an indictment on his judgement.
I agree with this completely.
 

jsmith6919

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I don’t blame Dak for Bryant’s inadequacies I am judging him on his inability (at least for now) to go to the receiver who is open or a secondary read. The fact that Bryant wasn’t productive and Dak continued to force the play to him is in my opinion an indictment on his judgement.
I wonder how much he was being coached to go against his own judgement to get Dez involved even when he wasn't open though
 

ravidubey

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I wonder how much he was being coached to go against his own judgement to get Dez involved even when he wasn't open though
I think the pressure came from Dez more than the coaches. Also as a QB you put pressure on yourself to get a guy going.

Dak’s problem is either he can’t make the throws like he thinks he can or he doesn’t know what kind of throw to make when it comes to Dez. If Dez isn’t open, then don’t throw it.

Phillip Rivers wouldn’t have had trouble though.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I think the pressure came from Dez more than the coaches. Also as a QB you put pressure on yourself to get a guy going.

Dak’s problem is either he can’t make the throws like he thinks he can or he doesn’t know what kind of throw to make when it comes to Dez. If Dez isn’t open, then don’t throw it.

Phillip Rivers wouldn’t have had trouble though.
Phillip Rivers would tell Dez to go fuck himself. Dak is a 23 year old player dealing with a 29 year old former probowler. It's a different dynamic. It's why I'd like to see Dak get some younger WR's and TE's around him that he can grow with. I think Dez probably has an ability to push our coaches around too. It's not like Garrett has any sort of a real backbone in my opinion.
 
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Deuce

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I don’t blame Dak for Bryant’s inadequacies I am judging him on his inability (at least for now) to go to the receiver who is open or a secondary read. The fact that Bryant wasn’t productive and Dak continued to force the play to him is in my opinion an indictment on his judgement.
Or it’s an indictment on coaching. I’m not naive enough to think dez bitching about stats doesn’t make the coaches get in Dak’s ear about going to him more than he should.
 

L.T. Fan

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Or it’s an indictment on coaching. I’m not naive enough to think dez bitching about stats doesn’t make the coaches get in Dak’s ear about going to him more than he should.
Coaching doesn’t make players lockup when under duress. Dak hasn’t been exposed to anything long enough to attribute his panic/lockup to Coaching. He was a highly inexperienced QB last season with virtually no experience in read and react circumstances. That aspect was predictable and understandable. It may have been a lack of coaching but certainly not coaching reactions.
 
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