Could Aaron Dobson be a big time receiver? Surprisingly, from what we saw in his rookie campaign, the answer is yes.
Early in the season, he was Aaron “Dropson.” He, along with Kenbrell “Dropkins,” got off to rough starts. Really rough. They were running the wrong routes and drop more passes than they caught. However, we definitely saw improvement over the course of the season and Dobson could be ready to make the jump to superstardom. The second round pick out of Marshall came in with high, possibly unrealistic, expectations. The last big name receiver to come out of Marshall was Randy Moss. Not only were people comparing Dobson to Moss, for no reason other than the fact that they went to the same school, but it was also assumed he would come in and be great for the sole reason that he had Tom Brady as his quarterback. With Brady having no serious weapons around him, Dobson was going to have to assume the role of Brady’s number one receiver, another outrageous expectation. However, like many rookie receivers, he played like a rookie. That is not surprising or a reason to be down on Dobson’s potential. Rookie receivers have struggled in their first seasons as of late. Take a look at what a few young receivers did in their first season compared to their second… Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals. Floyd was the second receiver off the board in 2012, after only Justin Blackmon. In 16 games his rookie season, he started only three. He caught 45 passes for 562 yards and only two touchdowns. Not so great, huh? His second year he caught 65 balls for over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. He did that with Carson Palmer as his quarterback. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears Jeffery, in my opinion, slipped big time in the 2012 draft. I said that at the time. After a rookie campaign in which he caught only 24 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns, he took a huge jump in year two. 89 catches. 1,421 yards. 7 touchdowns. He became one of the top receivers in football. Kendall Wright, Tennessee Titans Wright, quietly, had a very good season for Tennessee. He caught 94 balls for 1,079 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, the touchdown numbers are low; however, look at the rest of the numbers. He just needs to be targeted more often in the redzone. In 2012, he caught 64 passes for 626 yards and four touchdowns. He clearly improved his second year. In 2013, Aaron Dobson caught 37 passes from Tom Brady for 519 yards and four touchdowns. If that is being compared to Floyd’s, Jeffery’s, and Wright’s rookie years, it is right there with them. In addition, Dobson has the best quarterback out of the bunch. Am I saying Dobson will explode for 1,500 yards? No. Is it possible? Yes. He clearly improved as the year went on. Before his foot injury, Dobson was running better routes and showed better hands. We should see great improvement out of Aaron Dobson next season.
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SAMUEL PERICOLOSam is a graduate of Assumption College where he studied History, Marketing, and Political Science and was a Co-Producer on a weekly sports talk television show. Archives
March 2018
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