NFL teams
Adam Schefter, ESPN Senior Writer 10y

Atlanta-Cincy is showcase of hands

NFL, Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati versus Atlanta feels like it's just as much about Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green versus Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones.

Green and Jones, selected with the No. 4 and No. 6 picks in the 2011 draft, will be measured against each other Sunday, this season and for the rest of their careers.

They are two of the most gifted players in the game, extraordinary talents embarking on critical junctures of their careers.

Each receiver helped his team to a Week 1 win. Each receiver will be key for his team Sunday, when either the Bengals or the Falcons will jump out to a 2-0 start.

But both still have considerable questions to answer. Neither wide receiver has helped his team reach or win a Super Bowl. Together, the two receivers have combined for only one playoff win, when Atlanta beat Seattle in the 2012 playoffs.

Also, neither one has landed his next contract, the big one that will set him up for the rest of his life; at least not yet, anyway.

The market for those deals already was set this summer, when Arizona gave cornerback Patrick Peterson, the player picked right between Green and Jones at No. 5, a five-year, $70 million contract that includes $48 million guaranteed.

After speaking with NFL front-office executives, it's clear that each receiver's next deal will be based on Peterson's past deal. So each player is staring straight at the possibility of a deal that will pay him roughly $14 million per year, and maybe more with the salary cap scheduled to go up in future seasons.

Yet the numbers the receivers are more focused on now are the ones that help their teams to victory Sunday. No doubt the Bengals will be focused on taking away Jones, just as the Falcons will be focused on taking away Green. But both receivers, as they have proved continually, are good enough to beat defenses designed to slow them.

This week, each will be going up against a tough defense but also going up against his counterpart. Green's performance will be measured against Jones', now and throughout their careers.

Hurns rises above in Week 1: Many coaches and scouts considered the 2014 wide receiver draft class the near equivalent of the fabled quarterback draft class of 1983 that featured Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

Stars all around. Especially in Round 1.

The top wide receivers drafted received signing bonuses commensurate with their talents. Buffalo gave Sammy Watkins a $12.8 million bonus, Tampa Bay gave Mike Evans an $8.9 million bonus, the Giants gave Odell Beckham Jr. a $5.8 million bonus, the Saints gave Brandin Cooks a $4.4 million bonus and the Panthers gave Kelvin Benjamin a $3.8 million bonus.

All together, there were 33 wide receivers drafted, with some tremendous talents going in Rounds 2 through 7. The ones not given millions of dollars were given hundreds of thousands.

Yet, after the draft, Jacksonville gave undrafted free-agent wide receiver Allen Hurns a $5,000 signing bonus -- pocket change compared with the bonuses of the receivers drafted ahead of him.

But somehow, on the opening Sunday of the season, Hurns became the first of any of the rookie wide receivers to score two touchdowns. In fact, he became only the second wide receiver in NFL history with touchdowns on his first two NFL catches, joining Lions wideout Charles Rodgers, who did it in 2003.

As much of a surprise as Hurns' success was, maybe it shouldn't have been. Hurns led all NFL receivers this preseason with 14 catches for 232 yards. Just as he led the Miami Hurricanes last season with 62 catches for 1,162 yards and six touchdowns before running a subpar, 4.55-second 40-yard dash at the combine, which was part of the reason he fell out of the draft.

Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell and offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, who coached 6-foot-1, 198-pound Hurns at Miami, helped bring him to Jacksonville. Then, Hurns nearly helped the Jaguars pull off the biggest upset in the NFL's opening weekend.

It happens every season, too. Some players who are supposed to be hits miss. Some players who are supposed to be misses hit. And the same goes with teams.

Nobody expected Buffalo to beat Chicago, but it did. Nobody expected Minnesota to blow out St. Louis, but it did. Now the fun part of the game -- and who couldn't use a little fun after a week like this? -- is seeing whether Hurns and the other surprises can continue to shine.

Five thousand dollars isn't enough to buy much in the NFL these days. But it bought Jacksonville the best wide receiver bargain out there.

It's good to be a QB: Further reinforcing the notion that this has become a passing league were the numbers that emerged from Week 1.

Quarterbacks completed 64.3 percent of their passes, the highest completion percentage in a single week in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous high was set in Week 3 of the 2007 season, when quarterbacks completed 63.5 percent of their passes.

Some of the stats were, to say the least, surprising. Jets quarterback Geno Smith completed 82.1 percent of his passes, although his throws traveled downfield an average of only 4.54 yards. Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III completed 78.4 percent of his passes, although his average completion was only 3.7 yards downfield.

These statistics partly illuminate why so many quarterbacks are completing so many passes.

What's driving the higher completion percentages are shorter, ball-control passing games and the defensive penalties being called. As they warned in the preseason, officials are calling more illegal contact and defensive holding penalties than they did last season, making life even more challenging for defensive backs.

Not only are the rules working for quarterbacks but so are the shorter passes. In Week 1, the average pass distance was 8.0 yards. The average pass in the NFL hasn't been under 8.0 yards at the end of a season since 2009.

SCHEF'S SPECIALTIES

Player of the Week: Saints tight end Jimmy Graham. Even for one of the league's up-and-coming young defenses (Cleveland), this is a tough matchup.

Game of the Week: Seattle at San Diego. The world champs won't play quite as well.

Upset of the Week (1-0 this season): Jacksonville over Washington. Jags have a chance to do what they nearly did in Philadelphia.

^ Back to Top ^