Two Clemson pros make top-20 NFL receivers ranking |
Two Clemson pros made PFF's final top-25 receivers for the 2022-23 regular season -- but were a little
further down than you might expect.
Los Angeles Chargers standout Mike Williams is up first at No. 18 (78.9 grade). "While most might associate Williams with ridiculous contested receptions, his sure hands also need to be highlighted. He posted a 1.5 percent drop rate in 2022, which was tied for the 10th-lowest rate among wide receivers last year. In addition, he also caught 57.7 percent of his contested targets, which was tied for 16th among 90 wide receivers," said PFF's Zoltan Buday. Williams logged 63 catches for 895 yards with four touchdowns this past season after career-best numbers in 2021 (76 catches for 1,146 yards and nine scores). Tee Higgins is tied for 20th (78.4 grade) from the AFC Championship Game participant Cincinnati Bengals. "Higgins took a minor step back in most counting stats and PFF grade, yet he still remained an elite wide receiver and has a place among the top 20 in the NFL. He did post the lowest drop rate of his career while passes going his way resulted in a 121.0 passer rating, which was the fifth-highest among wide receivers," said Buday. Higgins was listed among 10 players who could've made the outlet's top-101 players ranking. "Higgins has been talked about for a while as a No. 1 receiver in any other offense, but there remained doubt over how much of that was just a product of Ja’Marr Chase‘s impact on opposing defenses. This season, Higgins got the opportunity to step up and be the team's lead option without Chase in the lineup for a period of time, and he justified the hype. In the stretch without Chase, Higgins averaged nine targets, 6.5 catches, and 93 yards, scoring a couple of touchdowns along the way," said PFF's Sam Monson. He has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons with 13 touchdowns over the last two campaigns. Miami's Tyreek Hill led the PFF's grading (92.1).
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