Patriots are signing former Bills’ WR Jordan Matthews to a one-year deal, per source. Healthy now, so could be a real factor.
This could be a pretty big signing if he's healthy and ready to go.
Patriots sign Jordan Matthews
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
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Patriots are signing former Bills’ WR Jordan Matthews to a one-year deal, per source. Healthy now, so could be a real factor.
This could be a pretty big signing if he's healthy and ready to go.
Geez, I didn't realize the numbers this guy put up with Philly. Here are his four-year NFL stats:
Matthews (6'3", 212 lbs, 25 years old)
2014 (Phi): 67 rec, 872 yds, 13.0 ypc, 8 td
2015 (Phi): 85 rec, 997 yds, 11.7 ypc, 8 td
2016 (Phi): 73 rec, 804 yds, 11.0 ypc, 3 td
2017 (Buf): 25 rec, 282 yds, 22.3 ypc, 1 td
If he's healthy, this guy is really good. Very very nice pickup.
Matthews (6'3", 212 lbs, 25 years old)
2014 (Phi): 67 rec, 872 yds, 13.0 ypc, 8 td
2015 (Phi): 85 rec, 997 yds, 11.7 ypc, 8 td
2016 (Phi): 73 rec, 804 yds, 11.0 ypc, 3 td
2017 (Buf): 25 rec, 282 yds, 22.3 ypc, 1 td
If he's healthy, this guy is really good. Very very nice pickup.
If those numbers are any indication, it looks like they maybe had him running longer routes?
The YPC for Buffalo is off, should be 11.3 ypc.
His targets were way way down. He averaged about 117 per year in Philly, only had 36 last year. He was at about the same pace as 2016.
Like the signing, a lot.
I like this deal. Matthews isn't a prototypical slot guy but he is a precise route runner with great hands.
At times his great hands have had pretty big drop problems. But overall, he’s a nice receiver to get.
For example in 2015 - https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.delawareonline.com/amp/74702564
In 2016 he was tied for 8th most drops. (If one even believes that stat) Still, better to be thrown the ball than be a non-factor.
Both of these hit the spot for me.
Some drops and, at 6'3, a bit of an anomaly for a slot receiver. He also had trouble in Philly when they asked him to play more vertically or to the outside.
With both of those things said, he's a great for a spread offense and provides valuable insurance in case anything happens to Edelman. I'm really happy with this signing.
Do people think he'll wind up playing a Brandon LaFell role here? They're almost identical in terms of measureables. It sounds like both are pretty good route-runner with occasional drop issues, and not great deep threats or contested catchers.
He may not get the looks in this offense but that’s basically what he’s been in the past.
It's an interesting comparison. Matthews has been predominantly a slot guy in his NFL career, but LaFell was primarily a slot guy in Carolina before the Patriots signed him and he was able to make the shift to the outside. I'm not even sure which is a bigger need right now.
Meh. He's pretty much a buster. Injury prone, drop prone, disappears for large portions of the game if not the entire game. My bet is he's looking for work come late August.
Not that I was down on the Cooks trade at any point, but I'm feeling increasingly good about the offense. With elite offensive coaching, the best QB in the league, and Gronk, White, and Hogan, the cornerstone pieces of the passing game are in place. What's then left is a sizable handful of gambles, none of which is all that outlandish on its own. (OK, maybe Patterson playing like a 1st rd WR, but beyond that...)
-Edelman returns healthy
-Mitchell comes back healthy and delivers on the promise of his rookie year
-Matthews' play more closely resembles his time in Philly than in Buffalo
-With a full offseason in the system, Britt regains his 1000 yard form
-Dorsett or Patterson deliver on any of the promise implied by their draft status
Are all of these things going to happen? Absolutely not. But how many need to for this offense to hum along as usual? 2? 3? I won't disagree that the 2019-and-beyond outlook is a concern, but I don't think you need to squint to see the 2018 form as a top tier offense. With the rest of FA and the draft still to come, I'm downright optimistic.
Of course, if the Gronk situation resolves negatively, this goes to shit.
-Edelman returns healthy
-Mitchell comes back healthy and delivers on the promise of his rookie year
-Matthews' play more closely resembles his time in Philly than in Buffalo
-With a full offseason in the system, Britt regains his 1000 yard form
-Dorsett or Patterson deliver on any of the promise implied by their draft status
Are all of these things going to happen? Absolutely not. But how many need to for this offense to hum along as usual? 2? 3? I won't disagree that the 2019-and-beyond outlook is a concern, but I don't think you need to squint to see the 2018 form as a top tier offense. With the rest of FA and the draft still to come, I'm downright optimistic.
Of course, if the Gronk situation resolves negatively, this goes to shit.
He played 46 of a possible 48 games through three seasons, and even in last year's nightmare season he still suited up for 10 games. Seems like a low threshold for injury-prone. Career game log tells me he puts up at least 3-4 catches most of the time.
I was thinking he would be a Mitchell Clone, if you can clone a guy who has given you like 10 games of production.
Basically will he run alot of sideline outs and quick slants. Both seem to play to his strengths while getting him on the field and not "displacing" Jules from his true Slot position.
Then again They made Edelman and Amendola work so 2 slot guys can coexist in this offense at the same time, as long as Gronk (and Hogan to a lesser extent) is healthy and acts as your (realistic) vertical threat (as opposed to Dorsett who right now anyway is a deep threat in theory only).
Basically will he run alot of sideline outs and quick slants. Both seem to play to his strengths while getting him on the field and not "displacing" Jules from his true Slot position.
Then again They made Edelman and Amendola work so 2 slot guys can coexist in this offense at the same time, as long as Gronk (and Hogan to a lesser extent) is healthy and acts as your (realistic) vertical threat (as opposed to Dorsett who right now anyway is a deep threat in theory only).
Maybe I'm misremembering, but I recall lots of nagging type injuries that didn't necessarily keep him out of games.
http://sportsinjurypredictor.com/player/jordan-matthews/6963
Did they? I mean, Amendola's playoff heroics aside, he didn't really do much for the Pats in the regular season, and even then it seemed like most of his production came when Edelman was out and he was forced into the main slot receiver role.
Matthews is playing this year for peanuts. 1-year, $1 million deal. Only $170,000 is guaranteed.
I guess he didn't talk to the all the disgruntled former Pats or any of those Eagles players about playing in New England cuz I have to think he could have got that in a few places.
Every friggin' year.
1) Free agency opens
2) A bunch of teams sign big names while the Pats do little
3) People start panicking
4) Wait a few weeks
5) Pats sign useful players to unbelievably cheap deals
6) 1 out of the 12 guys we cite as a ‘steal’ makes the team and or actually contributes.
We always champion their under the radar signings but frankly they don’t often pan out as we’d like.
We always champion their under the radar signings but frankly they don’t often pan out as we’d like.
The hit rate isn't great, but it's not that bad. The hit rate also isn't great for big money FA either, and the Pats aren't out nearly as much money.
If he stays this quotable and catches a few passes, I'm going to really love the Jordan Matthews era:
People with BSJ access can also read about his many connections to the Pats roster.
https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2018/04/12/before-wearing-no-80-for-patriots-jordan-matthews-wanted-to-get-approval-from-danny-amendola/
People with BSJ access can also read about his many connections to the Pats roster.
