Dropped passes are one of the most reported events at Green Bay Packers training camp and especially so this year, with at least eight receivers vying for five or six roster spots.
At least four receivers have already been cited by reporters as having multiple drops at camp. While I’m not a fan of dropped balls, I doubt that such mistakes will have much bearing on who makes the roster or the order on the depth chart.
Drops are not so much a physical failing as a mental one. Virtually any receiver who makes it to the NFL has about 10 years of football already under his belt. Anyone who has excelled at the college level has shown he can catch the ball. Without this basic skill, players don’t make it this far.
This is not to say that some players aren’t blessed with extraordinary hands. On the Packers, tight end Richard Rodgers is the consensus good-hands receiver. I would think Jordy Nelson ranks high too. Newcomer Trevor Davis has also demonstrated good hands to this point.
In mid-career, James Jones became a focus one year due to having a bunch of drops the year before. He responded by having one drop all season, and ever since he’s had a deserved reputation for fighting for and hanging on to passes thrown his way.
Based on last season, if dropped passes were seen as a predictor of future performance, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb would be far down on the depth chart or off the roster entirely. Dropped passes are a streaky phenomenon – or we better hope so if we don’t want a repeat of 2015.
Several All-Pro level players have dropped more than their fair share of passes, without it hurting their careers. Terrell Owens and Dez Bryant come to mind. Sportingcharts.com is one of several analytics outfits that tries to count dropped passes – though it ridiculously counts any pass touched but not caught as a drop. Even so, its list of top 10 receivers with the most drops in 2015 includes such stars as Mike Evans, Amari Cooper, Brandon Marshall, Martavis Bryant, Demaryius Thomas and Julian Edelman.
I can’t think of any pro receiver who washed out of the league due to too many dropped passes.
Rather than dwelling on drops, the focus at Packers training camp this year ought to be on receivers getting open enough – and spreading the field while doing so – to be an inviting target.
After that goal is achieved, then we can worry about whether they’ll catch the ball.