Lets talk about Colston (1 Viewer)

[PsychoMan]

I don't know a lot about Colston, nor do I watch the NO games, so I'm pretty much pullin this outta my ###, but wanted to hear more in general about this Colston fellow.

Why does yahoo (and other sites I've heard) have him listed as a WR/TE - Does he ever lineup as a TE? What was his primary role in college? Brees seems to be looking his way early. What do people think about Brees latching on to this guy the way he latched on to Gates in San Diego?

per NFL.com:

Colston: 6-4 231

Gates: 6-4 260

Similar size -- how do the skillsets compare?

ETA:::

Targets/Receptions/Yards/Touchdowns

Week1 @ CLE

8/4/49/1 - 2 redzone targets - another near-red-zone target from the 21

Week2 @ GB

9/4/58/1

Week3 vs ATL

10/7/97/0 - 2 redzone targets

Cumulative targets for NO through week 3:

Colston 27

Bush 24

Horn 18

Henderson 12

 

[redman]

Colston will assume a Gates-like role when Gates starts playing as a WR.

Colston's a big WR with some athleticism and a lot of promise. It's impressive that he became a starter as a rookie, but he was drafted low and needs to develop. He's also in a division with no easy secondaries to face.

 

[Sidewinder]

No, he does not line up at TE. So far, they have not used him over the middle either. Other than a couple of quick slants, all his targets have been on the outside. Obviously a big kid, has outstanding hands.

Why does yahoo have him listed as a TE ? Seems that some teams had him projected as a TE coming out of the combine, but the Saints never had any intention of using him there.

Brees seem to be looking his way early ? Not necessarily. Drew is really spreading the ball around. Without checking the numbers, I'm guessing Horn, Colston, and Henderson are all pretty close on targets at this point.

 

[RRaptors]

Brees seem to be looking his way early ? Not necessarily. Drew is really spreading the ball around. Without checking the numbers, I'm guessing Horn, Colston, and Henderson are all pretty close on targets at this point.

Colston = 17 targetsHorn = 13 targetsHenderson = 10 targets

 

[Trap Play]

Additionally, Colston is the only one of those three to have any red zone targets with two.

 

[guderian]

I haven't seen any evidence of Brees locking into one target, I'm sure he locked onto Gates because of Gates' talent relative to the other receivers in SD. NO has Horn and Bush, among others, and Brees seems to be spreading the ball around. Colston could have a decent year, but I wouldn't expect more than 800 yards from him.

 

[TommyGilmore]

Why does yahoo (and other sites I've heard) have him listed as a WR/TE

He played mostly TE at Hofstra but the Saints converted him to WR. Pretty simple.

 

[Todem]

Colston is a great story and looks like a heck of a player that went through the cracks. I am very happy I picked him up in many of my dynasty/redraft leagues. I like his prospects at becoming that teams primary WR in the very near future. If they traded away Stallworth that should tell you something about how they feel about this kid from Hofstra!

Yes I play in too many leagues

 

[digitalamish]

Not to turn this into a WDIS question, but for any homers that watch NO, who is the primary target for Brees? Colston seems to be getting the catches, but is he the primary target now, or have the D's been concentrating on covering Horn? Is he really the target in the red zone? I'm trying to look beyond the stats here.

When looking at the Saint's receiving, don't forget Reggie. He has 16 catches this year, exceeding both Horn and Henderson!

 

[PsychoMan]

I haven't seen any evidence of Brees locking into one target, I'm sure he locked onto Gates because of Gates' talent relative to the other receivers in SD. NO has Horn and Bush, among others, and Brees seems to be spreading the ball around. Colston could have a decent year, but I wouldn't expect more than 800 yards from him.

Brees had McCardell & Tomlinson - I think that's comparible enough to Horn & Bush (in terms of receiving targets).So he's not lining up as a TE, but maybe we could concede that Brees likes big targets?

 

[2112]

Not to turn this into a WDIS question, but for any homers that watch NO, who is the primary target for Brees? Colston seems to be getting the catches, but is he the primary target now, or have the D's been concentrating on covering Horn? Is he really the target in the red zone? I'm trying to look beyond the stats here.

When looking at the Saint's receiving, don't forget Reggie. He has 16 catches this year, exceeding both Horn and Henderson!

Saints targets thru week 2 of this season:Bush - 19

Colston - 17

Horn - 13

Henderson - 10

Chargers targets for weeks 2 & 3 in 2005 (since Gates missed week1)

Gates - 14 [full year - 140]

McCardell - 12 [108]

LT - 7 [76]

Parker - 6 [80]

So the big target-story here is Bush, not only Colston.

ETA: fwiw, Gates also led SD in targets in 2004

 

[PsychoMan]

Not to turn this into a WDIS question, but for any homers that watch NO, who is the primary target for Brees? Colston seems to be getting the catches, but is he the primary target now, or have the D's been concentrating on covering Horn? Is he really the target in the red zone? I'm trying to look beyond the stats here.When looking at the Saint's receiving, don't forget Reggie. He has 16 catches this year, exceeding both Horn and Henderson!

Saints targets thru week 2 of this season:Bush - 19Colston - 17Horn - 13Henderson - 10Chargers targets for weeks 2 & 3 in 2005 (since Gates missed week1)Gates - 14McCardell - 12LT - 7Parker - 6So the big target-story here is Bush, not only Colston.ETA: fwiw, Gates also led SD in targets in 2004

Nice work - I was thinking of getting the exact same data - thanks for doing it first I'll be curious to see how this shapes up the next couple of weeks as well ...

 

[Bucks]

If you look at the entire team target distribution for the Saints Week 1 and 2 compared with the last couple of years you will see that so far Bush isn't taking targets away from the WR's. They are coming from the Deuce and the TE's.

 

[2112]

If you look at the entire team target distribution for the Saints Week 1 and 2 compared with the last couple of years you will see that so far Bush isn't taking targets away from the WR's. They are coming from the Deuce and the TE's.

Good point, Bucks. The targets for the first 2 weeks of each season on the Saints have gone this way:2006

WR - 42

TE - 3

RB - 27

2005

WR - 44

TE - 12

RB - 10

2004

WR - 45

TE - 12

RB - 13

 

[2112]

In breaking down the Saints first two games, have been very impressed with Marques Colston. Drew Brees is targeting Colston exclusively in the endzone. Brees is also offering big play potential in the other pass plays that Colston has been getting his looks on. Colston getting 25% more passes his way than Joe Horn is very big. New Orleans is not a defensive juggernaut, so one can expect them to continue passing all year long. This makes both rookies, Bush and Colston, very valuable this year as the Saints top two receiving options.

not to mention Drew Brees

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

Why does yahoo (and other sites I've heard) have him listed as a WR/TE

He played mostly TE at Hofstra but the Saints converted him to WR. Pretty simple.

This is not correct. He was always a WR. Colston was seen as a WR/TE tweener as some because of his size, but a conversion never materialized.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

Colston will assume a Gates-like role when Gates starts playing as a WR. Colston's a big WR with some athleticism and a lot of promise. It's impressive that he became a starter as a rookie, but he was drafted low and needs to develop. He's also in a division with no easy secondaries to face.

I think Colston's going to surprise you - throw out his low draft position when you are evaluating him. The scouts were wrong about him, plain and simple. I guarantee you he would be a first day pick if teams could back and draft again. He does need time to develop, but he's got good quickness for such a big guy, great speed for a big guy, and seems to have a natural knack for creating seperation and presenting a huge target for Brees - because of that last point, I think he can indeed become the Gates for Brees in New Orleans (altho asking for Gates numbers, or even 80% of Gates numbers may be too much) - like Gates, Colston knows how to "block out" and get between the defenders and the ball while its in the air. Whats been even more suprising is his ability to get behind the defense, as he did vs GB at least twice - once for a TD (that Brees underthrew and the DB still couldnt catch up to Colston) and once overthrown by Brees or he could have had a 2 TD day last week.Congrats to all of you that got Colston on your WW - he's for real - and thanks to John Murphy, nextlevelscouting/yahoo sports/Shrine Game personnel director for giving me the heads up on Colston - anyone who read my Shrine Game stuff back in January should remember that Murphy was very high on Colston and handpicked him to replace Maurice Stovall when Stovall decided to play in the Senior Bowl instead.

 

[fridayfrenzy]

per NFL.com:Colston:6-4 231Antonio Gates:6-4 260Similar size -- how do the skillsets compare?

I don't think a 30 pound difference still constitutes similar size

 

[Doug B]

Additionally, Colston is the only one of those three to have any red zone targets with two.

On top of this, Colston scored once outside of the red zone against GB ... and almost scored a second time the same way -- in the second quarter, Brees overthrew Colston by about a foot on what would have been an in-stride catch at the Packers 5 and an easy jaunt for 6.Another way to look at his targets: 4 of his 17 have been "money" targets, intended for TDs. 2 connected.

 

[Doug B]

(Colston) seems to have a natural knack for creating seperation and presenting a huge target for Brees ...

Yep ... and he's not getting separation by pure quicks. He's boxing out DBs like Dennis Rodman. Colston's got the best "body use" I've seen from a WR since Michael Irvin.

 

[cscmtp]

Bloom do you think once B. Marshall gets on the field, he could have a similar type of game/impact? Both he and Colston are BIG kids, that's for sure.

 

[David Dodds]

Why does yahoo (and other sites I've heard) have him listed as a WR/TE

He played mostly TE at Hofstra but the Saints converted him to WR. Pretty simple.

This is not correct. He was always a WR. Colston was seen as a WR/TE tweener as some because of his size, but a conversion never materialized.

As a huge Bush fan, I have watched a lot of the Saints games this year. Here is my take on Colston:Very Strong. I could see why many scouts could see him as a tight end. He gets separation because of his size/strength not his speed. Like Gates, he looks like a power forward playing football. You are not going to successfully jam Colston on the line of scrimmage. And when he gets position (against single coverage), he will win these battles most of the time. As others have noted though, the passes to Colston so far have been to the sidelines. This might be by design though as Brees routinely checks down to Bush if the WRs are covered. Leaving the middle of the field open on screens to Bush could result in some long gains with Bush's cutback abilities. The TEs are non-existent so far in this offense. Even if Colston continues to get a lot of targets, I doubt teams would double him. He is usually not wide open. He just does not give up position once he has it. He is the power forward that successfully blocks you out to get the rebound. Brees has looked very good through two games. Colston offers a safe throwing target (always single covered, is tall, gets position, etc). Horn and Henderson get open the old way. They run crisp routes and have speed. Whether you use a TE (like SD does) or a WR (like NO does), I believe more teams are going to get these kinds of players like Colston. They are perfect to run 3 WR sets with as they present mismatches for linebackers and defensive backs.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

good post, bloom...

i liked that you made a distinction between speed & quickness... there are probably a lot of guys the size of colston that are as fast... but i think to have his quickness coupled with that size is more rare... that will help him to get enough separation to become an inviting target often...

things to like about colston...

- the rodman analogy elsewhere is a good one... michael irvin's name came up as a big, physical WR... cris carter, too, was like a power forward with great timing, instincts & the strength & physical nature to box out the defender & wall him off from the ball

- i emphasized his quickness, but he reportedly has 4.5 speed, which isn't slow... that would be at least as fast as jerry rice coming out of college, & others on this list (irvin & carter, also TO)

- size... since he isn't compromizing speed or quickness, he is huge (listed 230, i think)... bigger than irvin & carter, bigger than andre johnson (though not nearly as fast tas former big east 60 m indoor & 100 m outdoor sprint champ), might be bigger than mushin muhammad, maybe similar to david boston (again, not as fast as boston who was a size/speed FREEEK!) before he balooned up to NT size...

- smooth... he just moves well for his size... looks very athletic, coordinated, with good body control... a key to route running is to be able to maintain your speed throughout the rout stem, not have to slow down when you plant & cut & have to gather yourself, also to not have tells or giveaways about what you are going to do (as much as possible run the same way each time)... his movement skills should help him...

- hands... has he dropped a pass, yet? plus his height & reach with long arms will enable him to get to more balls...

- maturity... he doesn't seem like the game is too big for him or look nervous... WR is historically a notoriously difficult position to get up to speed quickly... the fact that he has seguewayed seemingly so effortlessly bodes well for future...

- good QB... brees has shown in the past he is good at distributing the ball to his playmakers...

- good WR opposite him... with joe horn, he won't see nearly as many double teams... though if he keeps being such a good red zone weapon, that might change...

- great running game... great talent & options in the running game... doesn't get much better than deuce & bush... they may face a lot of coverages with 1 safety over the top with one cheating up to the box... with horn across from him, he may have a lot of times where the CB covering him won't have help over the top...

opportunity... stallworth getting traded right before the season was a great stroke of luck... as to devery henderson, he seems like a better fit for the WR3, a change-of-pace, speedy deep threat... colston seems logical as a great complement to joe horn, a possession WR who can move the chains & get tough catches over the middle but also get deep with deceptive speed... he seems far more well rounded than henderson, though of course not nearly as fast...

 

[Tom Baker]

Okay then, pick two for Week Three: Bruce, Colston, S. Smith.

Not a WDIS. Really.

 

[PsychoMan]

per NFL.com:Colston:6-4 231Antonio Gates:6-4 260Similar size -- how do the skillsets compare?

I don't think a 30 pound difference still constitutes similar size

exact same height - both well over 200 lb receiving targets ... similar isn't the right word? how about akin, comparable, related?what word would you use?

 

[fridayfrenzy]

per NFL.com:Colston:6-4 231Antonio Gates:6-4 260Similar size -- how do the skillsets compare?

I don't think a 30 pound difference still constitutes similar size

exact same height - both well over 200 lb receiving targets ... similar isn't the right word? how about akin, comparable, related?what word would you use?

Just cause they are the same height, doesn't mean they are similar. 30 pounds is quite of bit of weight, its actually 15% of Colston's total weight. r Todd Pinkston is 6'2 and 170 lbsandDavid Boston is 6'2 and 210 lbs.I wouldn't call them similar in size.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

Bloom do you think once B. Marshall gets on the field, he could have a similar type of game/impact? Both he and Colston are BIG kids, that's for sure.

Colston and Marshall share a lot of the same qualities - but I think Marshall also has a gift for playing physical - similar to Boldin. Both Colston and Marshall are guys that shouldn't be as quick as they are with the huge frames that they have.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

opportunity... stallworth getting traded right before the season was a great stroke of luck...

go back and look at sean payton's comments after the trade - it was not a stroke of luck for Colston, in fact Colston's great camp is what made the trade viable for the Saints.

 

[PsychoMan]

per NFL.com:Colston:6-4 231Antonio Gates:6-4 260Similar size -- how do the skillsets compare?

I don't think a 30 pound difference still constitutes similar size

exact same height - both well over 200 lb receiving targets ... similar isn't the right word? how about akin, comparable, related?what word would you use?

Just cause they are the same height, doesn't mean they are similar. 30 pounds is quite of bit of weight, its actually 15% of Colston's total weight. r Todd Pinkston is 6'2 and 170 lbsandDavid Boston is 6'2 and 210 lbs.I wouldn't call them similar in size.

I didn't say the same, but I said similar - I was pointing to the fact that they are the same height, and relatively close in weight. In fact, they're both going to outweigh any defensive back that covers them.Fair enough though, I see your point ...

 

[redman]

(Colston) seems to have a natural knack for creating seperation and presenting a huge target for Brees ...

Yep ... and he's not getting separation by pure quicks. He's boxing out DBs like Dennis Rodman. Colston's got the best "body use" I've seen from a WR since Michael Irvin.

Michael used his hands, not his body.

 

[PsychoMan]

ETA - Will keep track of some stats in main description.

 

[Doug B]

(Colston) seems to have a natural knack for creating seperation and presenting a huge target for Brees ...

Yep ... and he's not getting separation by pure quicks. He's boxing out DBs like Dennis Rodman. Colston's got the best "body use" I've seen from a WR since Michael Irvin.

Michael used his hands, not his body.

 

[PsychoMan]

What were his targets on the night? This guy is a stud and HUGE for leagues where he can play as a TE (yahoo & whatever else).

ETA

9 targets on the night? Someone correct me if I'm wrong ...

 

[2112]

What were his targets on the night?

Targets - 10 (Incl 2 in red zone)Recpts - 7

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

One telling target was a play in the red zone that was designed to go to Colston on a quick pass to the outside, and let him try to bull into the end zone. He got tripped up at the 5, and seemed frustrated that he didn't get in. The key thing to take from this is that they called a play inside the 20 (at the 12, i think) to get the ball in Colston's hands.

 

[valhallan]

I think Colston is assuming Gates role because of his height. Brees is one of the shorter quarterbacks in the league (6'0") and has trouble seeing over the line on occasion. He has admitted to this in interviews, and I even heard him say on NFL Radio last year that he sometimes practices his throws with his eyes closed. With that in mind, is it any surprise he locked in on a huge 6'4" target in San Diego and now seems to be locking in on a huge 6'4" target in New Orleans? It's possible he can see those guys better than other receivers and feels more comfortable looking their way.

The year-end stats remain to be seen, but maybe we should have expected this from Brees. My