Last week I wrote about Purdue’s dramatic increase in on-paper talent (click here if you want to read it) this season compared to last. This article is somewhat related, but focuses more on roster management than talent acquisition.
It’s not that Purdue didn’t have talented wide receivers last season, but the talent was physically small. Jeff Brohm left the new team with two somewhat experienced slot receivers and an oft-injured, rarely used flanker. Options for Hudson Card and Graham Harrell were limited and the throwing windows were tight. Not only that, but it’s difficult to throw a wide receiver screen when most of your receivers are smaller or the same size as the defensive backs they’re covering.
Before Purdue, Harrell made a career out of throwing to physical receivers and taking advantage of the quick wide receiver screen game. He tried to bring in someone who could fit that scheme right away, but 6-foot-3, 220-pound FAU transfer Jahmal Edrine blew a tire in fall camp and missed the season.
To understand how much the loss of Edrine hurt last season, you have to look at the leading receivers under Harrell.
Graham Harrell’s leading receivers during his career as OC
2023 – Pittsburgh
Deion Burks – 5’11, 195
47 receptions, 629 yards, 7 touchdowns
2022 – Virginia
Bryce Ford-Wheaton – 6’3”, 200 pounds
62 receptions, 675 yards, 7 touchdowns
2021 USC
Drake London – 6ft 5in, 210
88 receptions, 1084 yards, 7 touchdowns
2020 USC
Drake London – 6ft 5in, 200
35 pass catches, 502 yards, 3 touchdowns
2019 USC
Michael Pittman Jr. – 6’4”, 225 pounds
101 receptions, 1275 yards, 11 touchdowns
2018 North Texas
Rico Bussey Jr. – 1.88 m, 86 kg
68 receptions, 1017 yards, 12 touchdowns
2017 North Texas
Michael Lawrence – 5’10, 190
62 receptions, 819 yards, 4 touchdowns
When given the opportunity, Harrell likes to throw the ball outside to big receivers. Even when Michael Lawrence led North Texas in receiving in 2017, he was surpassed by Rico Bussey Jr. in 2018.
Purdue’s problem was not only that their best receiver was a slot receiver, but also that their No. 2 receiver, TJ Sheffield, is also under 6’1″ and 200 pounds. Abdur-Rahmann Yaseen had good size at 6’2″ and 200 pounds, but Harrell and Co. had the same problem with Yasseen as the previous team: He couldn’t stay on the field. All credit goes to Yasseen, because in the few situations he was healthy, he was a solid technical receiver, able to find a gap in the zone, catch the ball, and get to the ground. Oddly enough, that’s exactly what I want from my slot receiver, and not the only viable receiver on the roster who is over 6’1″.
Let’s move on to 2024
The wide receiver room was completely revamped in the offseason. Deion Burks got a raise to play in the slot for Oklahoma, TJ Sheffield entered the portal before the season and now plays for UConn, Abdur-Rahmaan Yasseen took his talents to USF, and several Brohm holdovers who rarely/never accomplished anything left the program.
In their place is a new and much larger cast of characters.
Purdue receiver over 6’1″ in 2024
Jahmal Edrine – 1.90 m, 97 kg (returning from injury)
CJ Smith – 1.90 m, 88 kg (transfer from Georgia)
Jaron Tibbs – 1.90 m, 97 kg (2nd year student)
Leland Smith – 6’4”, 220 pounds (JuCo transfer)
Tra’Mar Harris – 1.85 m, 83 kg (freshman)
De’Nylon Morrissette – 6’1″, 200 (UGA transfer)
Kam Brown – 6’1, 185 (UCLA transfer)
In a strange turn of events, Purdue previously only had slot receivers, and now the team may need one of their own in 2024. However, I believe the staff will be happy to choose between Jayden Dixon-Veal and Kam Brown, or possibly put a bigger receiver like Tibbs in the slot to confuse defenses even more and improve perimeter blocking.
When/if everyone is healthy, Purdue will go from an undersized receiver team in 2023 to an NFL-sized receiver team in 2024. Check it out.
Projected depth chart for 2024 (if everyone is healthy)
Border – CJ Smith – 6’3″, 195
Field – Jahmal Edrine – 6’3″, 215
Slot – Jayden Dixon-Veal – 6’0″, 190 or Kam Brown – 6’1″, 185 or Andrew Sowinski – 6’0″, 205
Depth chart for the 2023 season opening
Border – Deion Burks – 5’11, 195
Field – Abdur-Rahmaan Yasseen – 6’2”, 200
Slot – TJ Sheffield – 5’11, 190
Keep in mind that the 2024 team has significantly more depth at both the boundary and field positions. Smith will miss the first game of the season against Indiana State as a precautionary measure (he’s working through a hamstring strain), but unlike last season, when Purdue didn’t have a replacement for Edrine on the roster, there are plenty of capable players this season who fall into the traditional “boundary” category.
Why is this important?
In today’s age of specialization, different receivers play different roles in the offense. If one of those roles isn’t filled, it limits the offense. Burks did a good job on the perimeter but wasn’t playing his position, but Card had to drop the ball over the top and let it land on a postage stamp to hit something deep. As good as Burks was last season, he didn’t win many 50/50 balls (or Dabo Swinney called jump balls when Mike Williams, Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross played at Clemson, 80/20 balls).
I mentioned Clemson above because I also write about the Tigers and they are a good example of why it is important to have great receivers.
When the Tigers were in their offensive prime (hopefully they return there this season), Watson and Lawrence would throw to big guys with Velcro hands like the aforementioned Williams, Higgins, and Ross. As soon as Watson or Lawrence saw one of their big receivers covered a single or a safety fell for a play fake, they would release the ball. It didn’t matter if those guys were free, because they didn’t need to be free. Higgins was so good at using his 6’4″ frame to stretch out of the field that Clemson often got an automatic first down at any time with an out route to the sticks. Lawrence didn’t even have to throw the ball down the field to get a completion. As long as he got it anywhere close, Higgins or Ross would snatch the ball out of the air and follow it with their toes.
Big receivers make the quarterback’s and offensive coordinators’ jobs a lot easier because less precision is required from the quarterback, and sometimes precision is difficult when you’re being chased by 300-pound men who want to end the afternoon early.
Purdue had to do everything it could to get the ball to Burks deep on the perimeter. The defense had to hold firm, the safety had to stay in the middle of the field, and Card had to throw a pass over the top. The perfectly high balls required to get the ball to Burks can now be returned over the shoulder as the defense outplays the 6-foot-3 Smith (or whoever is playing on the perimeter). The safety, while still worth considering, will not rush in at the last moment and outpace Smith on the ball gain. In fact, it will be difficult to keep the safety deep on the perimeter, as Edrine regularly gets the ball on the field side of the formation and punishes corners with his physical playstyle.
Speaking of Edrine, this season the ball seems to belong to him when he’s in the air. Even when he’s marked, he’s free because he’ll find a way to catch the ball and if he can’t, the defender can’t either. It’s a very different style of play than what we saw last year from the smaller and less assertive Yaseen.
I haven’t even mentioned De’Nylon Morrissette yet, but physically he’s better than anyone Purdue had last season. This team has options that Card and Harrell just didn’t have last year, and that will make calling plays and playing quarterback a lot easier.
Card will be able to get the ball flying a little farther instead of standing in the pocket and hoping for a release. The ball can get to the big guys quickly on slant routes because defensive backs won’t be able to fight through Edrine like they were able to with Burks and Sheffield. The quick outside flip to a big receiver on 3rd and short was a favorite of Harrell’s at one point in his career, and I expect we’ll see it quite a bit this year. Very few cornerbacks will tackle Edrine short of a first down when he needs two yards.
Walters and Harrell promised “basketball on grass” and now they have the guys to make it happen. I’m optimistic the results will follow.
