It feels like we talk more about players peaking in contract years than it actually happens.
Our premise is simlpe and works to the motivations of those who focus on money rather than competition or the other aspects of life. Players prepare better, commit more and try harder when they understand that a big pay day can come after the season. Once they have earned their big contract, they revert to old ways, taking a lazier approach to their preparation and showing less effort on the field.
Travis Benjamin is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He is about to turn 26 years of age and is enjoying his first fantasy-relevant season. Through eight games, Benjamin has 41 receptions for 623 yards and four touchdowns. He has been the Browns' number one receiver all season. Before this year, he had compiled just 517 yards and five touchdowns on 41 receptions in three years.
Benjamin's numbers aren't the result of Josh McCown's quarterback play. The veteran has hurt Benjamin's production this year rather than lifted it up. Instead, Benjamin's sudden explosion is a combination of performance and opportunity.
Another suspension for Josh Gordon at the end of last year left a void atop the Browns' depth chart for another season. After ignoring receivers in the draft once again, the Browns signed veterans Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline to help ease the loss of Gordon. Hartline, Bowe and carryover Taylor Gabriel were expected to combine to replace the production lost by Gordon. Bowe and Gabriel in particular were supposed to be the focal points of the offense.
Injuries prevented Bowe from establishing himself as a starter during training camp and since he has been healthy he has failed to become a factor on the field. Gabriel's production last year was largely created by Kyle Shanahan putting him in situations to succeed. As such, it was less of a surprise that he couldn't continue his relatively consistent production into this year. That left the Browns with Benjamin.
The Browns have never seemingly viewed Benjamin as a refined receiver. His primary role has been on special teams and in specific offensive plays that put the ball in his hands rather than asked him to get open. Benjamin got some opportunities, but he never established a skill set that encouraged the offensive staffs to repeatedly feature him in the offense.
After three years of his career, Benjamin appeared to be destined for a career as a bit-part player. Someone on the fringe of multiple rosters who lacked the talent to be a quality offensive piece but was just good enough in other areas to hold onto a job.
Benjamin likely saw that career coming. Entering the 2015 season, he knew he would be reaching the first real crossroads of his career in the following offseason. There's no doubt that the receiver has re-applied himself to his craft, showing off greater consistency and ball skills than ever before. However, it's also clear that Benjamin has the talent to be a quality starter for many years.
At 5'10" and 175 lbs, Benjamin is far from a big receiver. Considering his past as an intimidating punt returner, it's no surprise that he primarily relies on his quickness and acceleration to be a successful receiver. What stands out most about Benjamin is his lack of wasted motion. He runs very crisp routes, taking advantage of his ability to turn through sharp breaks and be precise with his feet.
In routes with multiple breaks, such as the one shown above, it's very difficult for receivers to stay with the receiver.
Benjamin has always been that quick though. As a rookie, he caught a 69-yard touchdown. In his second year he only caught five passes, but one went for 39 yards. In his third year, he caught a 43-yard pass. His movement skills aren't what made him become an effective receiver now. He was always a crisp mover and explosive player, but he wasn't always as precise as he is now.
Any receiver that wants to work outside on a regular basis needs to show off consistent footwork. To get the most out of all situations, receivers need to show that their feet and hands can work in concert to make sideline receptions. For smaller receivers, this is particularly important because they are less likely to physically dominate their opponents.
In the above play, Benjamin shows off the kind of footwork he has throughout this year. He is able to pluck the ball out of the air relatively comfortably because he knows his feet are in bounds with a natural movement.
For any short receiver in the league right now, Antonio Brown is the standard to meet. The Pittsburgh Steelers receiver is one of the very best in the league and he dominates even the best cornerbacks in the NFL whether he is working the sideline or from the slot. Brown overcomes his relative size with great footwork, aggressiveness and strength. Making these types of sideline receptions is one of his most consistent traits.
While it's unrealistic to expect Benjamin to be as strong as Brown through his routes and at the catch point, he does have surprising, understated strength.
In this play, the Browns have a free play and Josh McCown knows it. He heaves the ball in the direction of Benjamin rather than throwing it to him. The pass arrives in between Benjamin and the defender covering him. Because of his momentum and where his eyes are, Benjamin has a leverage advantage in this situation. He recognizes the flight of the ball earlier than the defender and has an opportunity to attack it in the air.
Benjamin doesn't extend his arms away from his body to reach for the ball with his hands. Instead he plays the defender before focusing on the football. He bumps the defender by jumping into him, crucially not extending his arms to give away a pass interference penalty.
By bumping the defenders, Benjamin created clean air space for the ball to find its way into his chest. While hands catchers are typically more effective at the catch point than those who try to watch the ball into their chest, Benjamin's work before the ball arrived allowed him to catch the ball in whichever way was most comfortable.
Receivers who catch the ball into their chest aren't a problem. It's those receivers who only catch the ball into their chest who miss out on opportunities to produce.
Benjamin isn't just capable of making hands catches, he is capable of making spectacular catches. This play doesn't ultimately count because of a holding penalty against Joe Thomas, but what Benjamin does is still just as impressive. Once again his ability to manipulate the movement of the receiver before locating the football stands out.
Once the ball arrives, his hands and feet have to be working in concert to pull the ball in before he tightropes his way out of bounds.
Benjamin isn't a great catcher of the ball, but he can make contested catches. With McCown as his quarterback he has been consistently adjusting to passes to all levels all season long. Sometimes this requires him to accelerate to the ball ahead of a defender before catching it with the defender on his back, sometimes it requires him to catch a poorly-placed pass while maintaining his stride downfield.
It's obviously hugely important for a receiver to be able to consistently catch the football but that's not the only reason Benjamin's strength is important. Many analysts and some teams prefer bigger receivers because they believe the receiver's size helps him to beat press coverage. Despite the constricting rules for NFL defensive backs, bigger defenders still attempt to manipulate receivers through their routes with their hands.
Playing outside exposes Benjamin to more of these types of receivers.
While he's not as powerful or as effective as Brown or even Julian Edelman, Benjamin has shown off enough strength to fend off the excessive attention of defenders this season. On this play, Trumaine Johnson attempts to slow him down through his stem by putting his hand on the receiver's shoulder. Benjamin doesn't panic or attempt to counter it by being overly aggressive.
Instead, he works his way upfield, pushing Johnson with him as he goes, before cutting back outside.
Most impressively, Benjamin uses Johnson's extended arm against him by swinging his outside arm through the defensive back's outside shoulder. That action comes at the same time as Benjamin sharply turns both feet towards the outside. This allows the receiver to make a sharp turn in his break as Johnson falls towards the ground.
Being wary of Benjamin's value moving forward is important. Overreacting to his one season of excellence would be easy to do. He will still be a 26-year old receiver with a limited sample size of quality after this season, not to mention his peaks aren't that of the other outstanding receivers currently playing in the NFL.
However, underselling him would also be easy to do. Benjamin may be in a contract year, but he's showing off talent. Talent that was either developed over recent years or talent that was previously suppressed by multiple coaching staffs. It's likely that an NFL team overpays him, but that doesn't mean he can't continue to be a starting caliber receiver.
A starting caliber receiver who could put up very impressive numbers in a more favorable situation.
