The New York Giants were in the market for wide receivers this offseason and landed a few in free agency and a few more during and after the 2023 NFL draft.
Which leads many to ask: why did they allow Richie James to leave for Kansas City in free agency?
James was money in the bank for the Giants last season, setting career-highs in receptions (57), receiving yards (569) and touchdowns (four) while being Daniel Jones’ most reliable receiver.
In fact, James topped the list of Next Gen Stats’ Top 10 Pass Catchers by CROE for the 2022 season.
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James led the NFL in CROE (catch rate over expected) at +11% last year. CROE is calculated by subtracting the ‘expected’ catch rate from the actual catch rate.
James had a catch rate of 81.4%, which was 11 points over his expected catch rate of 70.4%. Nick Shook broke it down as such:
Last season was the first in which James reached any of the benchmarks needed to qualify for this list, and it was only the second campaign in which he saw more than 14 targets. So why does James land here? His catch rate over expected was better than that of any other receiver who met the aforementioned criteria. He helped quarterbacks targeting him post a 119.6 passer rating, the third-best mark of any pass catcher on this list. And of his 70 targets, only 13 resulted in incompletions. That’s a catch rate befitting a running back snagging swing passes, not a receiver running through a defense.
James is not a household name, but that’s the beauty of Next Gen Stats — they help us see beyond the headliners. And with his performance in 2022, James earned a move to Kansas City, where he’ll have a golden opportunity to boost his profile to a greater degree.
The Giants will miss James not only on the passing game but also on special teams where he was their primary punt returner. He now joins a Chiefs wide receiver room that could feature former Giant Kadarius Toney as their No. 1 as well as rookie Rashee Rice, who was thought to be a draft target of the Giants.
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