St. Louis Rams Closing Evaluations: What Grades Do the Wide Receivers Receive?

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Tavon Austin: Tavon Austin had some bright moments during 2014, but nothing that justified his status as the eighth overall selection in the 2013 draft.
The undersized offensive weapon had 242 receiving yards, 224 rushing yards, and 410 yards as a returner (391 of which came on punts), which amounted to an underwhelming 876 all-purpose yards. Those numbers aren’t completely horrible, but for Austin to even live up to his billing as a first-rounder, his numbers should be more in line with guys like Devin Hester, Darren Sproles, or De’Anthony Thomas, all of whom had over 1,000 all-purpose yards while contributing as runners, receivers, and returners. To put things in perspective, Austin had 685 less all-purpose yards than teammate Benny Cunningham, who was an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State in the same draft class.

The other major issue is that Austin isn’t a big-play threat from scrimmage. Many times when they try to execute screen plays with him, there’s no advancement. He had no receiving touchdowns this year, and he only had two on the ground, both of which came on reverses during the latter part of the season.

In his defense, it’s seemed many times like the Rams coaching staff doesn’t know how to properly use Austin. Until Tre Mason emerged as the Rams’ workhorse at running back, Austin was getting time in the backfield each week, which would be acceptable if he was being used to run to the outside or catch screen passes. Instead of doing that, though, the Rams found it more practical to run him up the middle. As you may guess would be the case for a 5-foot-8, 176-pounder, Austin was unable to break any big plays in this fashion.

Once the gameplan was adjusted to utilize Austin as more of a jack-of-all-trades, using him in more of a deceptive fashion, rather than trying to make him a pure running back or wide receiver, his productivity began to increase.

While Austin wasn’t a huge difference-maker from scrimmage, he did become a weapon as a punt returner during 2014, finishing third in the NFL in total punt return yardage and fifth in average yards per return. While he had his fair share of mistakes in the return game, including plenty of indecisiveness, a muffed punt in the season opener, and an errant decision to try to run back a missed field goal that nearly resulted in a safety, Austin did find a way to make a difference as a special-teamer.

2015 will be a huge season for Austin. After two years filled with loads of intrigue but generally underwhelming results, Austin will need to put it together next year and try to become more of an imposing offensive playmaker.

GRADE: C-

Next: Stedman Bailey