Bruce Arians: “Jaelon Really Reminds Me A Lot Of Emmanuel Sanders”

The Buccaneers are coming into the season with one of, if not, THE deepest rosters in the league. Most certainly, they are loaded at the wide receiver position which made trading up for Jaelon Darden in the fourth round a bit unexpected but based on head coach Bruce Arians’ assessment, Darden could be a diamond in the rough.

“When you look at Jaelon on tape, he plays really fast,” Arians said on the Pewter Report Podcast.  “And he catches the ball so easily away from his body so he can play fast. He’s not thinking about catching the ball. Those type of guys – Jaelon really reminds me a lot of Emmanuel [Sanders] when Emmanuel was a rookie. He’s got some AB in him too.”

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If anyone knows a thing or two about evaluating wide receiver talent, it’s Arians. Sanders, a third-round pick in 2010, and Brown, a sixth-round pick that same year, have obviously carved out Hall of Fame-worthy careers for themselves since their time in the league. Coincidentally, both receivers now reside in the NFC South with Brown, of course, a member of the Buccaneers, and Sanders beginning his second season with New Orleans. Neither of the two had particularly fast starts with the Steelers who lost in the Super Bowl to the Packers in their rookie seasons. However, once they caught fire, it was hard to slow them down.

Totals Table

				Receiving
Rk	Player	Year	G	Rec	Yds	TD	Y/R	Lng
1	Antonio Brown	2010	9	16	167	0	10.4	26
2	Emmanuel Sanders	2010	13	28	376	2	13.4	35

Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 5/24/2021.

Darden spent four seasons at North Texas, hauling in 230 passes for 2,782 yards and 38 touchdowns. During his senior season in 2020, he caught 76 passes for 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns, which led the nation. However, it is hard to imagine that he would come close to this type of production with the depth the Buccaneers have at this position. Likely, he will have to compliment his chances on offense with strong special teams play.

Regardless, Arians seems to think that there is something special with Darden and his track record suggests we should listen to him.

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