Allen Hurns and the Best Week 1 Games By Rookie Wide Receivers

by Chase Stuart on September 9, 2014

in Checkdowns

Hurns was part of a big Jaguars first quarter

Jacksonville’s Allen Hurns led all players in the preseason with 232 receiving yards. The 6’3, 195 receiver had a breakout senior year with Miami(FL) — in fact, he set a school record for receiving yards in a season — but that was not enough to get him selected in May’s draft.

We know that the Jaguars spent some time watching tape of the Miami offense, since Jacksonville used a third round pick on Hurricanes guard Brandon Linder. Perhaps that tipped them off to Hurns, who provided immediate returns in week one. What sort of returns?

Hurns caught four passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles in week one. Prior to the Calvin Johnson explosion on Monday night, those numbers put Hurns tied for fifth in the league in receiving yards, and tied for second in receiving touchdowns.

Hurns became just the 5th player since 1970 to hit the 100-yard receiving mark and catch two touchdowns in week one of his rookie season.

Hurns produced the 2nd best performance by an undrafted rookie wide receiver in a season opener since the merger.

The table below shows the top 25 week one stat lines by an undrafted rookie receiver. ^[1]Technically, I’ve included all players who gain receiving yards, not just receivers. I’ve sorted the table by fantasy points, giving each receiver 0.5 points per reception, 1 point per 10 yards receiving, and 6 points for every receiving touchdown. By this metric, the only undrafted rookie with a better performance in week one since 1970 was former Giant Bobby Johnson thirty years ago.

Rk	Receiver	Year	Tm	Opp	Boxscore	Rec	RecYd	TD	FP
1	Bobby Johnson	1984	NYG	PHI	Boxscore	8	137	2	29.7
2	Allen Hurns	2014	JAX	PHI	Boxscore	4	110	2	25
3	Doug Baldwin	2011	SEA	SFO	Boxscore	4	83	1	16.3
4	Andre Brown	1989	MIA	BUF	Boxscore	4	58	1	13.8
5	Rod Barksdale	1986	RAI	DEN	Boxscore	2	65	1	13.5
6	Jack Dolbin	1975	DEN	KAN	Boxscore	2	51	1	12.1
7	Oronde Gadsden	1998	MIA	IND	Boxscore	1	44	1	10.9
8	Will Moore	1995	NWE	CLE	Boxscore	6	77	0	10.7
9	Rod Streater	2012	OAK	SDG	Boxscore	4	27	1	10.7
10	Al Barnes	1972	DET	NYG	Boxscore	2	24	1	9.4
11	Ralph Nelson	1975	WAS	NOR	Boxscore	1	27	1	9.2
12	Ben Utecht	2005	IND	BAL	Boxscore	1	26	1	9.1
13	Arthur Marshall	1992	DEN	RAI	Boxscore	3	72	0	8.7
14	Bruce Perkins	1990	TAM	DET	Boxscore	1	8	1	7.3
15	Jim Gustafson	1986	MIN	DET	Boxscore	1	5	1	7
16	Oscar McBride	1995	ARI	WAS	Boxscore	1	3	1	6.8
17	Randy Grossman	1974	PIT	BAL	Boxscore	3	52	0	6.7
18	Calvin Magee	1985	TAM	CHI	Boxscore	1	1	1	6.6
19	Josh Norman	2002	SDG	CIN	Boxscore	1	1	1	6.6
20	Marcellus Rivers	2001	NYG	DEN	Boxscore	1	1	1	6.6
21	Wayne Chrebet	1995	NYJ	MIA	Boxscore	3	43	0	5.8
22	Ron Heller	1987	SFO	PIT	Boxscore	2	40	0	5
23	Jeff Alexander	1989	DEN	KAN	Boxscore	3	35	0	5
24	Mike Tolbert	2008	SDG	CAR	Boxscore	3	35	0	5
25	Mike Bell	2006	DEN	STL	Boxscore	4	30	0	5

Even if we include all drafted receivers, Hurns’ performance still stands out as historically excellent. As regular readers know, Anquan Boldin set the standard when it comes to week 1 rookie wide receiver performances. But Hurns checks in with the 6th best performance of any rookie receiver since 1970 in week one. ^[2]I’m not quite sure if it’s more or less impressive that he did all of his work in the first quarter-and-a-half.

Rk	Receiver	Year	Tm	Opp	Boxscore	Rec	RecYd	TD	FP
1	Anquan Boldin	2003	ARI	DET	Boxscore	10	217	2	38.7
2	Louis Lipps	1984	PIT	KAN	Boxscore	6	183	2	33.3
3	Bobby Johnson	1984	NYG	PHI	Boxscore	8	137	2	29.7
4	Eddie Royal	2008	DEN	OAK	Boxscore	9	146	1	25.1
5	Mike Siani	1972	OAK	PIT	Boxscore	4	111	2	25.1
6	Allen Hurns	2014	JAX	PHI	Boxscore	4	110	2	25
7	Charlie Brown	1982	WAS	PHI	Boxscore	5	97	2	24.2
8	Randy Moss	1998	MIN	TAM	Boxscore	4	95	2	23.5
9	Stephen Hill	2012	NYJ	BUF	Boxscore	5	89	2	23.4
10	Rick Upchurch	1975	DEN	KAN	Boxscore	3	153	1	22.8
11	Ken Burrow	1971	ATL	SFO	Boxscore	3	67	2	20.2
12	Kelvin Benjamin	2014	CAR	TAM	Boxscore	6	92	1	18.2
13	John Jefferson	1978	SDG	SEA	Boxscore	3	45	2	18
14	Charles Rogers	2003	DET	ARI	Boxscore	4	38	2	17.8
15	Marvin Harrison	1996	IND	ARI	Boxscore	6	85	1	17.5
16	Alex Smith	2005	TAM	MIN	Boxscore	4	34	2	17.4
17	JaJuan Dawson	2000	CLE	JAX	Boxscore	6	83	1	17.3
18	Deion Branch	2002	NWE	PIT	Boxscore	6	83	1	17.3
19	Brandin Cooks	2014	NOR	ATL	Boxscore	7	77	1	17.2
20	Louis Murphy	2009	OAK	SDG	Boxscore	4	87	1	16.7
21	Lynn Swann	1974	PIT	BAL	Boxscore	2	94	1	16.4
22	Doug Baldwin	2011	SEA	SFO	Boxscore	4	83	1	16.3
23	Curt Warner	1983	SEA	KAN	Boxscore	6	72	1	16.2
24	Kelvin Bryant	1986	WAS	PHI	Boxscore	4	76	1	15.6
25	Alshon Jeffery	2012	CHI	IND	Boxscore	3	80	1	15.5
26	Lawrence Dawsey	1991	TAM	NYJ	Boxscore	2	84	1	15.4
27	Randy McMichael	2002	MIA	DET	Boxscore	4	73	1	15.3
28	Freddie Jones	1997	SDG	NWE	Boxscore	4	73	1	15.3
29	Stephen Starring	1983	NWE	BAL	Boxscore	2	81	1	15.1
30	Calvin Johnson	2007	DET	OAK	Boxscore	4	70	1	15
31	Walter White	1975	KAN	DEN	Boxscore	2	79	1	14.9
32	Ron Shanklin	1970	PIT	HOU	Boxscore	3	73	1	14.8
33	Michael Irvin	1988	DAL	PIT	Boxscore	3	73	1	14.8
34	Sammy White	1976	MIN	NOR	Boxscore	3	71	1	14.6
35	Glyn Milburn	1993	DEN	NYJ	Boxscore	2	75	1	14.5
36	Donte' Stallworth	2002	NOR	TAM	Boxscore	4	63	1	14.3
37	Chuck Foreman	1973	MIN	OAK	Boxscore	6	53	1	14.3
38	Mark Carrier	1987	TAM	ATL	Boxscore	6	50	1	14
39	Andre Brown	1989	MIA	BUF	Boxscore	4	58	1	13.8
40	DeSean Jackson	2008	PHI	STL	Boxscore	6	106	0	13.6
41	Bubba Bean	1976	ATL	RAM	Boxscore	3	61	1	13.6
42	Javon Walker	2002	GNB	ATL	Boxscore	4	56	1	13.6
43	Rod Barksdale	1986	RAI	DEN	Boxscore	2	65	1	13.5
44	Jay Riemersma	1997	BUF	MIN	Boxscore	4	54	1	13.4
45	Lindsay Scott	1982	NOR	STL	Boxscore	6	103	0	13.3
46	Tony Martin	1990	MIA	NWE	Boxscore	3	57	1	13.2
47	Ron Morris	1987	CHI	NYG	Boxscore	2	61	1	13.1
48	Pat Tilley	1976	STL	SEA	Boxscore	3	56	1	13.1
49	Johnny Johnson	1990	PHO	WAS	Boxscore	6	99	0	12.9
50	Marques Colston	2006	NOR	CLE	Boxscore	4	49	1	12.9

You might notice that Hurns wasn’t the only rookie receiver on that list. The 2014 receiver class was hyped as one of the best ever, and that didn’t even include Hurns. Two first round picks, Kelvin Benjamin and Brandin Cooks, also had big performances in week one. Benjamin’s touchdown proved to be the difference maker for Carolina, while Cooks finished second on the team in yards ^[3]In addition to the receiving yards shown on the table above, Cooks also had a carry for 18 yards.

A great week one doesn’t mean much, but it’s fun being able to put Hurns’ day into some historical context.

References[+]

References
↑1	Technically, I’ve included all players who gain receiving yards, not just receivers.
↑2	I’m not quite sure if it’s more or less impressive that he did all of his work in the first quarter-and-a-half.
↑3	In addition to the receiving yards shown on the table above, Cooks also had a carry for 18 yards.

Tagged as: Allen Hurns, Jaguars

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