Two seasons of Tavon Austin

[Mojo Ram]

We're gonna get about a couple hundred more of these player evaluation threads popping up from here on out, so i'll get mine out of the way now.

T.Austin. Color me Not impressed.
Draft day first round trade up. I was all for the pick BTW. I felt it was the right move. I was excited to add the speed and slippery, athletic playmaker.
I expected his natural ability to allow him to make more of an impact even as he was developing and finding his way through the tough transition to the NFL as a WR. One could take the angle of having no legit QB throwing to him or point to Shotty's offense i suppose, but i'm not really buying it at this point. I see that fact being more relevant in terms of the production of other guys more so than Tavon. Britt, Quick, Bailey, Cook etc...

Austin's numbers since drafted two years ago.

2013(13 games)
40 rec 418 yds
10.5 avg/rec
4 TD's

9 rush 151 yds
16.8/carry
1 TD

33 punt ret
280 yds
8.5 avg
1 TD


2014(15 games)
31 rec 242 yds
7.8 avg/rec
0 TD's

36 rush 224 yds
6.2/carry
2 TD's

35 punt ret
391 yds
11.2 avg
1 TD

CAREER
71 rec 660 yds
9.3 avg/rec
4 TD's

45 rush 375 yds
8.3 avg/carry
3 TD's

2 punt ret TD's

That's 9 all purpose TD's in two seasons. We'll get a better gauge next season with(hopefully) a legit QB and a full three seasons....but IMO we drafted another gadget player who's best role is as a punt returner. Hope i'm wrong, but this looks like a swing and a missed pick to me.

Your thoughts?

 

[BatteringRambo]

Simple resolution @Mojo Ram, we acquire Geno Smith. Instantly Austin and Bailey relive the WVU days. (total sarcasm).

 

[TheDYVKX]

I haven't been very happy with Tavon since we got him, he hasn't been what we expected. That being said, I'll give him to next year. Quick took 3 years before we saw ANYTHING out of him, maybe Tavon is the same. I hope Schotty figures out better ways to use him. He's starting to get there with his playcalling, hopefully we have a QB who can hit Tavon in stride and get him the ball. I still believe he can do big things in this league. His quickness and speed are absolutely incredible, even in today's league.

 

[MTRamsFan]

Not ready to call him a bust. He will be better in 2015... I'm counting on it.

 

[BatteringRambo]

In addition, I also find it strange how we need to wait 3 years for any wr draft pick to show up. I'm not putting any of them down it's just eye opening to see 4 from this year's first round absolutely shining.

Here's to hoping TA and Bailey just explode as a true tandem next season.

Mike Glennon might be that QB for us. Please just build that damn oline with young, promising guys from the draft.

 

[Athos]

A tough pill to swallow for what he'll have likely accomplished come the end of his rookie deal.

We gave up a lot for him imo and I'm just not sure if he'll be anything more than great for a nice splash play once a game or once every other game. I didn't want him that high, but I jumped on the train. He's disappointed greatly as a WR and has honestly had more success running the ball this year than catching it.

Though honestly, it seems hard to know what to make of him as Shotty just seems stumped on how to use him....

Personally, I think we'd have been better as a TEAM with the following instead of Tavon:

Trade down from 16 slightly, get Hopkins.

Use that forfeited 2nd rounder on:

Alonso, Bell, Lacy, Warford,

and an extra 3rd from a trade down we could have gotten for w/e we could have gotten in that slot depending on w/e team we'd have traded down with.

 

[TheDYVKX]

In addition, I also find it strange how we need to wait 3 years for any wr draft pick to show up. I'm not putting any of them down it's just eye opening to see 4 from this year's first round absolutely shining.

Here's to hoping TA and Bailey just explode as a true tandem next season.

Mike Glennon might be that QB for us. Please just build that damn oline with young, promising guys from the draft.

Besides the fact that this year's class is abnormal and astounding and most WRs take a few years, Schotty's offense apparently makes it hard for young WRs to learn and develop properly.

 

[bluecoconuts]

He's a complimentary player, I'm not worried about him.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Tavon has a particular set of skills acquired over a long career.

[Taken Quote]

Hes been a disappointment for me so far.

I am not sure he's the easiest guy to work into an NFL offense. Slow learner.

I don't believe this offense works to his advantage.

Still a fan of his talent.

 

[Mackeyser]

WR development or lack thereof is on Schotty. His offense is VERY complicated for WRs with sight adjustments and whatnot.

So I'm not at all surprised that WRs don't immediately thrive in this O. It's one of the reasons I wouldn't mind seeing Schotty go. If Fisher weren't the HC, who would get this kind of time to develop players so slowly in a complex scheme that fails if one piece breaks?

Only reason I keep him (Schotty) is because we are so close and changing yet again would be agony... Then again... Maybe it's time to just rip the Band-Aid off and deal with the initial pain and move on...

I think a team like Pittsburgh or Seattle or several other teams would have lit up the league with Tavon already...

 

[jrry32]

It is what it is. We'll see how he does next year. Short WRs typically take time to develop and we've had the wrong QBs in place for a guy like Austin. Not to mention the development he needed and his usage on offense.

I'll worry if he doesn't look a lot better next year.

 

[OnceARam]

He's a PR.

Was always against the pick. Great person and a good teammate though.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Over-drafted role player. I hope that he'll continue to develop and some consistent QB play can help elevate his game.

Should have been a 3rd round pick. Not a bust, though by any means.

 

[jrry32]

I certainly remember quite a few Rams fans thinking Quick shouldn't even be on the roster at the end of his second year. I'd give him the three years before declaring what Austin is and isn't.

 

[theramsruleUK]

I don't want to keep harping back to this but if you put Austin in a Franchise that is creative on offense, I believe he will live up to his draft status.
This is not having a go at Schotty.. He's in the wrong division to be quite frank

 

[blue4]

I think he'll be fine.

 

[RaminExile]

2 years in! He's only scratching the surface of his potential. Whatever Harvin or DJax can do this kid can do too. Future pro bowler (perennial - either at punt returner or wideout!). Schotty started to figure out that he had to get him in motion pre-snap to really make him effective. Next year (or the one after!) is his breakout year.

 

[Faceplant]

While I LOVED his skillz coming out of college, I admit they just haven't yet translated fully to the NFL. Much of that is on him. He really needs to stop dancing and get vertical instead of all the lateral movement and setting up blocks that are never there. I think he is still trying to make every play go the distance instead of just getting good yardage when it is there. Also, I am not sure our system is the right one for him...yet. I actually think Schotty used him a bit more creatively out of the backfield this year, and hope to see more of that next year. A QM with a a strong enough arm to hit him on the go routes will be a help as well. THAT is where I really think we need to use him more. Even if you don't go to him on those routes, let him take the top off the secondary to open things up 10-20 yds down field.

 

[jrry32]

I will say this much...I want to hear that Austin spent time this off-season working with a respected coach or a respected WR(like Isaac Bruce) on his route running and understanding of coverages.

Austin has so much potential as a route runner that he's not tapping into. If he knew how to make the subtle moves and fakes to throw CBs off that guys like Antonio Brown make with the cutting ability Austin has, he'd be devastating.

 

[Teran]

He has been missing a QB with a quick release. He is a little small for shallow slants because the LBs will kill him. Anything deeper and our backup QBs just don't have the arms to get him the ball in stride. I am not sure if Bradford is all that much better for him in the middle since Bradford tends to throw high but timing should be much better.