FanPost

Is Miles Austin an elite receiver?

The stats so far this year say he is. While Ranking 10th in the league in yards with 999 and a lowly 27th in catches (59), he ranks right up there in every other meaningful receiving statistic. Let's review.

Touchdowns

Tied for 2nd

1 Vernon Davis SF 11

2 Miles Austin DAL 10

2 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 10

4 Marques Colston NO 9

4 Brandon Marshall DEN 9

4 Randy Moss NE 9

4 Visanthe Shiancoe MIN 9

4 Reggie Wayne IND 9

9 Dallas Clark IND 8

9 Andre Johnson HOU 8

Per catch average (Players with at least 30 catches)

4th overall

1 DeSean Jackson PHI 18.9

2 Robert Meachem NO 18.2

3 Hakeem Nicks NYG 18

4 Miles Austin DAL 17.2

5 Vincent Jackson SD 17.1

6 Devery Henderson NO 17

7 Kenny Britt TEN 16.9

8 Pierre Garcon IND 16.6

9 Mike Wallace PIT 16.6

10 Jerricho Cotchery NYJ 16.4

20+ yard receptions

Tied for 1st

1 Miles Austin DAL 17

1 Marques Colston NO 17

1 Reggie Wayne IND 17

2 Randy Moss NE 16

2 Santonio Holmes PIT 16

2 Andre Johnson HOU 16

2 Antonio Gates SD 16

3 DeSean Jackson PHI 15

3 Sidney Rice MIN 15

3 Donald Driver GB 14

40+ yard receptions

Tied for 3rd

1 DeSean Jackson PHI 9

2 Andre Johnson HOU 7

3 Miles Austin DAL 6

3 Randy Moss NE 6

3 Sidney Rice MIN 6

4 Steve Smith CAR 5

5 Marques Colston NO 4

5 Donald Driver GB 4

5 Vincent Jackson SD 4

5 Jerricho Cotchery NYJ 4

Now do these stats prove he is an elite receiver? Maybe. They do show that he is a big play receiver. Considering that he has done this in 9 starts so far this season is even more impressive. Add to this 74.1% of his catches go for 1st downs and you have a budding star. So much is said about the lead time to develop receivers in this league and you really don't know what you have until the 3rd or 4th year. Well this is Austin's 4th year. I think we know what he is now.

Now for the real question. What is Austin worth? He is signed to a 1 year restricted free agent deal worth $1.545 million. We already have a big ticket receiver in Roy Williams. Can the Cowboys afford to pay Austin #1 receiver money? Ones usually bank between 10 & 12 mil a year. I don't see the Cowboys being able to pay that kind of money. Would Austin take a good ole boy discount? Would the Cowboys consider franchising him and trading him for picks? Does Roy Williams have any trade value? Would the Cowboys even consider taking the cap hit that would come with Roy not being on the team next year?

These are all tough questions, but the bottom line is this is a good problem to have. With all the doom and gloom lately I thought it might be nice to focus on our own little gem at receiver.


Another user-created commentary provided by a BTB reader.