Taking a closer look at Ed Dickson

[KB_fan]

So... it looks like in the wake of Kelvin's injury, Ed Dickson is getting a lot more attention and is likely to have a much more significant role in our offense.

Last year, if I understand and remember correctly, a lot of his games he was forced into a primary blocking role due to the absence of Tolbert and the weakness of our OLine.

What is his history in terms of receptions?  What little I know seems fairly positive.  I've just been reviewing his stats and his career, but would love for others to chime in as well...

[Just to clarify, I've posted various stats and tables about Ed Dickson throughout this thread. My examination of his career was kind of a "work in progress."  Sorry that there's not one single entry with all of the key data.  Keep reading the entries below for data on his drop percentage, special teams snaps, his history starting for the Panthers, etc.]

Firstly the basic stats:

Age 28

Height:  6' 4"  (same as Funchess)

Weight:  255 (same as Olsen, but Olsen is 6' 6")

College:  Oregon  (3 year starter)

Drafted:  2010 by Baltimore round 3 (#70 overall)

Acquired as a Free Agent by Carolina:  April 2014

Career - Regular Season Games Played:  76 / Started:  54

Career - Post Season Games Played:   10 / Started 7

Games played for Carolina (incl post-season):  18 / Started 12

 

[KB_fan]

Here's his draft profile from Our Lads:

2010 Guide: What Ourlads NFL Scouting Services said about Ed Dickson: Oregon, 6040 244 4.66. Three-year starter. Possesses long arms and strong hands. All-time leader at Oregon in tight end receptions with 124. Productive over his career, averaging 12.6 yards per catch. Slippery run after catch ability. Always going forward. Can adjust and elude a tackler. A tough runner that is naturally strong. Has the speed and ability to get deep. Flashes a deep burst. Can separate and adjust to the ball. Gets open in the shorter areas. Can move and adjust to uncover. No hold up on the line. Gets into route and turns chest to quarterback in an open area. Can adjust on the move and in space to be effective downfield. Has functional strength but is not a road grader type blocker. A position wall off guy. Caught 42 passes for 6 touchdowns, averaging 13.1 yards per catch in 2009. OSR:11/13. Fourth/fifth round. (A-33, H-9 3/4, BP-23, VJ-34).

[KB_fan]

Here are his career reception stats from NFL.com

 

Season	Team			Receiving					Rushing					Fumbles
		G	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FUM	Lost
2014	Carolina Panthers	16	10	10	115	11.5	34	1	--	--	--	--	--	1	0
2013	Baltimore Ravens	16	14	25	273	10.9	43	1	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2012	Baltimore Ravens	13	11	21	225	10.7	40	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2011	Baltimore Ravens	16	16	54	528	9.8	25	5	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2010	Baltimore Ravens	15	3	11	152	13.8	58	1	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
TOTAL				121	1,293	10.7	58	8	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0

[KB_fan]

Pre-draft measurables:

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 4⅜ in	249 lb	33 in	9¾ in	4.59 s	1.64 s	2.69 s	4.59 s	7.32 s	34 in	9 ft 7 in	23 reps

[Moorgan]

A friend of mine is a Ravens fan and he described him to me last year as a good receiving TE who has too many drops. But he has the ability to step up if he can control those drops...and not get stuck blocking all the time. If only we had a FB who could block very well to release the receivers.

[KB_fan]

Here's his career summary from the Panthers roster page:

2014
Signed as an unrestricted free agent by Carolina (4/10)...Played in 16 games with 10 starts...Recorded 10 catches for 115 yards and one touchdown...Logged one special teams tackle...Started when the Panthers opened with two tight ends in Weeks 4-11, versus Tampa Bay (12/14) and at Atlanta (12/28)...POSTSEASON: Started NFC Wild Card versus Arizona (1/3) and NFC Divisional Playoff at Seattle (1/10) when the Panthers opened in a two tight-end set...Notched three receptions for 67 yards...At Atlanta (12/28): Caught a five-yard touchdown.

2013
Played in 16 games with 14 starts for Baltimore...Recorded 25 catches for 273 yards and one touchdown...Logged three special teams tackles...Vs. Cincinnati (11/10): Set up game-winning score in overtime with an eight-yard reception to get the Ravens in field goal range...Vs. New York Jets (11/24): Compiled a season-high 55 yards on three catches...Vs. Minnesota (12/8): Snagged a one-yard touchdown pass...Vs. New England (12/22): Tied for the team lead with a season-high four receptions for 44 yards.

2012
Played in 13 games with 11 starts for Baltimore...Collected 21 receptions for 225 yards...Key member of offense that scored 398 points and gained 5,640 total yards, the most points and second-most yards in franchise history...Added one special teams tackle...Inactive with a knee injury versus Pittsburgh (12/2), at Washington (12/9) and versus Denver (12/16)...POSTSEASON: Played in all four games with three starts...Tallied six catches for 90 yards for offense that averaged 31 points and 410.3 yards per game during the playoffs...At Cincinnati (12/30): Paced the Ravens with six receptions for 64 yards, both season highs...Super Bowl XLVII vs. San Francisco (2/3): Had two catches for 37 yards...Both came on touchdown drive in the second quarter - one for 23 yards and another for 14 yards.

2011
Started 16 games for Baltimore...Finished third on the team with 54 catches for 528 yards and five touchdowns - all career highs...POSTSEASON: Played in two games with one start...Registered three catches for 37 yards...Started AFC Divisional Playoff versus Houston (1/15)...Vs. Pittsburgh (9/11): Led the Ravens with five receptions for 59 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown...At St. Louis (9/25): Contributed to offense that amassed a franchise-record 553 total yards by generating 51 yards on five catches...At Seattle (11/13): Established single-game career highs of 10 receptions, 79 yards and two touchdowns...Scored on catches of one yard and 11 yards...Set a team record for the most receptions in a game by a tight end...At San Diego (12/18): Hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass...Vs. Cleveland (12/24): Made a five-yard touchdown grab.

2010
Drafted in the third round (70th overall) by Baltimore...Played in 15 games with three starts...Grabbed 11 receptions for 152 yards and one touchdown...Accounted for three special teams tackles...Started when the Bears opened in a two tight-end set versus Buffalo (10/24) and at Cleveland (12/26) and in place of an injured Todd Heap versus New Orleans (12/19)...Inactive with a thigh injury versus Tampa Bay (11/28)...POSTSEASON: Played in two games with one start...Caught one pass for two yards...Started AFC Divisional Playoff at Pittsburgh (1/15)...At Cincinnati (9/19): Corralled first career catch for 17 yards...Vs. Denver (10/10): Pulled in a career-long 58-yard reception...Vs. New Orleans (12/19): Scored first career touchdown on a 34-yard catch and run.

[Daeavorn]

I like Ed, but what I really wanna see is Marcus Lucas taking his spot. I think that kid has more potential in the same role. And he can play WR as well.

[KB_fan]

 

@Moorgan regarding your comment about drops, I went to sporting charts and looked up the data.  Over his regular season career he's had 12 drops on 205 targets, for a 5.9% drop rate.  Looks like 2010 and 2013 were rough for him, but 2011 and 2012 were quite low drop %.  Here's more data:

year	rank	team	games	rec	yds	yd/rec	yds / game	TD	YAC	FD	FD %	targets	% caught	drops	drop %
2014	256	CAR	16	10	115	11.5	7.2	1	68	9	90%	17	58.8	1	5.9%
2013	169	BAL	16	25	273	10.92	17.1	1	130	16	64%	43	58.1	4	9.3%
2012	180	BAL	13	21	225	10.71	17.3	0	88	10	48%	33	63.6	1	3.0%
2011	84	BAL	16	54	528	9.78	33	5	184	30	56%	89	60.7	4	4.5%
2010	212	BAL	15	11	152	13.82	10.1	1	77	5	45%	23	47.8	2	8.7%
	180		76	121	1293	10.7	17.0	8	547	70	57.9%	205	59.0%	12	5.9%
	avg		tot	tot	tot	avg	avg	tot	tot	tot	avg	tot	avg	tot	avg

 

[KB_fan]

Here are his post-season stats from Pro Football Reference

Year		G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	Y/G
2010		2	1	1	1	2	2	0	2	1
2011		2	1	8	3	37	12.3	0	16	18.5
2012 ❍		4	3	8	6	90	15	0	24	22.5
2014		2	2	7	3	67	22.3	0	34	33.5
Career		10	7	24	13	196	15.1	0	34	19.6

 

Note: I'm not finding any (free) site with postseason drop statistics.  If anyone can find data on Ed Dickson's postseason drops, that would be interesting to add to the data I've posted here.  Thanks.

 

[Moorgan]

 

@Moorgan regarding your comment about drops, I went to sporting charts and looked up the data.  Over his regular season career he's had 12 drops on 205 targets, for a 5.9% drop rate.  Looks like 2010 and 2013 were rough for him, but 2011 and 2012 were quite low drop %.  Here's more data:

year	rank	team	games	rec	yds	yd/rec	yds / game	TD	YAC	FD	FD %	targets	% caught	drops	drop %
2014	256	CAR	16	10	115	11.5	7.2	1	68	9	90%	17	58.8	1	5.9%
2013	169	BAL	16	25	273	10.92	17.1	1	130	16	64%	43	58.1	4	9.3%
2012	180	BAL	13	21	225	10.71	17.3	0	88	10	48%	33	63.6	1	3.0%
2011	84	BAL	16	54	528	9.78	33	5	184	30	56%	89	60.7	4	4.5%
2010	212	BAL	15	11	152	13.82	10.1	1	77	5	45%	23	47.8	2	8.7%
	180		76	121	1293	10.7	17.0	8	547	70	57.9%	205	59.0%	12	5.9%
	avg		tot	tot	tot	avg	avg	tot	tot	tot	avg	tot	avg	tot	avg

 

Those drops aren't so bad. Like I said, it was a fan's perspective but I'm ok with a 5.9% drop rate. By way of comparison, I looked up Olsen's drop rate last year...2 drops out of 123 targets (1.6%)

[KB_fan]

Those drops aren't so bad. Like I said, it was a fan's perspective but I'm ok with a 5.9% drop rate. By way of comparison, I looked up Olsen's drop rate last year...2 drops out of 123 targets (1.6%)

Olsen ROCKS!

[electro's horse]

Here's what he's done as a Panther

 

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[ctrcat]

Good guy, good football player.  Great moments come from great opportunity.  He wants to be here, should be in his prime, and I think we're gonna be pleased.

[Jesse]

The biggest shocker is he had 10 starts last year?! I guess we came out in double tights our first play.