I’m not sure where Russell Gage will fit into Atlanta’s plans in 2022, but he sure played some good ball in the second half of last season. He was one of the players who dramatically punched above his weight in November and December.
Gage back in 2018 was just a sixth-round pick, lacking the size and speed that teams tend to want in their wide receivers. But he’s stuck around, and he capitalized on his increased opportunities last year after Calvin Ridley stepped away from the team for the second half of the season.
In the final nine weeks of the season, Gage caught 50 passes for 611 yards and 3 TDs. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but that’s production that can be used. For PPR formats, that’s 14.3 points per game – top-20 numbers during the second half of the season.
Gage is more of a slot guy than a receiver you would want to line up outside. He’s not fast enough to get behind defenses for long touchdowns, and he’s not big enough (6-0, 184) to be a ball winner in contested situations. That said, I’ve chosen as the photo a shot of Gage coming down with a ball for a touchdown against the 49ers in a ball that many wide receivers wouldn’t have caught.
It’s early. Let’s see what the Falcons do in the offseason. I would guess that Kyle Pitts and Ridley will be their top 2 pass catchers. They may decide to pull the plug on Matt Ryan. But I would think Gage will be in the mix to be a top-50 receiver next year.
Below are the stats for wide receivers in the second half of the season – catches, receiving yards, touchdowns and rushing yards. I’ve got them ordered by per-game PPR production. And I’m looking at starts only on these (Cedrick Wilson, for example, had some unproductive games as a backup – I’m listing only how he performed when in a starting-type role.)
Chart shows the top 40 receivers, and shows only players who started at least five games in that nine-week period.
| RECEIVING PRODUCTION (Wks 10-18) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | RecYd | TD | RuYd | PPR |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 8 | 71 | 928 | 6 | 23 | 25.5 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 8 | 65 | 767 | 8 | 0 | 23.7 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 9 | 62 | 984 | 6 | 3 | 21.9 |
| Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 8 | 28 | 523 | 9 | 343 | 21.1 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 9 | 63 | 662 | 6 | 61 | 19.3 |
| JaMarr Chase, Cin. | 7 | 35 | 594 | 6 | 14 | 18.8 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 7 | 39 | 660 | 4 | 0 | 18.4 |
| Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 9 | 55 | 637 | 7 | 0 | 17.9 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 7 | 48 | 519 | 4 | 1 | 17.7 |
| Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 9 | 62 | 631 | 5 | 17 | 17.6 |
| Hunter Renfrow, L.V. | 9 | 58 | 590 | 6 | 3 | 17.0 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 6 | 48 | 443 | 1 | 19 | 16.7 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 8 | 49 | 538 | 4 | 0 | 15.9 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 7 | 42 | 465 | 3 | 37 | 15.7 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 8 | 32 | 596 | 5 | 9 | 15.3 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 8 | 35 | 491 | 6 | 10 | 15.1 |
| Cedrick Wilson, Dall. | 5 | 24 | 304 | 3 | 0 | 14.9 |
| Darnell Mooney, Chi. | 8 | 45 | 605 | 2 | 7 | 14.8 |
| Russell Gage, Atl. | 9 | 50 | 611 | 3 | 0 | 14.3 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 8 | 39 | 571 | 3 | 0 | 14.3 |
| Brandin Cooks, Hou. | 7 | 33 | 396 | 4 | 16 | 14.0 |
| A.J. Brown, Ten. | 5 | 23 | 318 | 2 | 7 | 13.5 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 7 | 29 | 419 | 3 | 22 | 13.0 |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 7 | 33 | 377 | 3 | 22 | 13.0 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 5 | 22 | 249 | 3 | 0 | 13.0 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 8 | 38 | 470 | 2 | 58 | 12.9 |
| Brandon Aiyuk, S.F. | 9 | 37 | 596 | 3 | 8 | 12.8 |
| Allen Lazard, G.B. | 7 | 24 | 309 | 5 | 32 | 12.6 |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 8 | 40 | 480 | 1 | 13 | 12.2 |
| Odell Beckham, LAR | 7 | 25 | 287 | 5 | 0 | 12.0 |
| Jakobi Meyers, N.E. | 8 | 37 | 432 | 2 | 9 | 11.6 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 8 | 38 | 424 | 1 | 36 | 11.5 |
| Kendrick Bourne, N.E. | 8 | 26 | 378 | 3 | 97 | 11.4 |
| Amari Cooper, Dall. | 7 | 28 | 333 | 3 | 0 | 11.3 |
| Gabriel Davis, Buff. | 8 | 25 | 416 | 4 | 0 | 11.3 |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 9 | 36 | 387 | 4 | 6 | 11.0 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 8 | 37 | 437 | 1 | 0 | 10.8 |
| Robby Anderson, Car. | 8 | 34 | 313 | 3 | 33 | 10.8 |
| Michael Gallup, Dall. | 8 | 31 | 409 | 2 | 0 | 10.5 |
| Chase Claypool, Pitt. | 8 | 30 | 427 | 1 | 45 | 10.4 |
—Ian Allan