Where Is Pierre Garcon Hiding?
Ten games into the 2014 NFL regular season, the 2013 NFL receptions leader has fewer catches than New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell, fewer receiving yards than Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell and fewer receiving touchdowns than backup Giants tight end Daniel Fells.
Washington Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garcon has been healthy throughout the year, but he's no longer delivering.
| 2013 | 7.1 | 84.1 | 11.9 | 0.3 |
| 2014 | 4.3 | 46.4 | 10.8 | 0.3 |
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Garcon has been held to fewer than 50 yards on seven occasions (it happened only three times in 16 games last year) and five or fewer catches eight times (it happened just twice last year). But when you take a closer look it becomes obvious the statistical decline has little to do with how effective he's been and more to do with how much his role has diminished.
On a per-target basis, he's catching just as many passes, but he's seeing far fewer than usual.
| 2013 | 11.3 | 64.9 | 8.9 |
| 2014 | 6.4 | 69.4 | 4.4 |
Look, with Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson taking over as the No. 1 option and young tight end Jordan Reed returning to health, we all knew Garcon would probably play less of a starring role in 2014. But considering how productive he's been when targeted, it's a little strange to see him being neglected more and more as the season wears on.
Over the last six weeks, Garcon has caught 73 percent of the passes thrown his way, but he's only been targeted 26 times. During the four weeks that preceded that, he was targeted 38 times but caught "only" 63 percent of those throws.
| First 4 games | 9.5 | 63 |
| Next 6 games | 3.2 | 73 |
Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins split those first four games, and Cousins, Colt McCoy and RG3 have divvied up the last six, almost equally, so this hasn't really been about quarterback preferences. Griffin targeted him on a healthy 12 occasions in the season opener, and Cousins looked his way 16 times in Week 3, but he's basically been ignored by all three quarterbacks outside of that.
It doesn't make much sense, especially when you consider that it appears a large chunk of his targets have gone to the much less talented and productive slot receiver, Andre Roberts.
| Garcon | 26 | 19 | 1 | 73 | 209 |
| Roberts | 34 | 17 | 5 | 50 | 152 |
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Garcon is one of 22 qualifying receivers with a drop rate below 5.0. In the same category, Jackson ranks 52nd and Roberts 81st among 85 pass-catchers.
| Pierre Garcon | 4.44 | 20th |
| DeSean Jackson | 9.09 | 51st |
| Andre Roberts | 18.18 | 81st |
Is it possible Garcon just isn't getting open as much as he was last season? That could certainly factor in, but it's rather illogical to believe that his ability to find space as a receiver has simply disappeared. The man is 28 years old—smack dab in the middle of his prime—and with Jackson on board he's receiving less attention from opposing defenses.
Going up against weaker cornerbacks opposite Jackson, it does appear Garcon has been open just about as often this year as he was last year. The difference is that he's being overlooked by his own coaches (in terms of offensive game plans) and his own quarterbacks.
On a recent example from the second quarter in a Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Griffin has time, but he stubbornly throws to his first read (a well-covered Jackson) rather than taking a look elsewhere. On the other side of the field, Garcon was open.
The throw to Jackson was incomplete.
I don't mean to be a conspiracy theorist, but you also have to wonder if Griffin is subconsciously avoiding his former top receiver.
In the first half of that game against Minnesota, Garcon dropped a deep ball. And in the first quarter of the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Griffin targeted him on a pass that was intercepted. In both cases, Garcon was targeted just once for the remainder of the afternoon.
I mean, it's weird that Griffin has yet to complete a single third-down pass to Garcon, who has only two third-down receptions on only nine targets this season. Rookie receiver Ryan Grant has more third-down catches (three) on 102 snaps than Garcon does (two) on 593.
In the second quarter against the Vikings, Griffin wasn't pressured while surveying the left side of the field after progressing out of his first read. He had both Garcon and Roberts breaking open, but Garcon was deeper down the field. Instead, he went to Roberts, and a poor pass was dropped by a lesser receiver.
And last week against the Bucs, Griffin had Garcon wide-open in the right flat as soon as he reached the base of a short drop. But for whatever reason, he opted to hold on. Four seconds later, he threw an interception.
Here's one more example, this time from the fourth quarter against Tampa Bay. This is Griffin in survival mode after the pocket has collapsed:
What is he seeing at this very moment?
That's a throw that simply has to be made, but Griffin would hesitate and take a sack instead. It's enough to cause you wonder if he's lost confidence in Garcon.
Sometimes, though, Garcon is just a victim circumstances. He's rarely the first read nowadays, and he's been forced to work with mediocre quarterbacks who are receiving poor pass protection. When your quarterback already struggles to get through his progressions and is constantly under pressure, you're not usually well served as a No. 2 receiver.
For example, in the third quarter against Tampa Bay, Griffin was sacked about 2.5 seconds after the snap. Garcon was wide-open running into the end zone, but he was the second or third read, and his quarterback didn't have enough time to locate him and release.
That could explain why no other Redskins receiver had more than 45 catches or 500 yards last season. The slot—where Roberts has been camping out this year and where veteran Santana Moss spent a bunch of his time last season—is somewhat of an exception because receivers in the seam can be used more easily as safety valves. But as the X/Z receiver opposite Jackson, Garcon is in a tough spot within a sluggish offense.
He also made his presence felt frequently on bubble screens last season, catching 44 passes at or behind the line of scrimmage, according to ESPN.com's John Keim. But those passes are all going to the speedy Jackson this year. Garcon has just 11 such grabs in 2014.
As a result of these circumstances, a highly paid and well-established receiver has become yet another Leonard Hankerson/Aldrick Robinson/Josh Morgan-type cog in the Washington offense.
So the answer to the question in the title of this article is that Garcon is hiding in plain sight, which is hardly appropriate considering he'll cost the team $19.4 million in salary-cap space in 2014 and 2015. He was brought in to do much more than this, and we all know he's capable of helping this franchise in a much more significant way.
Going forward, the onus is on Griffin as well as head coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay to find ways to better utilize one of their best offensive weapons.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.
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