It's been almost a year since my last post, but I've been itching to get back into it. And lately...there's been something bothering me that I felt I needed to address.
What is it?
Percy Harvin is not a wide receiver. There, I said it.
The Minnesota Vikings didn't lose one of the best WR's in the NFL when Harvin was traded to the Seattle Seahawks this week. They lost one of the best pass-catching RB's in the NFL.
In 8 games last season (before he got "hurt"), Harvin caught 33 of the 62 passes he received BEHIND the line of scrimmage. In ONLY 8 games...that DOUBLED the amount of passes caught behind the line of scrimmage than 46 of the top 50 WR's. The next closest receiver to Harvin's 33 receptions behind the line of scrimmage: Antonio Brown of Pittsburgh, who played in 13 games.
This, to me, says one of two things:
1.) Percy Harvin is not a true NFL Wide Receiver. He was placed in that position by the Vikings out of necessity due to a lack of options over the last 4 years. There's no denying his talent, speed, or elusiveness on the field. He has plenty of skills, without a doubt. But to call him a "wide receiver" when, in fact, he caught more balls behind the line of scrimmage than any running back in football, is somewhat ridiculous.
Of the 280 career receptions Harvin has, only 65 of them are on passes thrown OVER 10 yards. That's only 23%. Compare that to someone like Calvin Johnson, who has 488 career receptions, with 204 of them being over 10 yards. That's 42%. Now, on the flip side of that coin, is a player like Wes Welker, who is probably more of an apples-to-apples comparison for a receiver like Harvin. Welker's percentage of receptions over 10 yards in his career is only around 16%. Would we consider Welker to not be an NFL wide receiver? Of course not. However, given the weapons the New England offense has had during Welker's career, he had a particular role of being more of a "possession" receiver, so naturally, the bulk of his receptions were going to come within yards of the line of scrimmage.
But most Vikings fans wouldn't consider Harvin a "possession" receiver...at least not ON the field...(insert off-the-field pot-smoking joke here). Listening to local media, listening to fans, the consensus in Minnesota is that Harvin is this unbelievable, top-tier wide-out that deserved to be "paid" big-time dollars. Again, no denying the talent, but is he truly a Top 10 receiver? Really?
2.) With Harvin catching over 50% of his 2012 receptions behind the line of scrimmage, the second thing that tells me is that the Vikings have a MAJOR issue at the quarterback position that the team doesn't quite seem willing to admit...yet. The fact that they've now signed Matt Cassel to a one-year contract may show a bit of uncertainty with Christian Ponder. But with a quarterback like Ponder, whose arm strength many have questioned, were Harvin's numbers over the last two years perhaps inflated? Will Harvin be as "effective" with Seattle as he was in Minnesota?
In my opinion...no.
Harvin benefited greatly from a quarterback who was unable to attack downfield. Think about this: In just 8 games, Harvin finished the 2012 season 3rd in YAC (Yards After Catch), behind Welker and New Orleans' running back Darren Sproles. Welker's YAC (619) accounted for only 46% of his total yards (1,354). Harvin's YAC (531) was responsible for 78% of his 677 total receiving yards. What that tells me is that Harvin made more of the short dink-and-dunk type passes Ponder was throwing him than what many people realize, which should say a lot about both Harvin and Ponder, from different aspects.
So, the bottom line is this: Is Percy Harvin a talented NFL player? Absolutely! Is he a top-flight wide receiver? That's highly debatable. Will the Vikings struggle without him, even if they don't sign a top-tier free agent wide-out? I think they'll struggle a lot less than what people think. Will Seattle be a much better team with Harvin? Most definitely!
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