Breakout or Fakeout: Is Gary Barnidge actually good?
Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge came out of nowhere to become one of the league's most productive tight ends in 2015, catching 79 passes for 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns.
In his seventh professional season, Barnidge eclipsed all of his previous production and cemented his role as the Browns' No. 1 tight end and top target.
During his previous six seasons combined, Barnidge tallied a pallid 44 catches for 603 yards and three touchdowns, but his ascension netted him a three-year, $12-million deal and a trip to the Pro Bowl.
Is he for real?
The case for Barnidge
Barnidge joined a veritable who's who of NFL tight ends in tallying over 1,000 receiving yards and at least nine touchdowns. In league history only 13 other players have done the same at that position, all of them have either been to multiple Pro Bowls, are in the Hall of Fame, or are named Dallas Clark.
Barnidge's outburst could be chalked up to a statistical anomaly, but this is not a case of a mediocre tight end getting a lift from an incredible quarterback, like, say Julius Thomas' 24 touchdowns over a two-year span with Peyton Manning.
In 2015, Barnidge caught passes from Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel, and Austin Davis. While the Browns' quarterback situation won't improve significantly with Robert Griffin III under center, Barnidge will undoubtedly benefit from some stability at the position.
Barnidge also passes the eyeball test, making several highlight-reel catches during the season:
-Joe Thomson
The case against Barnidge
A 30-year-old tight end more than doubling his career receiving totals in a span of 16 games is a story we can all root for. But let's not rush to take it as a sign of things to come.
Barnidge's shocking spike in production was largely a product of opportunity. Jordan Cameron's departure made him the top tight end on Cleveland's depth chart, a lack of capable wideouts saw him emerge as the most targeted receiver (123), and the Browns were constantly playing catch up.
Cleveland has made a clear effort to improve at receiver under its new management regime, and Hue Jackson-led passing attacks tend to feature that position more so than the tight end. While a drop in catch and yardage totals wouldn't be too problematic if Barnidge maintains his red-zone production, doing so also becomes all the more difficult as the focal point of a defense in that area of the field.
Barnidge will no longer be the surprise player running free and padding his stats on an otherwise disaster of an offense. Look for a regression that sees his stat totals fall somewhere between his previous highs and the clear outlier that was the 2015 campaign.
- Dan Wilkins
You decide
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