Each of the top three wide receivers taken in the 2021 NFL Draft entered Week 1 of the season facing pertinent questions. Could Ja'Marr Chase shake off his drop-laden preseason and revive his rapport with Joe Burrow? Can DeVonta Smith excel despite his slender frame? Will Jaylen Waddle be able to mesh with Tua Tagovailoa again amid concerns over his college quarterback's arm strength?
It is important not to be a prisoner of the Week 1 moment. With the opening slate of games notorious for enticing observers into mistaken conclusions.
However, after all three played major roles in wins for the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, respectively, the answer to each of those queries is, for now, a confident yes.
The trio all found the endzone in their NFL debuts, making league history in the process.
Indeed, the 2021 season is the first in common-draft era in which three rookie wideouts that were each selected in the first round scored on a touchdown reception in Week 1.
And their performances provided plenty of encouragement they will each vindicate their lofty draft statuses.
Chase the ace
The highlight of Chase's 101-yard showing in Cincinnati's win over the Minnesota Vikings was a 50-yard touchdown catch from college team-mate Burrow on a perfectly thrown ball on which the fifth overall pick took advantage of soft coverage from Bashaud Breeland.
But a receiver whose ability to separate was questioned prior to the draft also excelled at getting free from coverage on third down. Registering a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on four of his seven targets, Chase finished the game with 14.43 burn yards per target -- ninth among receivers who were thrown to at least five times -- with an average depth of target of 15.7 yards.
His debut effort and the numbers he produced should raise hopes he can rely more on his route-running to beat defenders rather than the physical approach that defined his success at LSU.
Crimson Tide connection returns
Separating from defenders was never an issue for Waddle at the college level, with preseason concerns aimed more at his quarterback than the former Alabama star.
As a rookie, Tagovailoa did not produce much to suggest he would gel with a speedster who won his matchup with a defender on 78.1 per cent of his 2020 targets and averaged 19.96 burn yards per target to lead the Power 5 in his final year with the Crimson Tide.
Yet this pair of college team-mates also had their connection from 2019 cooking again as the Dolphins knocked off the New England Patriots in Foxborough.
They did so largely through intelligently adapting Waddle's traits to the short passing game, giving him chances to run after the catch and using him in motion to stretch and deceive the Patriots' defense, as they did on his touchdown that eventually proved the game-winner.
There was also a play that could have been plucked straight from Waddle's Alabama tape as he got a step on a defender while running vertically and worked his way back to the ball, leaping over the covering cornerback for a 36-yard reception.
With a burn on four of his six targets and 13.09 burn yards per target, Waddle's numbers did not quite match up to those of Chase but, if he continues to stress defenses working horizontally and vertically, he will be a substantial asset to the Miami passing game.
Smith shreds Falcons
Waddle will have hot competition for the title of best Alabama receiver from this draft, though, at least if Smith continues on his early trajectory from the Eagles' 32-6 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons.
Open on six of his eight targets, Smith's six-catch, 71-yard showing was not one in which he relied on his excellent route-running ability, instead finding holes in the Falcons' zone coverage in a game where he was a favoured receiver for Jalen Hurts, who was second among quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts with a well-thrown ball percentage of 87.5.
Yet his 19-yard touchdown offered a snapshot of what he can do in that regard as he patiently released to the outside against man coverage, sending his defender into a pick play from tight end Zach Ertz. With open space now at his disposal, Smith accelerated before expertly tracking the ball into his grasp in the corner of the endzone.
For both Smith and Waddle, their early success was a continuation of how they performed in college, while Chase demonstrated encouraging progress in an area of the game considered to be a weakness.
Selecting a wide receiver in the top 10 is considered a gamble by many but the early payout from this trio suggests they may prove worth the risk.
Philadelphia Eagles turn up the Hurts on Tampa Bay to remain unbeaten
The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their perfect start to the season, proving too strong for previously unbeaten Tampa Bay.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts led his team to a 25-11 win as he masterminded a game-deciding drive that lasted nine minutes.
Hurts threw for 277 yards and scored a touchdown while running back D’Andre Swift racked up 130 yards on 16 carries.
The Eagles are 3-0 for the second successive season and join Miami and San Francisco as the only unbeaten sides.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow shook off a calf injury to throwing for 259 yards to beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 for the Bengals’ first win of the season.
Burrow, who picked up the injury in pre-season and aggravated it against Baltimore last week, only returned to training on Thursday.
Running back Joe Mixon’s 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the AFC North champions their first lead of the season.
Logan Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and he was sacked six times.
Chargers wide receiver Williams out for season with torn ACL
The Los Angeles Chargers will be without star wide receiver Mike Williams for the remainder of the 2023 season after an MRI confirmed he tore his ACL in Week 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Williams went down in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 28-24 road win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after recording seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Williams entered Monday’s action ranked 12th in the league in receiving yards (249), tied for 12th in targets (26) and tied for 13th in catches (19).
Since being selected seventh overall by the Chargers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Williams has 309 receptions for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Los Angeles lost its first two games by a combined five points before defeating Minnesota.
The Chargers went 10-7 last season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They led by 10 points after three quarters in the wild-card round at Jacksonville before the Jaguars rallied for a 31-30 victory.
Miami Dolphins turn down record bid in rout of hapless Denver Broncos
The Miami Dolphins rattled up the highest points total in the NFL since 1966 as they overwhelmed the winless Denver Broncos 70-20.
Rookie De’Von Achane ran for 203 yards, two touchdowns and collected a touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa – who completed his first 17 passes – while fellow running back Raheen Mostert ran for three touchdowns and caught another.
Coach Mike McDaniel opted against a last-ditch field-goal attempt which would have broken the record of 72 points set by Washington against the Giants 57 years ago.
AFC East rivals Buffalo Bills also had a commanding victory as they routed the Washington Commanders 37-3.
Josh Allen threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Bills defence sacked home quarterback Sam Howell nine times.
Howell threw four interceptions, once of which was returned for a touchdown by AJ Epenesa – as the Commanders went scoreless until a field goal with 46 seconds left on the clock.
Elsewhere in the AFC East, the New England Patriots won 15-10 to beat the New York Jets for a 15th successive game and avoid a first 0-3 start since 2000.
Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes, two to Jerick McKinnon, but had to take second billing to a watching Taylor Swift as Kansas City Chiefs ease passed the winless Chicago Bears 41-10.
Swift cheered on from a suite at the invitation of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, with whom she has been romantically linked and who also grabbed a touchdown pass from Mahomes.
Reigning MVP Mahomes threw for 272 yards, Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire adding touchdown runs as the Bears fell to a 13th straight defeat ahead of a clash with the Broncos next week.
Kenny Pickett passed for 235 yards with two touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers held off a fourth quarter comeback from the Las Vegas Raiders to win 23-18.
The Raiders, who trailed 23-7 going into the final quarter, cut the deficit to eight points but opted to take a field goal on fourth and four in the closing moments.
Dallas Cowboys’ impressive start to the season hit came to an abrupt end as they lost 28-16 at Arizona Cardinals, Joshua Dobbs throwing for a touchdown and 189 yards to secure his first win as a starting quarterback in his seventh NFL season.
Quarterback Derek Carr was forced off with a shoulder injury as the New Orleans Saints coughed up a 17-0 lead to lose 18-7 to the Green Bay Packers while Kenneth Walker II rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks won 37-27 over the winless Carolina Panthers.
The Minnesota Vikings are also 0-3 after they went down 28-24 to the Los Angeles Chargers, Justin Herbert completing 40 of 47 passes – a franchise record 18 of them to Keenan Allen – for 405 yards and three touchdowns.
Andrew Beck returned a kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown and CJ Stroud threw for two more as the Houston Texans beat the faltering Jacksonville Jaguars 37-17.
Matt Gay kicked four field goals from more than 50 yards, including the game winner in overtime from 53 yards, as the Indianapolis Colts won 22-19 to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Baltimore Ravens.
The Tennessee Titans totalled just 94 yards in offence as they went down 27-3 at the Cleveland Browns, while the Atlanta Falcons went down 20-6 at the Detroit Lions.
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