St. Louis Rams' WR Brian Quick Approaches His Breakout Year

Brian Quick was on his way to surpassing his career totals in one season before a devastating shoulder injury on October 26^th put the fourth year wide receiver’s production on hold. Quick was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and a separated left shoulder and has “realistic” shot to play in Week 1 this season according to ESPN.com’s St. Louis Rams reporter Nick Wagoner.

It appeared that it was all coming together for Quick, who was one of the lone bright spots in the Rams offense during the first half of last season. Quick, while shuffling through Sam Bradford, Shaun Hill and Austin Davis from preseason through Week 8, caught 25 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns in his six-plus games of action. But before diving deeper into Quick’s 2014 production pre-injury, Quick’s learning curve on the Rams since being drafted in 2012 should be noted.

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The History

Labeled a project wide receiver out of Appalachian State, the No. 33 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft started one game during his rookie season, appearing in 15, catching 11 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 27 targets. The following season, Quick played and started in more games, resulting in 36 targets, 18 receptions and 302 receiving yards, while his touchdowns remained the same with two.

In seven games in 2014, Quick had more targets (39), more receptions (25), more receiving yards (375) and more touchdowns (3) compared to the previous season. It’s safe to assume—on the conservative side—Quick would’ve had at least 80 targets and had a good chance of being closer to 90. Wide receivers that received between 80 and 90 targets last season include names like Kenny Britt (St. Louis, 84), Kenny Stills (85), Markus Wheaton (87) and Eddie Royal (91). Of those wide receivers, none had more than three touchdowns aside from Royal who had seven. Here’s the reminder that Quick had three touchdown receptions in seven, really six and a half, games played.

In three of the seven games, Quick had at least nine targets and had at least one catch in every game.

The Future

The common thread between Quick’s three seasons on the Rams is the coaching staff. Jeff Fisher has been the head coach, Dave McGinnis has been Fisher’s right-hand man, Brian Schottenheimer has been the offensive coordinator and Ray Sherman has been the wide receivers coach. It is a positive for Quick that the coaching situation has been consistent around him. There is a change this season however, as Schottenheimer has left for the offensive coordinator at the University of Georgia. However, a positive for Quick is that the Rams hired from within, promoting Frank Cignetti, Jr. who had been the Rams quarterbacks coach since Fisher was hired in 2012.

Another positive in Quick’s favor is an upgrade at the quarterback position (my opinion). The Rams organization moved on from the injury-plagued Bradford era via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles that resulted in Nick Foles becoming this year’s starting quarterback for St. Louis.

Quick has only been practicing routes against air, so it’s safe to say he and Foles haven’t had time to gain full-speed chemistry. Since Tavon Austin has the slot locked up for the Rams, Quick’s only competition when healthy is Britt, who Quick would’ve had similar numbers too if projecting a full season’s worth of output based on what he did in the seven games before the injury. If anyone wants to argue that Britt has more upside than a healthy Quick, please send your most persuasive emails to my inbox.

Quick will be a top-50 wide receiver in fantasy football this season, with potential to crack the top-30 if he clicks with Foles. Projected wide receiver rankings from ESPN include Larry Fitzgerald at No. 40, Martavis Bryant at No. 42, Michael Floyd at No. 45, Steve Smith at No. 46, Terrance Williams at No. 48, Anquan Boldin at No. 51 and Malcolm Floyd at No. 52, among others. Quick’s shoulder is no doubt a concern and his health needs to be monitored throughout the season, but I’m betting on Quick finishing closer to the top-30 than at the mid-century mark.

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