1995 was Chrebet's first year, when he went undrafted. He had 66 catches for 700+ yards in that first year. Woodhead went undrafted in 2008 and did nothing, had 8 catches in 2009, and is now entering his 3rd year. Woodhead's not at the same stage of his career.
Chrebet was regarded at about the same or less than Woodhead? What?! No receiver in the history of the league had more receptions after his first two seasons than Chrebet did at that point. He started 25 of 32 games. Chrebet was second on the team in receptions for his rookie season and led the Jets in receptions in 1996. The Jets tried to find a receiver that they thought was better than Chrebet (Alex Van Dyke, Jeff Graham, Webster Slaughter) but failed because Chrebet was so good and kept peforming at an extremely high level. I’m sure if TGG was available in 1995 we would all be writing Chrebet off, but not going into his 3rd season like Woodhead is. There’s really no comparison at all.
The player we have now who most favors Wayne is Cotchery. Both have/had great hands, get open, great on 3rd downs and hustle for extra yardage. Yeah, Woodhead is a small guy who people route for becasue he's an underdog. I guess Wayne was similar in that regard, but really, it's not even close. If Woodhead was a cocky black kid, who played and practiced exactly the same, nobody would ever make the comparason to Wayne.
Other than one having worked at abused women shelters, rescued orphans in 3rd world countries, and having something called a productive career there is no comparison.
Taylor is a different kind of player as he relys on speed and quickness, plus he wasn't an over achiever and didn't make the team. But nobody is stopping you from making the thread if you want to. For the record, this is not about both guys being white. There are a lot of white football players.
Fair enough. I'll clarify "same stage of his career" as just getting started on the active roster to begin his first full season. Again, it was a lot easier to make the 1995 Jets than the 2008, 2009 or 2010 Jets so it's not a level comparison.
Cotchery played at NC State, a D-1 school (I don't remember if he was drafted or not), Chrebet and Woodhead did not.
I'm not making bold predictions here, I'm asking what people think of the comparison. Woodhead doesn't figure to see as much time as Chrebet did his first season, so I'm not expecting him to have a duplicate career or anything. I'm saying if he gets a chance to play he could stick and be one of those guys you look back on like Chrebet and say "nobody wanted to give him a chance and look what he did".
I never made a comparason of schools. The comparason that makes sense is playing style. The player on our team who most resembles Waybe Chrebet on the field is probably Cotch, and I think you can agree with the attrubutes I listed. If Woodhead blossoms, and becomes a bigtime player for us, then maybe him and Chrebet would be a little similar. Hard working, undersided guy from a small school who ends up being a big time starter. Woodhead barely made the team in his third year though. I hope you are right-- hopefully this kid ends up stealing some reps here and there, and ends up a fan favorite for years.
If you're 5'6" and have a shot at an NFL roster, you're overachieving. I'm not making that thread because it's a terrible comparison, just like this one. And what would you say Woodhead relies on, if not quickness and elusiveness?
My comparison is more about the player himself, physical tools and background (ie small school, undrafted) rather than position and skill set. But to your point, Cotchery is probably the closest football player to Chrebet (the finished product) that we have on the team, yes. That's all I was looking for. Not that anyone has to agree with me, but this is the essence of the comparison I was trying to make.
I'd say Taylor, despite his size, has more of a physical gift with speed than Woodhead or Chrebet. Not a terrible comparison but again he didn't make the team and probably is a lot faster flat out that either of the other two.
