Dustin Keller was drafted late first round out of Purdue. Jets traded up to get him for his great receiving skills at the tight end position.
He certainly lived up to expectations racking up over 500 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie year. Those numbers may same average but lets compare those numbers to some great receiving tight ends
Tony Gonzalez: only racked 368 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie year, compared to Keller’s 535 and 3 Td’s
Jason Witten: had 347 yards in his rookie year and 2 Td’s also started in more games then Keller
Antonio Gates: Started in six more games in his rookie year then Keller and only 389 yards and two touchdowns
So obviously Keller is off to an incredible start. But could we see those numbers start to decline?
Dustin Keller was one of Brett Favre’s favorite targets in some crucial games like the Patriots game where he had 87 yards on eight receptions and a crucial 3rd-and-15 conversion in overtime. Also in the St. Louis game where Keller racked up 107 yards on six catches.
Now that Favre is gone will Keller see the same numbers as last year?
There are arguments to both sides whether he will better and worse. Let’s look at both sides.
Why he could be better:
He is just a rookie and picking 500 yards as a rookie is phenomenal, now that he knows the ropes he could get better,
He only started in 6 games this year and averaged 40 yards a game including days he sat out. If he starts all 16 games next year could he reach over 700 yards?