In Week 1 of the 2015 season, it looked like Ted Ginn Jr. was up to his same old self, dropping passes that should have otherwise been caught for touchdowns.
#NFL Ted Ginn with the Panthers 3rd drop already. RIP Panthers season. pic.twitter.com/jMRbdNae9K
— Will Reeve Jr (@WillReeveJr) September 13, 2015
However, he proved everyone wrong by going on to score a career-high 10 touchdowns while becoming a key offensive piece in helping the Carolina Panthers reach Super Bowl 50.
Considering Ginn Jr. did this in 2015 with an abysmal catch rate of 45.36%, there was hope that if he were to improve in this department, he could sustain this production if given the opportunity again.
He did improve his catch rate to 56.84% this past season, but still below the league average, which was 60.63%. Even though his production in terms of yardage was replicated, he couldn't find the end zone nearly as often as the year before.
| Category | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Receptions | 44 | 54 |
| Catch Rate | 45.36% | 56.84% |
| Reception NEP per Target (Rank) | 0.80 (T-13th) | 0.63 (38th) |
| Reception Success Rate | 93.18% | 77.78% |
| Touchdowns | 10 | 4 |
Ginn Jr.'s Reception Success Rate dropped significantly (from 9th-best to 11th-worst) -- a telling sign that 2015 may have been an outlier. In terms of touchdowns, he only matched 40% of last year's total, which in part was due to the return of Kelvin Benjamin, who caught 7 touchdowns in 2016.
He also dropped (pun intended) from 13th to 38th in Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) per Target this past season, and was basically non-existent in the red zone -- he had only one target (1.39% of Carolina's total) inside the 20-yard line, which was fewer than backup quarterback Joe Webb and wide receiver Brenton Bersin, who each had two.