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Chris Givens - Speed Kills

Even if he doesn't end up being considered a true number one wideout, the Rams struck gold in drafting Chris Givens.

By D. Hawkins

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Jamie McDonald

Coming into this season many Rams fans had high hopes for Brian Quick. His physical stature and imposing style of play are attributes the Rams had been missing in previous years. Another attribute the Rams had been lacking is speed. Chris Givens came in as a guy with tempered expectations due to him being selected in the 4th round. After all, the Rams missed out on the stud wide receivers, Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd *rolls eyes*.

At the midpoint of the season, it looks as if the Rams may have landed the steal of the draft in Givens.

Until this point, Givens has managed to accumulate 333 yards on 13 receptions and 2 touchdowns. That comes out to an average of 25.6 yards a catch. Per Pro Football Focus, Givens' average depth of target is 17.1 yards. The next closest player on the team is Brandon Gibson averaging a depth of 12.9 yards per target. Danny Amendola and Lance Kendricks come in at 8.4 and 5.5, respectively.

If Givens wants to be considered a top tier wideout, he has some things to work on. He needs to work on his intermediate route running. Half way through this season Givens has developed the tendency to catch a deep ball and then disappear the rest of the game. Fortunately for Givens and the Rams, speed trumps all and people around the league are beginning to take notice.

Take a look at what people are saying about Chris Givens:

If I ran Dolphins Martellus Bennett would be Miami's 2nd TE and Chris Givens would have replaced Michael Egnew as the 3rd Rder. Just sayin

NFC West receiving yardage leaders last four weeks: Chris Givens 272, Larry Fitzgearld 266, Michael Crabtree 242, Sidney Rice 235.

Chris Givens 5 straight games w/50-yd reception per Elias 1st WR w/50-yd reception in 5 straight games since Pat Studstill 1966

Omar Kelly is a Miami Dolphins and NFL beat reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Mike Sando is the NFC West Writer for ESPN.com, and Cecil Lammey an NFL Insider for 102.3 Denver and a senior writer for FootballGuys.com.

Givens still has a long way to go if he wants to be considered more than just a deep threat, but I sure am glad we have him.

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