Downfield passing game must improve, but there's reason for optimism

The criticism Kelly Bryant has endured for the lack of accuracy on deep passes has been constant and at times a point of contention for Clemson fans. Some say Bryant "never" throws a good deep pass, while others point to Bryant's bomb to Ray Ray McCloud against Louisville and say, "See?"

Bryant struggled at times, particularly when injured, but his accuracy regarding completion percentage was similar to Deshaun Watson’s during the 2016 National Championship season. That's likely a surprise to most reading this.

While Bryant missed some throws, the fact is Clemson threw deep about half the number of times they did in 2016, despite playing only one less game.  You can't have a deep passing game without at least testing the deep ball from time to time.

Maybe the coaches didn’t trust Bryant. Perhaps they didn’t believe in the line. Maybe they didn’t trust the receiving corps without Mike Williams. 

Whatever the reason, the 2017 version of the Clemson offense relied on the run and short passing game, with few chances taken downfield. 

Pass attempts over 20 yards - 2016 vs. 2017

It was at the end of Bryant’s playing time against Wake Forest (game 6) that he was injured and to that point, in the season Bryant was 7 for 17 (41.2%) for 287 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on passes of 20 or more yards downfield on the season.

At first glance, the numbers aren't eye-popping, but consider two things:

• Those numbers correlate to 16.9 yards per attempt and 41.0 yards per completion.
• Deshaun Watson completed 31.6% of his passes over 20 yards during 2016's title run.

We'll never know for sure if it was the injury or not that caused Bryant's precipitous drop in deep passing, but seeing his pre-injury numbers is a reason for optimism, at least as long as Bryant is healthy.

Clemson Sports Talk

Kelly Bryant looks downfield during a practice last week.

Last year's playoff showed the importance of the passing game in modern college football, despite Clemson's pair of elite running backs.

Oklahoma's yards per pass numbers were off the charts good in the Sooners 2017 playoff run, but Georgia and Alabama, two teams traditionally strong on the ground, also ranked in the top 28 in yards per pass, while Clemson, known for it's vertical passing game, was relegated to 81st in the nation (of 129 teams).

During the 2016 season, the Tigers averaged 7.96 yards per pass, which translates to an almost 12% reduction in yards per pass from 2016.

Bryant is not alone in the need to improve. The onus is also on Tee Higgins to develop into a version of Mike Williams circa 2016. Deon Cain was a good wide receiver, but he was no Mike Williams, and it showed at times.

Higgins had moments last season but needs to develop into more Williams-like and less Cain. Hunter Renfrow's catch that won the national title doesn’t happen without Williams leaping grab along the sidelines a few plays earlier.

Simply put, Higgins needs to be "the man," not just game in and game out, but drive after drive, a reliable deep threat that Bryant can trust to reel in the ball, whether the pass is perfect or not.

A much more difficult problem to solve is finding a tight end with the skill set of Jordan Leggett, or at least one relatively close.  I was one of Milan Richard's biggest fans due to his ability to gain chunks of yards after the catch, but Richard was rarely used as a receiver. 

While Braden Galloway is someone that caught my eye during the spring, I'm skeptical that a true freshman is going to step in and make a major immediate contribution.

I'm optimistic Bryant's deep passing will be closer to the pre-injury number (41.2%), and Higgins will mature into an elite deep threat. If those two things occur, the Tigers will be tough to defeat, no matter the opponent.

The tight end conundrum is much more problematic, at least early in August.

I'm not sure of much this early in camp, but I'm sure that no matter how good Clemson's running game is with Bryant, Travis Etienne, Tavien Feaster and Adam Choice, the Tigers won't win the title averaging 7 yards per pass.