During a decorated college career at West Virginia, Baltimore's Tavon Austin was tough to grab in the open field.
Austin had 3,413 receiving yards in four years in Morgantown, W.Va., and much of the damage he did as a receiver came after the catch when the Mountaineers quickly got him the ball in space.
Five games into his NFL career, though, the Dunbar graduate hasn't found that space as easily.
The Rams, who traded up to select Austin eighth overall in April's NFL draft, have made an effort to get their top pick involved. Quarterback Sam Bradford has targeted him 40 times, more than any of his other receivers. And Austin leads the Rams with 23 receptions. But he is averaging just 6.8 yards per catch and 3.7 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus, who says he has only broken two tackles.
When I profiled Austin before the draft, I spoke to a few respected NFL analysts who raved about his playmaking ability and believed his skill set would translate to the pro game despite being just 5 feet 8. But it came with an asterisk -- some believed that for Austin to reach his full potential, his team would have to be creative in how they used him.
Outside of their pathetic Thursday night effort against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, I haven't seen much of the Rams. But some detractors are already taking aim at Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who was criticized for being too conservative during this time with the New York Jets, for how he has used Austin in the offense.