UNC’s receiving tandem, one of the ACC’s best, is causing chaos for opposing defenses
In the case of North Carolina receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green, it’s difficult to tell which player has had the biggest impact in making the other one better.
Is it Green’s ability to stretch defenses catching deep routes that opened things up for Downs? Or is it Down’s weaving routes through the middle and in the seams that makes it easier for Green?
What’s without question is the duo’s impact on the Tar Heels’ opponents. Downs and Green are the only receiver tandem to be ranked in the top 10 in receiving yards per game in ACC play: Downs tops the list with 105 yards per game and Green is sixth at 78 yards per game. They’re arguably the best receiving duo in the conference.
“Ain’t no need to argue, I’m gonna go with us every time against anybody,” said Green, who has 13 receptions for 384 yards and four touchdowns.
There’s not much argument from anyone who watched the Heels’ final drive against Duke. Downs caught a crucial fourth-down pass, despite being double teamed by the Blue Devils. Green tip-toed in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds left.
“Honestly, there’s nothing that I feel like we can’t do as a tandem,” Downs said. “I feel like we both can do every part of a football game, every part of receivers game. We can run routes, we can go deep, we can go get the ball and we can go after to the catch.”
As Carolina (6-1, 3-0 ACC) prepares to face Pitt (4-3, 1-2) on Saturday, offensive coordinator Phil Longo said the success of Green and Downs has probably evened out their impact on each other.
“Going into this this season, Antoine initially probably benefits more from Josh because Josh had the the 101-catch season last year and drew all kinds of double coverage,” Longo said. “Antoine has taken — he was good for us last year — but he’s taken a step from last year. I would call him an elite guy now.”
The Panthers know that about Green better than most. In last year’s loss at Pitt, two of Green’s three catches in the game were touchdowns including a 76-yarder.
Green has continued torching opponents deep this season, despite missing the first four games of the year with a broken collarbone.
According to Pro Football Focus, Green is in a seven-way tie for first place nationally with a 99.9 percent grade on deep passes, which is defined as throws of 20-plus yards not just gains of that length. Green has caught seven passes on 11 targets on throws of more than 20 yards, averaged 45.9 yards per catch and added three touchdowns, including an 80-yarder against Notre Dame.
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UNC coach Mack Brown called Green “one of the most valuable players” on the team.
“Antoine, you got to make sure you don’t cover him with one guy,” Brown said. “That’s a load right now because he’s played as well as anybody in the country.”
Longo said Downs isn’t seeing nearly the amount of double-teams he did last season because of it. Downs, who missed two games with a knee injury, still leads the team with 37 catches and 425 yards.
The Heels have also used their scheme to create opportunities for the pair. Instead of solely lining Downs up in the slot, as they did for most of last season, he’s moved around to the outside and even the backfield.
“If it changes anything, it’s probably the safeties just moving over and having to key both of the outside receivers and not just shading the slot,” Green said. “It opens up a lot more one-on-one matchups on the outside.”
Downs and Green win more than their share of single coverage matchups.
The benefit of having Downs and Green for quarterback Drake Maye is they get their catches within the team concept. They don’t spend time in the huddle lobbying for the ball to come their way.
“There’s some points in time where they had a certain look at the corner or a certain route they feel like they’re getting them on, they’ll come back to the huddle and tell me,” Maye said. “But they’re not like, ‘You missed me, I was open,’ they’re not those type of guys. They’re great, they’re just trying to help us win.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 5:10 AM with the headline "UNC’s receiving tandem, one of the ACC’s best, is causing chaos for opposing defenses."