I was looking at the seven players who had more receiving
yards than Drew, and like Drew, they mostly beat up bad
defenses. The most notable exception is Chad Johnson, who
had 99+ yards against Denver, Cleveland, and twice against
Baltimore, all ranked in the top 10 in pass defense according to
ESPN (also NY Jets, ranked 14th). So it may be unrealistic to
want him to overpower the best teams- when he actually gets
the chance to play them, which was a rarity for him this year.
He only played against two teams in the top 15!
The main thing is receptions. The six wide receivers who had
more receiving yards than Bennett averaged over 92
receptions (including Gonzalez, it's well over 93 receptions).
Bennett only had 80. Hypothetically (and it is purely
hypothetical), if Bennett had 12 more receptions, and only
averaged 15 yards per catch for those 12 receptions (on top of
his just under 15.6 average for his 80 receptions), Bennett
would've had 1427 yards, which would've put him number one
in the league. (Of course there are other receivers who had a
15.6 average or higher, like Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne,
Jimmy Smith, etc.)
A lot of things have to fall in place for him to lead the league in
yards in the future, but weirder things have happened:
Good QB situation: whether McNair or Volek, somebody has to
deliver him the ball with intelligence and accuracy
Consistency: he has to catch a lot of balls, simple as that
Big plays: like this year, catch a lot of big passes
Favorable schedule: He had that this year
Health: Needs no explanation
A couple of interesting comparisons:
Terrell Owens: 77 receptions, 1200 yards, 15.6 average
Bennett: 80 receptions, 1247 yards, 15.6 average
(How similar is that?! Owens did have three more TDs
though.)
And Bennett's teammate, Mason, 96/ 1168, 12.2 average