There used to be a time when there wasn’t much room at the wide receiver position for the little guys. Wideouts less than 6 feet tall often went undrafted not all that long ago. I remember watching Wayne Chrebet play receiver for the Jets when I was a kid. In my eyes, he was the toughest guy on the field any time he was on it.
This tiny receiver would go over the middle and take shots that the big guys couldn’t take. Keep in mind that this was long before new rules were made to protect the receivers catching balls. He was tough, he ran great routes and he caught everything around him. Why was Chrebet never discussed with the elite receivers at that time? Why wasn’t he in the lineup as often as the bigger (in many ways, less talented) receivers on his team? He was widely underestimated due to his stature. We now know that his was a big mistake.
Today, being the little guy catching the ball in a high powered offense has its advantages. Guys like Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton, Randall Cobb, Emanuel Sanders, Odell Beckham Jr. and Golden Tate (among others) must be discussed with the best receivers in the league because their production is comparable.
It was less than two years ago that the Giants were struggling to find a value to place on Victor Cruz. His smaller frame and quicker movements were tailored specifically for the slot position. In their eyes he was less valuable because he could not play the wide out spot in the offense as effectively. This just seemed foolish to me.
Finding big, strong, fast receivers coming out of college seems fairly easy. It is much more difficult to find a receiver who can make every route look easy along with making the correct reads and adjustments in literally less than a second to make sure his quarterback has somewhere to throw the ball. Are these more versatile wide receivers becoming the upper-classmen of the NFL receiver position?
I don’t know about that, but these guys are much more difficult to scout, and therefore are less likely to be drafted. The small mechanics in an offense that make these guys successful is usually tailored to the situation the offense is in at the time and the reads and reactions the receiver is able to make and adjust to. These things come with experience and smart coaching in most cases.
Nowadays, the smaller pass catchers are learning it quickly. When you combine that with the speed these players possess to hit the long ball you realize the little guy is a far more attractive installment in an offense. You do need a big receiver who can go up and fight for the ball sometimes, but there are a lot of big receivers in the NFL.
Bigger? Faster? Stronger? You can keep it. I’ll take quicker, shiftier and smarter for my best receiver.
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