NFL NEWS
Let’s Face It: Wide Receiver Is Overrated
Published by Joey Kaufman on August 17, 2008
Hey guys. My name is Joey Kaufman and I am the lead blogger for the Southern California sports based website known as SoCal Sports Hub. Since MoonDog is moving this week, I volunteered to blog here at MoonDog Sports for the next few days. Since I’m a Left Coast guy, I have a tendency to often reference California teams so please bear with me.
With the NFL season just a little more than a month away, most football fans are preparing for the upcoming season by reading their team’s blog, purchasing tickets, and most of all, hyping up their favorite team. What bothers me most about the latter is when fans start proclaiming that their team is destined for the Super Bowl because of a great group of wide receivers.
Sorry, but in the NFL, the wide receiver does not have as great an impact as the average fan may think. A receiver only touches the ball five to ten times a game. On the other hand, a quarterback handles the ball every single play, and a running back usually touches it at least twenty times a game.
While the receiver position is still very important, the average wideout can not dominate every play like a quarterback or running back can. Team’s need a solid receiving core, not just one superstar. Besides their limitation in touches, receivers can only be as good as their offensive line and quarterback.
If you place the best receiver on the Atlanta Falcons, even he won’t manage to get open in under two seconds. While he is running his route his quarterback is getting planted into the dirt by a 300 pound defensive tackle.
We were able to witness this first hand with the rise and fall of Randy Moss. While playing in Minnesota for the Vikings, Moss was a perennial pro-bowler. This was due to the fact that the Vikings had Pro Bowl Quarterbacks in Randall Cunningham and Daunte Culpepper in addition to a strong offensive line. Due to these factors Moss was able to be dominate year in and year out.
When he was traded to Oakland, things changed. The Raiders had the worst offensive line in all of football and were quarterbacked by Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter. As a result his production dropped dramatically.
Now in New England, Moss has become one of the game’s best again by haling in twenty-three touchdown receptions in 2007. Moss isn’t that much better as a Patriot, but he is simply able to be more productive due to playing with the game’s top quarterback and offensive line.
Moss’s situation shows that without the play of a solid offensive line, a dominant left tackle, and an efficient quarterback, any great receiver is limited.
With that being said, I often wonder why NFL teams continue to invest high draft picks on receivers before they have a strong offensive line and effective quarterback. Look at some of the best receivers today.
Reggie Wayne: Late First Round
Chad Johnson: 2nd Round
Chris Chambers: 2nd Round
Isaac Bruce: 2nd Round
Steve Smith: 3rd Round
Donald Driver: 7th Round
T.J. Houshmandzadeh: 7th Round
Rod Smith: Not Drafted
What do they all have in common? Besides all being late round draft choices, they were all placed on good teams. Johnson and Houshmandzadeh played with a Pro-Bowler Quarterback Carson Palmer and a well-established offensive line. Isaac Bruce was on the Greatest Show on Turf, enough said.
Reggie Wayne plays with Peyton Manning. Steve Smith plays with Pro-Bowler Jake Delhomme and an outstanding Panthers offensive line. Donald Driver has played with future hall of famer Brett Favre.
Many of the recent top ten receivers weren’t as lucky as those late round steals.
Peter Warrick: 4th Overall
Travis Taylor: 10th Overall
David Terrell: 8th Overall, 2001
Charles Rogers: 2nd Overall, 2003
Reggie Williams: 9th Overall, 2004
Mike Williams: 10th Overall, 2005
All of these players were drafted in the top ten by lousy teams with terrible offensive lines. In college they seemed to be stars in the making, but they never had the chance to develop while on horrible teams. Warrick was on the lousy Bengals teams of the early 2000s. Rogers and Mike Williams played for the Detroit Lions with Joey Harrington and a porous offensive line.
These examples show how receivers can only make an impact when on a team with a solid offensive line and an efficient quarterback. If they end up going to lousy teams, such as the Lions, Falcons, or Dolphins, it becomes extremely difficult for them to become Pro-Bowlers.
A word of advice to NFL General Managers: build a strong offensive line before you draft a receiver in the top ten (a la Matt Millen).
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