Ricky Proehl talks about the state of receiving in the NFL

[Mr. Scot]

...in this article by Conor Orr.

The NFL's Wide Receiver Crisis
 

Quote

 

It’s the first day of organized activities and the quarterback enters the huddle with a play call: Twins right, scat right, fake zoom, seam 678 Y flat drag.

For a coach working with rookie wide receivers, it’s a thrilling moment to see a new dimension in the offense. It’s also a common frustration to see them bailing out after the first section of the first play call.

“They’re sitting there going, ‘What the hell is that?’” says Ricky Proehl, a 17-year NFL wideout and Panthers position coach from 2011-16, who currently trains college prospects. “They’re sitting there, they heard twins right and are still trying to line up. First thing they say: Twins right? O.K., I’m the Z, so I line up on the right. They didn’t hear any of the other s--- because they’re trying to figure out, ‘Where do I line up?’”

Proehl is definitely buying into the theory that the wide receiver position is in a bit of a crisis at the college level. It’s hard to believe, just four years removed from the Sammy Watins/Mike Evans/Odell Beckham Jr./Brandin Cooks/Kelvin Benjamin class, we are entering a draft that may only contain one or two first-round picks at the position. Since 2014, only Amari Cooper has been picked in the first round and gone on to a Pro Bowl. Kevin White, DeVante Parker, Breshad Perriman, Nelson Agholor, Phillip Dorsett, Corey Coleman, Will Fuller, Josh Doctson, Laquon Treadwell, Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross have all been slowed by injuries or slow to lift off.

The reasons are three-pronged, and could be why some of your favorite NFL teams are drafting receivers specifically out of the few pro-style offenses remaining in college, like Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida State (under Jimbo Fisher, who took the Texas A&M job last winter).

1. Collegiate offenses reduce wideouts to one side of the ball with limited responsibilities.

“They say hey, you’re going to be the A receiver. The A receiver lines up on the left. The B receiver lines up on the right. And then this receiver lines up slot right because the tight end is on the left,” Proehl says.

The issues at play: The receiver is often in his own world. He splits out and checks with his coordinator or position coach, who reads the coverages for him, and then directs the receiver to one of a few routes that correlate.

“They don’t worry about motion,” Proehl says. “They don’t worry about snap count. They don’t hear anything else and the coach holds the board up and they know I got one of five plays where I’m running a go, post, slant or a comeback. That’s all they’re running. If he’s off I’m running a hitch. Man, I’m running a go.”

2. Coaches are starting to teach routes differently, and perhaps less effectively.

Take one of the most basic components of the NFL route tree: the curl. For years, the receiver was taught to run 12 yards, plant hard and work back to the quarterback at a 45-degree angle. This allows the quarterback to throw a split-second early—like when the receiver digs his heel in to turn.

Now, receivers are coming out of school running the curl as a continuous semicircle, which creates myriad problems at the next level.

“When you’re running a semicircle, you’re keeping your arms moving and chopping, some coaches think its great because you’re playing fast, you’re not stopping,” Proehl says. “But a guy running a semicircle, if I’m running it and a guy like Kelvin Benjamin is running it, our circles are going to be different. The quarterback has to wait for you to come out and square your shoulders. That takes more time.”

That extra time means defensive backs have a window to undercut the route.

“When you come to him, plant your foot in the ground and come back at an angle, you’re boxing him out. He’s behind you. You create and maintain separation with your angle coming back to the QB.”

3. The use of the ‘fingertip method’

Proehl says some receivers are now taught to catch the ball with their fingertips, or are at least enamored by the prospects of it—the silent woosh, the aesthetic of it.

The problem is that there is little strength in those muscles, which could cause a batted pass from a defender or an outright drop. Proehl, who now works with agencies like powerhouse Rep 1 sports to prepare their draft-eligible wideouts and maintains a stable of NFL clients at his PSP training facility in North Carolina, prefers an attacking method.

“Try and hold a ball with your fingertips and see how easy it is to strip out of your hand,” Proehl says. “Put your whole surface of your palm and your fingers on the ball. That’s how you catch a ball. Every part of your hand. The more of your hand you have on the ball, the more you have to maintain an attack from a DB when he tries to strip it.

“Fingertips? There are 10 little points on the ball. Guys say it’s so cool. Man, I want my guys to be aggressive.”

One more damning comment…

I asked Proehl if, before he left the Panthers after the 2016 season, there was a sense among NFL scouts and coaches that receivers were diminishing in value, at least enough to invest serious draft capital. His answer:

“We heard that more with running backs at the time, that they’re a dime a dozen, that you don’t take them in the first round. When I was coaching, there were classes with Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Odell Beckham. That never came up before, but I have heard that this year. The receivers coming out just didn’t impress at the combine—no true route runners, and there may not be a whole lot [going in the first round].”

So who might gamble on a first-round receiver this year?

Keep your eyes on the Cardinals, who visited privately with Texas A&M wideout Christian Kirk; the Seahawks, who are in geographical proximity to Washington’s Dante Pettis; and the Saints, who have had multiple connections with fringe first-round prospects throughout the pre-draft process. The Bears might have no choice but to keep swinging and have had contact with consensus No. 1 receiver Calvin Ridley out of Alabama. But the Cowboys might be the safest bet. With Dez Bryant in decline, they spoke with Ridley and Maryland’s D.J. Moore at the combine. Their local pro day also provides access to a ton of talent, including Courtland Sutton from SMU.

 

Food for thought to anyone hoping we draft a receiver early.

[My Goodness My Guinness]

I've noticed this the last few years. Fans have complained after recent drafts that we didn't take Moncrief, Perriman, Treadwell ect. and a very small percentage of them have produced thus far; Michael Thomas being one of the only exceptions.

[theDIRTYcode2]

Spread offenses aren't just killing WRs, they are hurting QBs too. Which is why I would be a little nervous taking Baker Mayfield, dude's playbook consisted of a post-it note. Even the play call above is meager compared to a WCO call. I get why college offenses run it, it's extremely hard to out talent Alabama, but it's definitely hurting players at the next level. 

[Mr. Scot]

Yeah, the NCAA is no longer producing great quarterbacks on a regular basis either.  Even just good ones are fewer and farther between.

Dumbing down these systems is hurting the game.

[pantherclaw]

College receivers not ready for the pros....i know I've heard that before.....somewhere....

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, pantherclaw said:

College receivers not ready for the pros....i know I've heard that before.....somewhere....

Well, it used to be some of them.  These days, it's getting to be most of them.

[ericr0319]

Positions least important to draft. 

1. Punter

2. Kicker

3. Wide Receiver

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, ericr0319 said:

Positions least important to draft. 

1. Punter

2. Kicker

3. Wide Receiver

In general, or specific to us?

You have wide receiver lower in priority than fullback?

[trueblade]

These comments (among other observation) point to the need for the NFL to bite the bullet and pay for the creation a true farm/development league instead of relying on colleges to do for free. College coaches and teams will continue to do what's best for them, as they should.

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, trueblade said:

These comments (among other observation) point to the need for the NFL to bite the bullet and pay for the creation a true farm/development league instead of relying on colleges to do for free. College coaches and teams will continue to do what's best for them, as they should.

I agree wholeheartedly with this idea.

[mc52beast]

WR’s value dropping while the rb is making a comeback.... Woody Hayes would love this 

[thefuzz]

Is there are more "dangerous" pick out there right now than WR?

 

Maybe OT or QB, but even 50% of QB's seem to be capable, seems like less than 25% of WR's are making the transition quickly enough.

[Khyber53]

Spread offenses are what allowed mid-size and small programs to compete with the classic powerhouse teams at the college level. You can go back to that fateful Appalachian vs. Michigan game or earlier iterations from West Virginia and others that started pushing the agenda.

 

[Captain Morgan]

after watching the wide receiver free agency drama over the last few months, it seems to me that NFL teams do not trust college wr's and are overpaying experience to compensate.  When I started hearing people say we got Torrey at a huge bargain at 5 mill per year for 2 years, I was surprised.

Yet, the only new receivers are going to come from the draft, and because of the expense of free agents, I think we'll have to draft one this year, and possibly again in the near future, despite the youth of Funch.